BEND AREA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AND HOUSING WORKS COLLABORATE ON NEW MIXED-INCOME DEVELOPMENT MODEL
A new mixed-income neighborhood model is coming to Bend through an innovative collaboration of the Bend Area Habitat for Humanity and Housing Works. Today, the affordable housing organizations announced their partnership aimed at creating a greater number of homeownership opportunities that are attainable to Bend's lower to moderate income residents.
"We are very excited about this. As far as I know, Habitat has not entered into this kind of partnership anywhere else in Oregon," stated David Love, Executive Director of the Bend Area Habitat for Humanity.
In the proposed model, the construction of the homes in the neighborhood will use the highly successful Habitat model of using volunteers to help lower costs and make homeownership affordable to low and moderate income persons. In this new model, some of the homes will be sold to families who complete the Housing Works HomeQuest program. These families earn a slightly greater income than is normally targeted by Habitat. Proceeds from these higher priced homes will go to toward making the remaining homes more affordable for lower-income homebuyers.
"This is innovation in affordable housing at its best. Both organizations have a lot of experience in producing quality housing, said Cyndy Cook, Executive Director of Housing Works. "By combining our strengths, we can create a greater number of homes in a wider variety of price ranges that make them affordable to working families who are still locked out of homeownership opportunities in Bend."
The homes constructed under this model are envisioned as the "starter" homes which have essentially disappeared from the Bend market.
The collaboration's aim is to create a multi-income community where household incomes range from approximately $20,580 to $58,800, 35%–100% of the Area Median Income respectively. Expanding the income range of households will serve to diversify the neighborhood by creating a broader mix of social and economic backgrounds.
Both the Bend Area Habitat and Housing Works have been successful in creating a variety of opportunities for lower and moderate income homeowners. Habitat has constructed 71 homes in the past 18 years. Housing Works' Family Self-Sufficiency program has placed over 25 households in Habitat homes over the past decade.
