The site will also include a commons area and family room, resting on a 35-acre site owned by KHA that has had new housing construction previously completed.

Additionally, two foreclosed derelict homes in Klamath Falls are slated to be demolished and replaced with a three-apartment structure and three-bedroom home.

The project is at least 18 months in the making, funded through tax credits provided by the Internal Revenue Service grants to each state. Credits are distributed by the state in competitive bids; KHA acquired a credit from Oregon and sold it to Alden Torch Capital as the project primary investor.

Luckenbill and Drayton Associates, based in Redmond, are the developers, while a construction loan is being provided through Umpqua Bank and a permanent mortgage through Network of Affordable Housing (NOAH).

“It’s complicated,” laughed Diana Otero, executive director of KHA. “It’s a tax credit project where we sell the credit to an investor which pays for construction of low-income housing. There are three different banks involved. After the federal election bank markets changed and we lost our original investor, so we had to find another investor. We had hoped to be underway by June.”

The Sky Meadows project, which is budgeted at approximately $5 million, is slated to be completed by October 2018 barring setbacks. Construction is expected to continue through the winter, with Otero noting that plans call for foundations and crawl spaces rather than a concrete slab approach, which is easier to complete and build upon during winter months.

Otero calls the new properties “Workforce Housing” rather than low-income homes, where tenants can make up to 60 percent of lower-median salary to be eligible for the rentals.

For the two foreclosure homes acquired by KHA, both of which have sat vacant for at least four years, each are scheduled to be demolished next week to make room for new property rentals.

One foreclosed home to be converted into a triplex is located on North 8th Street near Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and another site on Tunnel Street near Oregon Avenue will be leveled to make room for a two-garage, three bedroom family home.

Tentative plans exist to expand the 35-acre property on Homedale Avenue with additional construction after the initial Sky Meadows project is completed, though Otero said that is likely at least five years away from starting.

While the 36 new properties don’t completely solve a severe shortfall of available rentals in Klamath Falls, it helps expand options and may free up other properties currently occupied. Properties being built range from one to three-bedroom rentals.

“In talking with property managers, vacancy rates in Klamath Falls are currently less than two percent,” estimates Otero.

“Not everyone will be eligible to rent our housing, but people who can afford nice places may now be able to acquire them more easily if someone is occupying them while barely squeaking by because they can’t really afford it. Now they can move into one of our rentals which frees up their previous home for higher income tenants.”

Not counting the new Sky Meadows properties, KHA oversees 201 rentals in Klamath Falls, Merrill, Bonanza and Lakeview, many of which are subsidized with reduced rates based on people’s individual income.

Additionally, KHS provides 825 vouchers to individuals to help pay rent, 57 of which are specifically dedicated to veterans. Some of the properties owned by KHA are also set aside for veterans.

To read this article and others on the H&N website, please refer to the link below:

Low-Income Housing Relief On Its Way (H&N)