The Kansas City Startup Village (KCSV) is aglow with the announcement that Brad Feld, an early-stage investor, has closed on a house in Kansas City, Kansas (KCK) that he’s already dubbed the “FiberHouse.” Feld is also a co-founder of TechStars, a well-known startup accelerator based in Boulder, Colorado.

“I’m not going to be living in it,” he wrote on his blog on Wednesday. “Instead, I’m going to let entrepreneurs live / work in it. Rent free. As part of helping create the Kansas City startup community. And to learn about the dynamics of Google Fiber. And to have some fun.”

Feld is partnering with the local Kauffman Foundation, which has been instrumental in hosting and incubating related startup events, to create a competition for new entrepreneurs in the space. The contest begins Wednesday and will end on March 22, 2013.

“Applicants must be at least 18 years old. Up to five winners will be selected from among the applications received,” the Foundation wrote on its site. “The panel of judges—Feld, Scott Case of Startup America Partnership, David Cohen of TechStars, and Lesa Mitchell of the Kauffman Foundation—will judge the applicants based upon the innovative potential of their startups and their companies' ability to leverage Google Fiber.”

“Unbelievable energy”

As Ars reported in December 2012, Hanover Heights, KCK was the first part of the city to get Google Fiber. As a result, a small startup community—the Kansas City Startup Village—began to cluster within a several-block radius.

While none so far have reached massive success, the companies are very excited that Feld could bring some startup-style celebrity to the region.

“It's huge because it validates what we're doing in the KCSV,” wrote Ben Barreth, the mastermind behind his “Homes for Hackers.” The initiative places a small handful of startup hopefuls, rent-free, in a house in the area as a way to encourage the local tech community.

Feld’s new property is at 4437 Cambridge St., a five-minute walk around the block from the first Hacker House (currently housing three entrepreneurs). Barreth has also opened up one of the rooms on Airbnb, making it available to “fiber tourists.”

The KC Web developer floated the idea of pairing local families with spare rooms with budding entrepreneurs back in August 2012—a concept that later turned into the first “Hacker House” that Barreth bought for $48,000.

Others in the KCSV community have expressed their excitement with Feld investing in the property.

“All I have to say is that this startup community is on fire right now!” wrote Adam Arredondo, in an e-mail to Ars. He’s the CEO and co-founder of LocalRuckus, a startup based in the KCSV.

“[There’s] unbelievable energy. Rapidly growing collaboration across startup, corporate and government organizations on all levels. We have seen a drastic shift in the openness and mindset in Kansas City over the last couple of months. The sky is the limit for where this could go!”

Observers of the KCSV and Google Fiber have previously noted the fiber itself is an effective lure for entrepreneurs and developers. But it remains to be seen if the fiber alone, particularly as it expands throughout the KCK area and neighboring Kansas City, Missouri regions (and beyond?), can sustain a thriving, profitable startup community.

“Google Fiber itself brought attention to Kansas City and brings lots of visitors,” Lesa Mitchell, a vice president at Kauffman, told Ars. “Last week I met an entrepreneur from China who requires serious bandwidth for his company and came to town to see if he should locate his US presence here. That would not have happened so easily without Google Fiber.”