Bend city councilors accept $5 million federal affordable housing grant; half of what was sought, but a big impact

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – During Wednesday night's Bend City Council meeting, councilors voted to approve the city manager's acceptance of a $5 million Pathways to Removing Obstacles grant, also known as the PRO Housing grant.

Councilors approved the acceptance of the $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD.

On June 26, HUD notified city staff that Bend was selected for the PRO Housing grant award, which was only about half of the $10 million the city had requested from the program

Is it still enough to make a significant impact on the city’s housing crisis? The City says, “Yes!”

“We're thrilled!" said Affordable Housing Coordinator. Mellissa Kamanya. "It was a very competitive first round of funding. One thing that's important, I think, for everyone to understand: In housing development, production is so expensive, and having these extra funds available for the community can make the difference for a developer to have enough funds to make a project work.”

Of the $5 million grant award, an estimated $1 million will be allocated for program administration and planning costs for all proposed activities, with the remaining $4 million to fund programs such as purchase land, develop infrastructure, buy down cost for housing development, or even construction – all under the umbrella of affordable housing.

Most importantly, the city says, the $5 million will help in identifying and addressing barriers that have resulted in historic underproduction of affordable housing and widespread housing cost burden in Bend.

This grant runs through 2029. When all of the activities are complete, the city envisions more housing on the ground – with a number of housing units including ADUs (accessory dwelling units), townhomes, apartments, and up-to-market rate housing.