Redmond housing projects get tax credits

Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 23, 2015

A Housing Works project in Redmond to build new apartments for seniors and rehabilitate an existing apartment building received tax credits Tuesday from Oregon Housing and Community Services.

Gov. Kate Brown’s office announced the awards, with the Redmond projects coming through the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

Housing Works, the public housing agency for Central Oregon, applied for the tax credits to offset costs associated with rehabilitating Brentwood Manor, an eight-unit apartment complex, and building a new project, Cook Crossing, according to the state. Together, the two projects will create or improve 56 units for senior housing, according to the governor’s news release. The Housing Works grant was one of 13 affordable housing projects across the state to receive tax credits or other government financing assistance.

The award allows Housing Works to sell $890,000 in tax credits each year for 10 years to financial institutions that invest in the projects. They can claim those credits each year on their income tax returns, said Tom Kemper, Housing Works executive director.

“It’s a dollar-for-dollar reduction in income tax,” he said. “It goes right to the bottom line.”

The agency has yet to close on either the 1.3-acre tract on SW Veterans Way where it plans to build Cook Crossing or the existing Brentwood Manor a block away on SW Kalama Avenue, Kemper said. “We’ll close in the next few months,” he said.

Construction of 48 units at Cook Crossing may begin late this year or early next, with the one- and two-bedroom units ready to occupy by the end of 2016, he said. Extensive renovations are planned at Brentwood Manor, he said.

The units will go to qualified, low-income residents aged 55 and over or with disabilities, he said. Rents will range from $428 to $557 per month, he said.

“We will build a very nice property,” Kemper said of Cook Crossing. “It’ll be a great building with great units. Way cool.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, jditzler@bendbulletin.com