A new scattered-site development has brought much-needed affordable housing and helped to revitalize three neighborhoods in Klamath Falls, a city in southern Oregon with a population of approximately 20,000.
“The whole state is experiencing a housing crisis, and ours in Klamath Falls is just as severe as some of the biggest cities,” says Diana Otero, executive director of the Klamath Housing Authority, who adds that the city is in need of 200 to 300 housing units for all incomes.
About 1 in 3 households in Klamath Falls are severely rent-burdened, and the city also has the highest percentage of housing built before 1950 in the state. “Even if there’s housing available, it’s not always suitable, appropriate, or affordable,” notes Dee Luckenbill-Cioffi, founding member of Luckenbill-Drayton & Associates.
The Klamath Housing Authority and Luckenbill-Drayton & Associates partnered on Sky Meadows, which adds 36 units targeted for households earning 40%, 50%, and 60% of the area median income to the city’s housing stock. Three different styles of housing are provided, with the main site featuring 10 garden-style apartment buildings with the majority of the units. The development team demolished blighted homes on sites in two separate neighborhoods, replacing them with a townhome-style triplex and a single-family home.
The development also is bringing families back together. Working with the local Department of Human Services, eight units have been set aside for family reunification efforts with a leasing priority for households who have some or all of their children in foster care or who are at risk of facing foster care.
“The top priority is to get these families into stable housing,” says Luckenbill-Cioffi. “That is what this development does.”
The $9 million development was primarily financed with low-income housing tax credits, with equity provided by Hunt Capital Partners through a multi-investor fund.
