The city of Bend will give nearly $900,000 to five projects meant to increase the amount of affordable housing in the area, with more than half that money going to a local nonprofit that plans to build about 10 single-family green homes.

Building Partners for Affordable Housing, an offshoot of the Central Oregon Builders Association, will get $500,000 from the city to help pay construction costs of the homes. The organization wants to use the funds to put unemployed contractors back to work.

“It’s a wonderful project because it does several things,” Bend Affordable Housing Manager Jim Long said. “It’s going to get people into very affordable, well-built homes. … Plus, it’s going to get some people back to work.”

The $500,000 comes from the city’s affordable housing fee program that was implemented in 2006 despite COBA’s objections. That program collects one-third of 1 percent of the total value of every building permit issued by the city, which goes into a fund that is used to loan money to affordable housing projects at low or no interest.

“Where this really helps is it brings the cost down” for construction, Long said.

“It’s a unique project and should be an interesting project. I’m looking forward to working on it,” he said.

Building Partners for Affordable Housing wants to sell the houses, which will be certified green buildings, for about $140,000 each. Officials from COBA said the homes will likely have three bedrooms, two or two and a half baths, and could range in size from 1,100 square feet to 2,000 square feet. They said prospective buyers would be involved in the construction from start to finish, from assisting in design to picking what appliances will be installed.

Economic impact

Tim Knopp, executive vice president for COBA and Building Partners for Affordable Housing, said he hopes to employ dozens of out-of-work builders in the area over the life of the project, and noted there are measures in place to ensure a single contractor cannot build more than three of the homes.

“We think it’s a win for employment. We think it’s a win for people who need houses, and we think it’s a win for the environment as well,” said Knopp. “We are hoping to basically to put people back to work in the construction industry by building housing for people who are about 80 to 100 percent of area median income.”

Deschutes County’s median household income is $51,897, according to 2008 figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. Economic Development for Central Oregon lists the median income at $63,500 for a family of four in the same year.

Knopp said the reason for building green homes instead of revamping existing ones or constructing non-energy efficient houses is to provide long-term cost savings to the residents. It’s estimated that the homes could reduce an individual’s bills by as much 20 to 50 percent, according to COBA.

“We just want to make sure that if we’re going to build an affordable product, that it’s also affordable to maintain and provide energy to over the long term,” Knopp said.

Building Partners for Affordable Housing

Building Partners for Affordable Housing is looking to purchase about 10 lots in southeast Bend off Parrell Road between Murphy and China Hat Road for the homes. Money for the land will come from $250,000 the nonprofit already received through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program that was part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act passed by Congress in July 2008. That program was created to help people buy foreclosed or abandoned homes and allow nonprofits or governments to redevelop distressed residential properties.

According to Central Oregon Association of Realtors CEO Kathy Ragsdale, Building Partners for Affordable Housing’s green homes seem to stack up well versus comparable green homes on the market. Of the five recently green-built homes put up for sale in 2010 — with an average size of 1,774 square feet for a three-bedroom house with two to two and a half bathrooms — the average list price is $278,580. Ragsdale said the homes also compare well with similar-sized non-green homes on the market, which in July sold for an average of $212,000

“I think it’s a superb deal,” Ragsdale said. “I think $140,000 for a new home, especially an all-green home, sounds like a great bargain.”

Other projects

Four other groups also will receive affordable housing fee money from Bend. Pfeifer and Associates will get $60,000 to buy a fourplex to house families recovering from substance abuse, and Habitat for Humanity will get the same amount to buy materials for a program that helps homeowners with exterior home improvements like painting and landscaping.

Central Oregon Veterans Outreach will receive $150,000 to provide affordable and independent living for disabled veterans, and Housing Works (Central Oregon Regional Housing Authority) will get $118,000 to turn the top floor of downtown Bend’s Putnam Pointe into low-income rentals.

Some of the awards are contingent on agencies receiving funding from other agencies.

Anyone interested in buying one of the affordable green homes can contact Building Partners for Affordable Housing at 541-389-1058.