Deschutes County selling SW Bend parcel to Kôr Land Trust/Housing Works for affordable housing
About seven acres, for $1.3 million; partnership earned top score among proposals
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Deschutes County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to sell about seven acres along Simpson Avenue, near the OSU-Cascades campus, for $1.3 million to a partnership of Kôr Community Land Trust and Housing Works for a 110-home affordable housing project.
The county issued a request and received several proposals for the county-owned land in the 19700 block of Simpson Avenue, north of the OSU-Cascades expansion area. It requested plans for a mix of affordable housing, defined as for those earning 60% of the area's median income for renters and 80% of AMI for home buyers.
The results of the request for proposals (RFP) evaluation/scoring process for the Simpson Avenue property were presented, and the board voted to accept the proposal that had earned the highest score, said county Property Manager Kristie Bollinger.
The proposed development includes 110 units; 80 multi-family units (which will include 12 townhomes), plus 30 cottages available for homeownership, Bollinger said.
Some neighbors had raised concerns about traffic and other impacts of high-density housing on the parcel.
Commissioner Phil Chang said the county's responsibility to residents include "providing desperately needed affordable housing" but also stewardship of county assets and maintaining area residents' quality of life "as much as possible."
He said the recommended proposal, while well below the land's $2.8 million appraised value, "provides an excellent balance of those three goals," as "it is scaled to match the surrounding neighborhood and preserve pockets of open space and native vegetation."
After Wednesday's board vote, the land buyers issued this joint news release:
Kôr Community Land Trust and Housing Works selected to develop Simpson Ave. Property
Kôr Community Land Trust and Housing Works were selected by Deschutes County to purchase and develop the 7.12 acres at 19755 Simpson Avenue into affordable housing.
The innovative partnership between the local public housing authority, Housing Works, and non-profit Kôr Community Land Trust will bring 110 new homes to the west side of Bend providing both rental housing and home ownership opportunities that will remain permanently affordable for generations.
Specifically, Housing Works will develop the parcels east of 18th street into 68 apartments and 12 townhomes available for rent to households earning less than 60% AMI.
Kôr Community Land Trust will utilize the westernmost parcel to build 30 for sale goal net-zero single-family homes for households earning between 65-80% AMI.
The initial site plans, designed by Pinnacle Architecture for the rental units and Ten Over Studios for the homeownership units, present an equitable approach to the site, its neighboring community, and the natural landscape and existing treescape.
Given this approach, the joint proposal was supported by a number of abutters and local organizations, who provided Deschutes County Commissioners with letters of support.
Housing Works Executive Director David Brandt, reflected that “the Simpson Avenue property offers a unique opportunity for Deschutes County to invest in affordable rental and permanently affordable homeownership, serving the broad housing needs of the community on a single site.”
Kôr Community Land Trust Executive Director Jackie Keogh detailed, “Our permanently affordable homeownership opportunities will allow for lower-income residents to advance through the affordable housing continuum. Families living in Housing Works’ affordable rentals would have the opportunity to purchase a Kôr resale on the same site, in turn staying in their community, school district, and with established family supports, like daycare centers.”
In 2014, Housing Works and Kôr joined forces to help bridge the gap between the stability of affordable rental housing and the opportunity for affordable homeownership. The partnership has a proven history of building award winning housing that is attractive, energy efficient, and affordable to Central Oregonians.
Here's the proposal as submitted by the partnership:
