Bend Chamber, Kôr Land Trust announce 35 employer partners for workforce housing pilot

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Bend Chamber and Kôr Community Land Trust announced Thursday the 35 employer partners who qualified to provide their employees with preference in the public workforce housing lottery for the Poplar Community on Bend’s west side.

To be eligible, Kôr required employers to have an office located in Bend, be willing to cover $2,500 in closing costs for the employee, have employee demographics that are equal to or more diverse than 91.3% non-Hispanic, white and 8.7% non-white, and have employees who have been employed full time with the company for at least a year, according to a news release which continues in full below:

“The workforce housing program has now created 35 new local partners who share in our mission to provide affordable homeownership to those who contribute to Bend’s economy,” remarked Jackie Keogh, Executive Director of Kôr Community Land Trust. “The need for workforce housing has aligned local businesses across industries—from hospitality to healthcare—and from some of the largest employers to small employer-owned businesses. The need for workforce housing impacts everyone.”

“Deschutes County is proud to work with Kôr Community Land Trust as a supporting partner of their pilot Workforce Housing Program,” said County Commissioner Patti Adair. “Access to sustainable affordable housing is a vital tool needed to maintain a thriving workforce within Deschutes County.”

The project includes seven 3-bedroom, 2-bath homes designed to net-zero energy standards for households earning equal or less than 80% of Area Median Income. These homes, designed by Ten Over Studio and constructed by Hiatus Homes, are estimated to be completed by winter 2024. The homes are located on Kôr land that retains a deed restriction that ensures each subsequent home resale will preference employees of qualified employer partners, extending this benefit to the Bend workforce in perpetuity.

The Bend Chamber is sponsoring four of seven new homes in Kôr Community Land Trust’s new Poplar development, thanks to financial support from Providence Health Plan and specific Bend Chamber members. The sponsorship helps support the difference between the cost to build these homes and what income-qualified home buyers can afford.

“We are excited to see these Bend businesses sign up to support their employees and the Kôr housing pilot project. We know that many businesses can’t attract and retain labor due to the lack of housing, and this is an opportunity for some of their employees to have a new pathway to home ownership,” shared Katy Brooks, Bend Chamber CEO.  

Qualified Employer Partners

·        AMI High, Inc. (PrideStaff)

·        Aperion Management Group

·        Bend Landscape

·        BlackStrap Industries

·        COLE Architects

·        Dano Enterprise LLC (Flash Ink)

·        Delgado Consulting LLC

·        Deschutes County

·        El Sancho Taco Shop

·        Flights Wine Bar

·        Go Slow to Go Fast LLC

·        Homestead Family Medicine, LLC

·        Latino Community Association

·        Linnius Construction

·        Little John’s Portable Toilets

·        Mitma’s Unique Finish LLC

·        MountainStar Family Relief Nursery

·        Mt. Bachelor

·        Newport Avenue Market

·        Onboard Dynamics LLC

·        Regency Pacific Management

·        Sage Window Cleaning Inc.

·        Spork

·        Sprouts Montessori of Bend

·        St. Charles Health System

·        Street Dog Hero

·        Swafford Insurance, Inc. (Allstate)

·        The Environmental Center

·        The Father’s Group

·        The Haven Coworking

·        Think Wild

·        United Way of Central Oregon

·        Unofficial Logging Co.

·        Webfoot Painting

·        Zydeco Kitchen & Cocktails

The next phase of the project is the homebuyer selection process. Interested homebuyers can visit the Kôr Community Land Trust web site at  https://korlandtrust.org/homebuyers/workforce-housing-program for more information. The Poplar Community housing lottery opens on April 3 at 9:00 AM PDT and runs through May 18 at 5:00 PM PDT. Selected homebuyers will be notified by May 25 at 5:00 PM PDT. To learn more about how to apply, Kôr Community Land Trust encourages interested homebuyers to attend one of several information sessions offered on their event page at https://korlandtrust.org/events .