A new affordable housing community in Bend’s west side broke ground Oct. 16. In addition to current housing projects, City officials announced on Oct. 18 that they would apply for grant money to increase the development of affordable housing.
Rooted at Simpson Project
The new Rooted at Simpson project, developed by Housing Works and Rooted Homes — formerly Kôr Community Land Trust — will offer 40 single-family homes and 59 subsidized rental apartments. “This is the first of many joint developments that have rental and ownership on the same site,” said Jackie Keogh, executive director of Rooted Homes. Rooted Homes will develop these mixed housing communities in both Redmond and La Pine following the project in Bend.
People renting in the community will receive priority for the single-family homes. “By putting rental and ownership on the same site, both can essentially advance in their wealth and in their job and make more money and not feel like they can’t leave their apartment,” said Keogh.
According to Keogh, the new community will price its homes based on what people can afford, not what it costs to build. Two-bedroom homes will be sold at an estimate of $240,000 and three-bedroom homes at an estimate of $280,000. “We expect these homes to appraise for more than double that,” said Keogh. According to data from Realtor.com, the median listed home price in Bend was $874,000 in September.
The Simpson project has some qualifications for which residents will be allowed to obtain housing in the community. People looking to purchase homes in the community must be first-time homebuyers, have pre-approval from a bank for a mortgage and must fall under an income cap, set to people earning equal to or less than 80% of the area median income. Currently a four-person household can make no more than $76,150 in their annual gross income.
If applicants qualify, they will then be selected through a housing lottery in the summer of 2024. “We are happy to work with people ahead of time to make sure they are mortgage ready,” said Keogh.
Rooted Homes intentionally purchased land on the west side of Bend as the area contains a number of amenities. Keogh believes the homes should be dispersed through the community and not just centered in low-income areas.
Efforts to Increase Affordable Housing
The City of Bend plans to keep expanding its affordable housing developments and one of the ways to get there, according to Lynne McConnell, the housing director with the City of Bend, is removing barriers to housing production.
One way City officials hope to address this is with a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. At the Oct. 18 City Council meeting, councilors approved a draft of the application for The Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing grant program.
According to Mellissa Kamanya, the City’s affordable housing coordinator, Bend qualifies for the grant due to its off-pace production, which suggests housing production hasn’t kept pace with population growth. “Affordable housing is for all of us. And it impacts all of us when there isn’t enough,” said Kamanya.
The draft application requested $10 million from HUD. The application states that the City will use $7.9 million to create a new fund for affordable housing development and $2 million for planning, program administration and planning costs.
According to Kamanya, the grant would help push money out into the community, giving affordable housing developers access to funds for land acquisition, land development and construction.
McConnell said the City hopes to increase cooperation and communication with residents who need affordable housing. “You won’t always know if affordable housing is in your neighborhood,” she said. “Just because you don’t see it and notice it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
McConnell and Kamanya believe that community engagement is key when it comes to adding more housing. “The City cannot fix this problem on our own. We need everyone in the community at the table with us to help devise solutions, incentives, resources and the will power to move this forward,” said McConnell.
The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meets at least once a month and allows community members to join meetings or listen online and provide their input.
This article appears in Source Weekly October 26, 2023.
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