A 105-unit affordable housing development built with mass timber has opened in Portland, Oregon.
TimberView VIII is the first of four affordable housing developments planned for the area by Upright Development Works, all with LEED-focused green building practices and materials used throughout.
The new community has studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom layouts that feature radiant heat flooring, which costs approximately 50% less to operate than PTAC (packaged terminal air conditioning) units, which are common in affordable housing properties, according to the development team.
“PTAC saves the developer money upfront and passes the cost along to the tenants,” Upright Development Works CEO Curtis Rystadt said. “Radiant heat is more expensive for the developer upfront, but a significant savings is realized by the tenants, money they can put into retirement or spend in the community where they live.”
In addition, TimberView was one of the projects featured on the 2024 International Mass Timber Conference tour, according to Rystadt.“Mass timber in the United States was developed here in Oregon, and we celebrate that,” he said.
Home to residents earning no more than 60% of the area median income, the development features floor-to-ceiling windows, walk-in closets, and high-end timber accents. The building also has a large community kitchen and event space on the top floor, with a rooftop patio with 180-degree views, including downtown Portland.
The building site was chosen for its proximity to bus lines, MAX light rail, and Interstate 84, as well as grocery shopping and medical services.The ground floor hosts a food hall open to both tenants and the surrounding neighborhood, featuring local food vendors, including Cascadia Taphouse and others to be announced.
“This is the exact kind of thoughtful, intentional, climate-friendly, community-focused development that East Portland so desperately needs,” Portland city councilor Jamie Dunphy said. “We have been told that ‘sustainability’ and ‘affordability’ were conflicting ideas for development, that we must choose one or the other. Our friends at Upright have proven that to be completely wrong. Not only that, but they successfully created affordable family-sized units, not just tiny studios like so many other affordable developments. This is a huge win for the community.”
The approximately $47 million development is supported by a number of funding sources, including $18 million in low-income housing tax credit equity from The Richman Group Affordable Housing Corp.
In addition to allocating the credits, Oregon Housing and Community Services provided $4 million from the Local Innovation and Fast Track program and $2.9 million from the General Housing Account Program. Other funders include Energy Trust of Oregon, the city of Portland, and the Metro agency.
