Kudos to our partners for building and preserving 733 affordable homes in 2020!
Eight housing owners. Six HDC construction project managers. Eight development projects, each multiple years and many partners in the making, that reached the finish line in 2020—many completing construction in the early months of the COVID crisis. These developments delivered more than 700 new and rehabilitated affordable homes to communities up and down the Willamette Valley. And now these homes are providing safety and peace of mind to families and individuals who are living, working, studying, growing, aging, transitioning, and building community in uncertain times. Here’s a round-up:
Montebello Apartments (March)
Washington County–based Bienestar builds housing, hope, and community for Latinxs, immigrants, and all families in need. Forty-nine families, including roughly 100 school-age children, live affordably at Bienestar’s Montebello Apartments in downtown Hillsboro. HDC worked with Bienestar to finance and manage a renovation of the 20-year-old apartment complex that corrected water intrusion issues and reconfigured former office space to create two new apartment units. See more photos.
“The renovation enhanced those elements that fostered a sense of community, such as circulation paths that overlook outdoor gathering areas, while installing new features that improve comfort for the families living at Montebello.”
Argyle Gardens (April)
Absent deep public subsidies, providing affordable homes to people with little or no income is a financial puzzle. Homeless services provider Transition Projects used a refreshed SRO-housing model and modular (offsite) construction to drive down development and operating costs and offer rents as low as $295 per month at Argyle Gardens, formerly known as LISAH. Located in North Portland’s Kenton neighborhood, the innovative development provides studio and SRO apartment homes, community-building opportunities, and follow-up services to 71 individuals transitioning from homelessness. Learn more about Argyle Gardens.
Renaissance Commons (June)
Urban renewal efforts have spurred commercial reinvestment while pricing out lower-income residents from housing markets in North Portland neighborhoods such as Kenton. REACH Community Development’s newest development brings 189 affordable homes to the Kenton neighborhood, offering preference to families, mostly Black, who have been displaced by gentrification in North Portland. Blocks from Argyle Gardens (above) and sharing HDC’s Jenn Sharp as construction project manager, Renaissance Commons features a playground, food pantry, large meeting and gathering rooms, and easy access to parks, transit, and urban amenities. Take the video tour.
“Kenton is wonderful, vibrant North Portland neighborhood, and this development adds to its richness.”
King + Parks (July)
For more than 25 years, Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives (PCRI) has reinvested in Portland’s neighborhoods, preserved their diversity, and provided tools to help low-income Portland families and individuals achieve stability and self-sufficiency. Located at the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard and Rosa Parks Way, the 70-unit King + Parks development is part of PCRI’s effort to alleviate the destabilizing effects of gentrification and to mitigate past displacement of historic residents of North and inner Northeast Portland. Ranging from single bedrooms all the way to family-style townhomes, the apartments face an interior courtyard to ensure child safety, while the location offers families convenient access to urban amenities.
“Throughout construction, both Colas Construction and Merryman Barnes Architecture understood the importance of this project and the legacy it will provide to the community.”
Redwood Crossings (August)
Housing authorities are critical sources of affordable housing for our communities’ hardest-to-house residents. HDC worked with Salem Housing Authority to finance and complete construction of a partially built multifamily housing development that contained substantial construction defects. Redwood Crossings is now providing 37 deeply affordable homes to very-low-income and formerly homeless individuals in Salem. The new housing community includes six medical respite beds for homeless adults exiting from hospital care; medical respite residents access services from the ARCHES project, the housing and street outreach division of antipoverty agency Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action.
“It was exciting to see SHA and ARCHES come together to create housing solutions for some of our most vulnerable populations, especially those experiencing medical and mental health issues.”
Garden View Apartments (September)
Linn-Benton Housing Authority (LBHA) has a large service area and strives to meet needs of Linn and Benton county residents. In the rural community of Lebanon, 48 very-low-income seniors find affordable homes, community building opportunities, and access to health care and other essential services at LBHA’s Garden View Apartments. The new housing community offers preference to two vulnerable groups, veterans at risk of homelessness and seniors living with HIV-AIDS. Learn more and view the complete photo gallery.
“The goal of everyone on the team, including Bergsund Delaney Architecture and Meili Construction, was to create a building that was durable and pleasant, and to find out and deliver what LBHA and its residents needed for the long term.”
Red Rock Creek Commons (October)
Urban renewal efforts are improving transit access and spurring commercial investment in Tigard, while at the same time contributing to housing cost increases that disproportionately harm communities of color. At Red Rock Creek Commons, Community Partners for Affordable Housing provides critically needed affordable homes to low-income families and individuals at risk of displacement in the rapidly developing Tigard Triangle area. Clients of Luke-Dorf, a community provider of mental health services, have preference for eight of the project’s 48 units, and 24 units use project-based Section 8 subsidies to rent affordably to very-low-income residents.
“This project benefits from an awesome location. Residents enjoy the view of a natural area that runs along the edge of the property—including a creek the team was able to preserve—while living within a walkable community full of urban amenities.”
Ya-Po-Ah Terrace (December)
Evergreen Union Retirement Association’s sole real estate asset, Ya-Po-Ah Terrace is an 18-story apartment building that provides deeply affordable homes to 222 very low-income seniors in Eugene. HDC assisted EURA with a complex preservation effort that recapitalized the project, extended its project-based Section 8 subsidies for 20 years, with an option to automatically extend the contract for an additional 20 years, and culminated in a thorough renovation, which involved temporarily relocating residents during a pandemic.
“The whole team showed an attention to detail that prioritized the safety and comfort of a fragile resident population, from the earliest stages of financing through close of construction.”