By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Lt. Gov. David Toland informed the Victoria Community Coalition Thursday morning that it will receive a $425,000 grant to build garages for the St. John's Place Senior Living apartments.
The community coalition renovated the former nursing home, and it opened 12 apartments in 2025.
Brenda Dreiling, chairwoman of the coalition board, said many people have expressed interest in the apartment but want a garage for their vehicles. The garages will be built on the north side of the apartments.
The project is being funded through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The coalition had previously received an American Rescue Plan Act grant toward the apartment renovations.
The federal funds must be used by the end of the year, but Dreiling said she did not anticipate any issues meeting that deadline.
Toland said the state received hundreds of project applications, but St. John's Place scored very well.
"At the end of the day, I love to do small-town projects where there are a lot of volunteer efforts involved, where you have a mix of different uses," Toland said.
"Between the residential side, the historical society, the child care, when they get that launched, I think those models work, and I think that's where we can best invest these limited funds," he said.
The apartments are designed for independent living for moderate-income seniors. You must be 55 years old or older to apply for an apartment. Rates cover water, sewer, trash and gas.
The facility still has apartments available. If you are interested in learning more about renting an apartment, you visit the Victoria Community Coalition website. You can also call 785-735-2204.
The apartments are only one phase of a multi-phase, multi-agency renovation of the former nursing home.
Other projects planned by the coalition include Airbnb rooms on the south side of the apartments, a senior center in the former nursing home chapel, a coffee shop, a child care center and a commercial kitchen.
Toland also toured a section of the building that the Ellis Historical Society is renovating.
The society received a $35,000 grant from the Department of Commerce in May for the renovations.
"As someone who evaluates grant applications and signs off at the end, I want to know if there is widespread community support," Toland said. "Are people willing to write checks, swing hammers, haul debris to the dump? That's what we have here."
In addition, the historical society has been selling plaques honoring local Volga German families that will hang inside the satellite location. That effort has already raised $150,000 for the project, Mary Kay Schippers, historical society board president, said.
Schippers said donations have come from 15 states from people who had family ties to Ellis County.
Toland said it's remarkable how much pride people have in the place they are from.
The south side of the building will have a gift shop, a gallery focusing on the Volga German heritage of Ellis County, exhibits on Ellis County oil and agriculture, and the Walker Air Force Base.
At the east end of the historical society wing, it plans to establish a children's discovery center and a lending library in cooperation with the Ellis County Library system.
Renovations on the second story of the historical society space are complete, and that space is being used for artifact storage.
Amanda Rupp, historical society executive director, said the society hopes to have a new HVAC system, new floor coverings, and restrooms installed by August, when the Annual International Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia will be in Hays.
2026 is the 150th anniversary of Volga Germans settling in Ellis County, and a slate of activities has been scheduled throughout the year to celebrate.
The anniversary of Volga Germans arriving in Hays will be Feb. 14. Smaller Volga German communities were settled throughout the area after that first arrival.
The historical society and coalition are separate nonprofits with separate projects at St. John's Place. You can learn more about the historical society and how to donate to the Victoria project on its website or follow it on Facebook.
"You've done something that is incredible," Toland told Dreiling. "I am just so pleased that we made the investments we did on the state end, and it's such a good project.
"It is so heartening to go from seeing a list, a spreadsheet with a name and a number, to be able to walk through here and be able to see that the funds have been so well used."