A planned South Medford affordable housing project, slated to be among the first in Southern Oregon made with a new fire-resistant prefabricated material, is getting more than $6 million in state funding to fast-track its construction.

Turning Point Program, the organization behind the planned Breath of Life Medford housing project, was awarded a combined $6.02 million in Local Innovation and Fast Track homeownership funding from Oregon Housing and Community Services.

The funding for the project is the highest award out of 10 affordable housing projects in Corvallis, Hood River, Gresham, Newberg, Redmond and Sisters that total nearly $23 million.

Funding for the Medford project will help cover costs to construct 38 housing units in the first phase of the mixed-use, multi-income housing project, according to developer and Turning Point Program Executive Director Adrian Broadhurst. Upon completion, the project will have 142 housing units.

Broadhurst said the complex is designed as a model for what he described as a way to “build high quality, faster.” It features materials new to Southern Oregon, such as a prefabricated modular material called TechPanels, made by ZS2 Technologies of Calgary, Canada.

The panels arrive preassembled from the factory with the structural elements and wiring guides built into them. They consist of an insulated polystyrene foam core sandwiched between magnesium oxide “TechBoards,” which Broadhurst described as fire-resistant and extremely resilient against severe weather.

Broadhurst said his architect is using the material for his own home.

“This is a 75-year structure, not a 30-year structure,” Broadhurst said. “Million-dollar homes will be built with this.”

Because the material is so new, Broadhurst said he launched his own construction company called Promised Land Inc. to gain access to it. He also plans to import for the exterior siding a material from Spain called ReveCork, which Broadhurst says has a stucco-like finish and has been tested to work well with TechPanels.

Broadhurst is planning more Breath of Life projects using modular structures made from TechPanels and geared toward survivors in other parts of Oregon. The next project will be built in Bandon.

Broadhurst said that TechPanels go up “amazingly fast,” with minimal on-site waste. Better Built Construction is certified to work with the material for the project, which Broadhurst said he hopes will break ground by August.

Other innovations include solar panels from True South Solar built into the parking structure that will cover at least 80% of residents’ electricity costs, according to Oregon Housing and Community Services. Broadhurst described that as a minimum rating from the Oregon Department of Energy, with some of his models showing that the solar capacity is 107% of the complex’s anticipated energy needs.

“Our goal is to be entirely net-zero,” Broadhurst said.

He hopes to have at least eight units move-in ready by Christmas and most units ready by spring. All 38 units will be move-in ready by the end of summer.

Because the project is a land trust, Broadhurst said the developer can sell the properties to residents who make less than 80% of area median income, among other eligibility requirements, for the cost of building materials. Broadhurst says ACCESS will facilitate the loans with the lender for qualifying residents.

Units will have multiple floor plans available, ranging from a 448-square-foot studio starting at $125,000 to a two-bedroom, 2½-bath villa starting at $210,000.

Projects in Redmond, Sisters

Oregon Housing and Community Services awarded nearly $23 million this month to build affordable housing projects around the state including in Redmond and Sisters.

Three projects in Redmond will receive $5.52 million in combined funding to build 53 units total.

Two projects in Sisters will receive about $4.75 million combined for 24 units total.