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ABOUT US

Redbarn Farms is a small, family-owned 5 residential lot subdivision in the City of Sedgwick that will preserve the farmstead heritage providing high quality, new moderate income housing opportunities in our small rural community.

The City of Sedgwick current population of approximately 1,700 residents is located in the southern part of Harvey County bordering northern Sedgwick County, just a 15 minute drive to Wichita.

City of Sedgwick

Sedgwick takes great pride in its small but excellent K-12 school (USD 439) with 500 students housed on one campus with 38 certified teachers and 21 special education staff members, providing outstanding education and athletic opportunities for our children.

Sedgwick Public Schools

The shared vision for the existing 5 acre farmstead owner, Dean Held, and son Dru Held, Redbarn Farms developer, both retired, is to provide a 2 acre subdivision improvement district, partnering with the City and State of Kansas for infrastructure improvements (street, water, and sewer) to provide residential lots available to five moderate income families to “open” build a custom modern farmhouse. With the award of the state grant, the resulting homeowner special assessments will be greatly reduced to only $956 per year for 15 years, very competitive and affordable for the home builder. The grant also offers a down payment assistance program for qualifying moderate income households of $20,000. The proceeds from the sale of the lots will provide funds to maintain the remaining three acre heritage farmstead (Lot 6), and restore the historic 102 year old red barn landmark and namesake of the development.

The Redbarn Farms subdivision is the only new development in Sedgwick and is nestled in between the two newer subdivisions in the city, The Hilands completed in 2008, and the Reserve completed in 2018. The Redbarn Farms development complements the surrounding subdivisions with a unique country farm charm offering a community garden with a supportive Protective Covenant to insure quality home construction with that modern farmhouse or unique country style custom design. The covenant allows for “open builder” and we have selected builders willing to build your new dream farmhouse in Sedgwick Redbarn Farms.

Sedgwick is located in south central Harvey County on the border with Sedgwick County. The location is within a triangle formed by the cities of Hutchinson, Newton, and Wichita. This is ideal for residents who want the environment and safety of rural, small town living while being close to big city employment opportunities and amenities. Sedgwick remains a farming community but is diversified, with 50 local small businesses, and an industrial park to provide additional local employment opportunities for residents. Sedgwick's goal is to grow slowly in population so that our small town amenities remain special and thrive with an increased quality of living.

Contact Redbarn Farms now only two lots left to build your new modern dream farm house this spring!

(714) 478-8861

ABOUT THE FOUNDERS

Dean A. Held

Owner

Dean Albert Held was born in rural Sedgwick, and raised on a farm with two younger brothers and an older sister, graduating from Valley Center High School in 1952. He attended Wichita University and married Coleen Cox, a farm girl from Sedgwick. He bought the farmstead in 1955, where he’s lived ever since, raising two children, his son Dru and daughter Tawn, both of whom graduated from Sedgwick High School. Dean also has three grandchildren who grew up going to Sedgwick Grade School before transferring to Seattle. Dean started his career as a salesman and, after working for several large companies, gained extensive knowledge and experience in the agriculture field. During the early years his wife Coleen worked in local businesses including Leon’s Market, the last grocery store in town, and then the Sedgwick State Bank where she became the well-respected head Cashier until the bank was sold. Dean once managed the local movie theater with his friend for a year in the hay days of Sedgwick until it flooded and closed.

In 1978, Dean started the Redbarn Agri-Service business at his farmstead providing the farming community around Sedgwick a full line of products and services. Coleen later joined him at his side as business manager, and also hired several local employees throughout 30 years of business contributing to the Sedgwick community. During this time both Dean and Coleen’s parents passed away, passing on their farmland to them which Dean farmed and expanded. In 1993, the surrounding farmland was annexed into the city including Dean’s farmstead and agri-business to develop the largest and newest Sedgwick residential subdivision, The Hilands. Those 55 homes surround his 5 acre farmstead from the east and south. Unfortunately, this impacted the business restricting Redbarn Agri-Service from providing full service to local farmers until going out of business.

Fully retiring in 2010, Dean was dedicated to the care of Coleen, who had contracted Alzheimer’s disease, in their home until her passing in 2013. Later, Dean partnered with his son to develop the Redbarn Farms subdivision of five lots on 2 acres of the farmstead pasture. His goal is to provide the means to continue living on the farmstead for the rest of his years and hopefully restore the 102 year old landmark, the red barn, the name sake of his business and now the Redbarn Farms subdivision.

Dru D. Held

Developer

Dru Dean Held was born and raised on the farmstead in Sedgwick, Kansas. Graduating from Sedgwick High School, he also learned hard work ethic from his farmer grandfather and uncles. He attended Kansas State University and graduated with a BA degree from Wichita State University in 1978 with an emphasis in marketing and small business management. After graduation, he began his career at Boeing Wichita in Finance Estimating, commuting from Sedgwick, and was promoted to management in 1984. Dru has three children, Matti, Dalton, and Hudson, who attended Sedgwick Grade school before Boeing transferred the family to Kent, Washington in 1993 at the Boeing Defense & Space Headquarters.

As a senior manager, Dru gained a wide range of experience in government contracting leading proposal teams submitting multi-billion proposals to the United States Airforce and Navy for fighters, bombers, surveillance, cargo, and tanker aircraft. After the Boeing merger with Rockwell and McDonnel Douglas in 1999, transferred to Seal Beach, California Space & Communication Headquarters. There he led government proposals, developed best practices to implement across Boeing and taught a government proposal leadership workshop. Retired from the Boeing Defense & Space Headquarters Contracts, Pricing, and Estimating organization after 36 years in 2015, Dru is currently living in Huntington Beach, California and often travels back to Sedgwick to visit family.

Going into semi-retirement in 2017, Dru conducted a feasibility study for a Redbarn Farms subdivision partnering with his father in platting 2 acres of his farmstead and worked with the city to win a Kansas State Moderate Income Housing Grant for city infrastructure improvements for residential lots to build affordable new homes in the Sedgwick community. His dream for Redbarn Farms is to provide a farm-like surrounding on the hill with a community garden which is supplied with water from a windmill for the new home owners to enjoy and to restore the 102 year old red barn landmark that is the name sake of the development and his father’s heritage.