Housing plan gains funds

BLUE RIVER: McKenzie Community Land Trust (MCLT) and DevNW were recently awarded $800,000 from the Lane County Board of Commissioners to support the development of a 6-unit affordable homeownership project.

For the project, MCLT contracted with the Springfield-based non-profit, Dev-NW to act as the developer. “DevNW has a proven track record of developing high quality, affordable homes in Lane County and throughout Oregon,” according to Lane Tompkins, president of MCLT. He said the group was particularly drawn to DevNW “due to their place as one of Oregon’s leaders of utilizing the Community Land Trust Model to provide and maintain affordable housing.”

Under the community land trust (CLT) model, homeowners purchase their

home outright while leasing the land from the non-profit trust. It also provides an opportunity for public funds to be introduced early on in the development project, which significantly reduces the home sale cost, making them affordable to individuals earning up to 80% of the area median income. For the 2022 fiscal year, 80% AMI (area medium income) for a family of four is $63,700.

Tompkins said the homes will have three bedrooms with two bathrooms totaling approximately 1,200 square feet. “It is the hope of MCLT to provide home ownership options for fire survivors and other community members who may be struggling to find an affordable option,” he said, “and for the Rose Street Project to serve as a model for future housing development in the McKenzie River Valley.”

The Rose Street Project is sited on close to 2 acres in downtown Blue River by the Highway 126 bridge that crosses over Blue River.

MCLT and DevNW are currently working to secure additional funding through the Oregon Housing and Community Services LIFT program as well as other construction lending avenues. The overall project will be an approximate $3.1 million dollar investment in our community.

The McKenzie Community Land Trust is a new non-profit with a Board of McKenzie residents and stakeholders. Their mission is to provide access to land for the building of affordable housing and other community needs, working together to rebuild a thriving community.