Garden View Apartments
DEVELOPMENT SCOPE
New construction of a 48-unit affordable housing community serving very-low-income seniors, including veterans and people living with HIV-AIDS.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Formed in 1979, Linn-Benton Housing Authority (LBHA) has served low-income residents in Linn and Benton counties for over 35 years. Straddling the cities of Corvallis and Albany, LBHA’s service area covers nearly 3,000 square miles and is home to more than 200,000 people. In rural Lebanon, 19 miles east of Corvallis, LBHA’s newest housing community provides affordable homes, community building opportunities, and access to health care and other essential services to 48 very-low-income seniors. Garden View Apartments offers preference to two vulnerable groups, senior veterans and seniors living with HIV-AIDS.
Residents of Garden View enjoy amenities designed to support socially active aging in place, from outdoor common areas and raised garden beds to fully adaptable apartment units that accommodate changing needs due to injury, illness, or aging. Residents can even access onsite health-care, using the building’s resident services room to meet privately with staff of partner agency Samaritan Health Services.
Creative Solutions
Finance. HDC’s finance team helped LBHA model the use of multiple funding sources, negotiate with investors, and ultimately assemble a mix of conventional loans, public subsidies, and tax credit equity to fund $12.5 million in development costs. HDC also worked with LBHA and HUD to deliver three project-based Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) rent vouchers to the project; residents of voucher-supported units pay no more than 30% of their incomes toward rent.
Design and Construction. With HDC serving as owner’s rep, the Garden View design and construction team worked closely with LBHA to create a physical environment that supports the needs of aging residents, starting with asking front-line resident services staff about the big and small things that make a difference in residents’ lives. Gathering areas on each floor are set up to accommodate small groups engaged in different activities; a fully equipped community kitchen hosts healthy cooking and eating classes; and an outdoor pavilion, outfitted with locally sourced benches and picnic tables and a flagpole, offers a place where residents can hold ceremonies and celebrations. The team prioritized sustainability, selecting durable materials and incorporating a rooftop photovoltaic system to supply much of the development’s electricity. Garden View exceeds Earth Advantage standards.
SPONSOR
Linn-Benton Housing Authority
LOCATION
Lebanon, Oregon
HDC ROLE
Financial structuring and construction management
DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
→ Bergsund Delaney Architecture and Planning P.C.
→ Meili Construction
→ Oregon Housing and Community Services
→ NOAH (Network for Oregon Affordable Housing)
→ U.S. Bank
→ National Housing Trust Fund
→ HDC Community Fund
FUNDING SOURCES
→ Low-income housing tax-credit equity (9%)
→ HOME funds
→ Oregon Multifamily Energy Program funds
→ Oregon General Housing Account Program (GHAP) funds
→ Blue Sky Pacific Power energy incentive grant
→ Construction and permanent loans
SQUARE FEET
Residential: 45,322
COST
Construction: $8.3 million
Total Development: $12.5 million
TIMELINE
Spring 2015 to Fall 2020