Affordable townhomes slated for NE Bend

Housing Works, the public housing authority for Central Oregon, plans on building 55 townhomes on 3 acres in northeast Bend near Ensworth Elementary School.

Construction could start in July with doors opening for tenants in May 2017, said Tom Kemper, Housing Works executive director.

The site consists of two lots kitty-corner from each other on NE Daggett Lane and NE Full Moon/Moonlight Drive. Moonlight Drive becomes Full Moon Drive south of Daggett. The project budget comes to nearly $13 million, Kemper said.

“It’s going to be a great project,” he said Monday. “There will be no way to know they’re affordable housing.”

The units will be restricted to tenants who earn 60 percent or less of the median family income in Deschutes County. Median family income for a family of four in the county is $59,700, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The income restriction is included in the deed.

Units will come in two-bedroom and three-bedroom configurations, Kemper said. Unit sizes will range from 945 to 1,185 square feet, he said. Jivanjee Circosta Architecture of Hillsboro drew up plans that call for 29 units on Moonlight Drive in nine buildings and 24 units on Daggett Lane in seven buildings. The complex includes play areas, two community rooms and 81 parking spots. The plans are under review by the Bend Community Development Department.

“The buildings are arranged in small groups, so it looks more like a grouping of small buildings rather than one massive row of townhouses,” said architect Doug Circosta. “They’re going to be good, quality housing, not bottom-of-the-barrel kinds of things.”

Housing Works will use a lottery system to fill the buildings with tenants. The list will open about two months prior to the date the units become available, he said. The agency used the same system to fill The Parks at Eastlake, a 40-unit Bend apartment complex on NE Bellevue Drive that opened in July.

“Rents are going to be amazing,” Kemper said, and will vary from $639 monthly to $1,100.

Funding for the project comes from the Oregon Housing and Community Services, which is providing $3.5 million, and low-income housing tax credits for investors. Housing Works sells the tax credits to help pay the construction cost over a long term.

Housing Works bought the larger property from Bend-La Pine Schools last year for $285,000. The smaller lot is still owned by the city of Bend, but the agency expects to acquire it soon, Kemper said.

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