Some much needed funding has recently made its way Central Oregon to help provide much-needed affordable housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) formally presented a $5 million grant for affordable housing earlier this summer at a special ceremony in Bend, Oregon.
The funding comes through HUD’s Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program, which was established to address critical housing supply needs and to support communities in their efforts to remove barriers to affordable housing. Bend secured the grant through a competitive application process with HUD and is one of 21 awardees across 19 states to receive this funding from fiscal year 2023.
Affordable housing is a huge challenge for many cities throughout our nation, and Bend is no different. A glance at some demographics will reveal why. A recent city report says a $72,000 annual salary is needed for a single person to afford a one-bedroom apartment in the Central Oregon city. The current area median income in Bend is $104,700 per year, yet half of the jobs in the Bend-Redmond area pay $43,000 or less. Few jobs in the Bend area can adequately service a home mortgage, according to recent reports. A single person needs to make $200,000 to do that.
The City of Bend will use the $5 million investment to lead a multi-year, multi-organizational and agency project to identify and address barriers that have resulted in historic underproduction of affordable housing and a widespread housing cost burden in the city.
“One of the aspects of the grant is to identify city barriers to housing,” said Mellissa Kamanya, the city’s affordable housing coordinator. “We’ll be looking at, with permit times, some of our city processes that may be causing challenges for developers.”
Builders often say if the permitting process was easier and cheaper, they would submit more plans for housing. The grant also will help to buy land and build new affordable housing.
For over 30 years, The Foundation for Affordable Housing (FFAH) has been helping to build and manage hundreds of affordable housing communities accounting for thousands of homes.
Founded by Tom and Deborrah Willard, our organization is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public benefit nonprofit corporation. Read more about FFAH here.
