"We need to fight. And we need to fight hard." A five-year struggle to preserve Golden Eagle II closes in on its goal.

Thirty-two families and single households make their homes in the Golden Eagle II apartments—a complex of seven sage-green buildings on two sites, a half-block apart, in a quiet residential corner of Tillamook. The rent-restricted homes are a source of stability for residents, many of whom are very-low-income seniors living on fixed incomes. And the federally assisted 1975 property is a valued affordable housing asset in a coastal community where lack of developable land, a dearth of rent-restricted units, and low wages contribute to high housing cost burdens.

But residents looked to an uncertain future, in 2016, when their private landlord filed a request to prepay the property’s USDA Rural Development loan. The prepay request, if approved by USDA, would release the property from affordability restrictions, allowing rents to rise to market rate. (USDA rent vouchers, though available to some qualified residents, would provide a far lesser level of protection.) A similar fate had befallen four other federally assisted affordable housing communities in the Tillamook area in recent years.

Skaar connected residents with legal advocacy agencies Oregon Law Center and the National Housing Law Project, which paired up to block the owner’s move. The legal team sued USDA, pressing the agency to follow a statutory process created to give residents a detour route from displacement.

When residents heard word of the risk to their housing, they called Erin Skaar. Skaar, now a Tillamook County commissioner, was then the executive director of CARE Inc. (Tillamook County Community Action Resource Enterprises, Inc.), a nonprofit social services provider with offices a few blocks from the property. Skaar connected residents with legal advocacy agencies Oregon Law Center and the National Housing Law Project, which paired up to block the owner’s move. The legal team sued USDA, pressing the agency to follow a statutory process created to give residents a detour route from displacement: the property was to be offered for sale to nonprofit and public agencies, for a period of 180 days, at its then-current appraised value.

NOAH (Network of Oregon Affordable Housing), a leading advocate for the preservation of at-risk affordable housing properties in Oregon, had Golden Eagle II on its radar. Rob Prasch, NOAH’s preservation director, began making calls to find a nonprofit purchaser. A Portland-metro housing provider showed interest, assembling a consultant team, including HDC, to prepare an acquisition plan. But the match fell through, and by late 2019—the prepay approval still stalled by legal action and the clock ticking on the latest reset of the owner’s 180-day marketing period—no buyer had stepped forward.

Buyer Beware

Prasch and others, including representatives of HDC, began inquiring with Sheila Stiley. Executive director of nonprofit Northwest Coastal Housing (NWCH) in Newport, Stiley oversees a portfolio of rent-restricted housing units in Lincoln County and works with partners up and down the coast to serve and advocate for the needs of low-income residents. Stiley, a rapid-fire speaker who counts herself a member of the “sturdy” population that makes the coast their home, recalls canvassing her Tillamook contacts in search of an interested buyer. When none stepped up, she had a choice to make.

“I sat there and said, ‘Why not us?’” Stiley recounts.

Most were seniors, some with long tenancies at the property. One couple, in their nineties, had lived there for twenty-five years. Several expressed hope to live out their final years there. “I imagined these residents being forced to leave their homes—the disruption to all their support, their physicians, their networks,” Stiley says.

With twelve days left on the 180-day clock, in December 2019, Stiley and her board submitted a purchase offer, which the seller accepted.

Stiley then visited the Golden Eagle II residents she hoped would be NWCH’s future tenants. Most were seniors, some with long tenancies at the property. One couple, in their nineties, had lived there for twenty-five years. Several expressed hope to live out their final years there.

“I imagined these residents being forced to leave their homes—the disruption to all their support, their physicians, their networks,” Stiley says. “I had one thought: We need to fight. And we need to fight hard.”

Fortunately, Stiley had a battle crew at the ready. In addition to advocates and supporters such as NOAH, CARE Inc., and the Tillamook County Housing Task Force, she was flanked by an experienced consultant team passed down by the previous prospective nonprofit purchaser: LMC Construction, Carleton Hart Architecture, national housing nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners, and HDC all joined Stiley’s effort.

Forward March

HDC’s two-person team, acting as NWCH’s project manager and owner’s rep and led by Finance Project Manager Shauna Childress, worked with Stiley to navigate the critical next steps in the preservation process: completing an assessment of the property’s physical and operational needs, securing funder and investor commitments to finance the acquisition, and negotiating property-transfer conditions with the owner, lenders, USDA, and other public funders. (Moving forward, the process will involve completing the acquisition and undertaking comprehensive rehab construction.) Enterprise’s external consultant, Larry Anderson, helped NWCH navigate USDA’s “unique preservation funding and procedural requirements,” according to Enterprise Rural Housing Senior Program Director Robin Davey Wolff.

The team clinched its acquisition funding goal, in June, when Oregon Housing and Community Services delivered the project crucial 9% low-income housing tax credit and General Housing Assistance Program funds. The funding commitments, valued at $8.75 million, keep NWCH on track to complete the acquisition this fall and start rehab construction next year.

NWCH’s first attempt to secure major public acquisition funding, in 2020, failed. But the Golden Eagle II preservation project scored an important funding win early this year, when USDA agreed to extend its Rural Development loan to NWCH for 30 years at 1% interest—and committed to expand rental assistance currently covering 19 units to all 32. The rent assistance commitment will draw millions in federal subsidy dollars to close housing affordability gaps for very-low-income Tillamook residents over the 30-year contract period.

The team clinched its acquisition funding goal, in June, when Oregon Housing and Community Services delivered the project crucial 9% low-income housing tax credit and General Housing Assistance Program funds. The funding commitments, valued at $8.75 million, keep NWCH on track to complete the acquisition this fall and start rehab construction next year.

Stiley acknowledges with a laugh that “there might have been some squeals and jumping up and down when I heard the news.” But, she adds, “Quickly thereafter, it was on to the next obstacle. The funding award means we haven’t lost the property yet. We can move forward to the next step.”

Destination in Sight

The next step is meeting a December 31 deadline to complete the property transfer process, which, though complex, is well positioned to succeed. And that means Golden Eagle II residents can begin looking forward to more meaningful milestones ahead.

Within months, they can expect to access a comprehensive resident services program, provided by their new, nonprofit landlord in partnership with CARE Inc. and other providers.

“A CARE case manager will reach out to occupants and connect them with resources they need,” Stiley explains, “whether it’s employment opportunities, Meals on Wheels delivery, or working with the property manager if there’s a late-payment issue.”

In less than two years, following a brief temporary relocation, residents can expect to move back into completely made-over apartments—including new flooring, cabinets, appliances, bathtubs, window coverings, and more. The buildings will be outfitted with new exterior envelopes, new water supply lines, new ventilation and lighting systems, improved outdoor walkways, and a new game room and laundry area. None of which will cause rents to rise.

For now, Stiley hopes that the families, young couples, and seniors who live at Golden Eagle II can begin to feel the peace of mind that comes with knowing that the long-term affordability of their homes is—nearly—secured.

“I hope that soon Golden Eagle II residents can take a deep breath,” Stiley said. “And that the property remains a pride and joy and jewel for the Tillamook community, and the county, in the future.”