The small community of Talent, Oregon, was decimated in 2020. Roughly 60% of the commercial spaces and 700 homes were destroyed.
Overall, the Labor Day wildfires that spread through the Rogue Valley scorched more than 2,500 homes, with Talent among the hardest hit.
As part of the region’s recovery, the city recently celebrated the opening of Renaissance Flats, a 72-unit affordable housing development built with helping wildfire survivors in mind.
“Our community has been focusing on affordable housing for 10 years,” says Darby Ayers-Flood, mayor of Talent. “Renaissance Flats is an example of the kind of affordable housing that makes authentic change in our community.”
It’s one of the notable properties built by Commonwealth Development Corp. last year. The firm completed construction on 11 affordable housing communities and started construction on 12 others in 2023, making it No. 21 on the AHF 50 developers list this year.
Renaissance Flats has been a rewarding project that helps meet the large need for housing in the region, says Kristi Morgan, a principal at Commonwealth, which is planning to build another development in the area.
Key partners in the $24.3 million Renaissance Flats developments include Oregon Housing and Community Services, Legacy Bank, The Richman Group, NOWIA Unete, ACCESS, and Cascade Management.
Ownerership Change
Morgan leads the The Commonwealth Cos. along with principal Chris Jaye. They’ve worked together for 11 years, having previously owned Mirus Partners, a development company that merged with Commonwealth in 2018.
They have continued to lead and co-own Commonwealth, which is comprised of development, construction, and architectural design companies among other smaller entities.
In a big shift for the company, their third partner sold his interests in Commonwealth to Morgan last year. As a result, Commonwealth has become one of the largest, majority woman-owned affordable housing development companies in the country.
The amicable parting has opened up new opportunities for the company. One benefit of this change has been the ability to elevate other team members within the organization. The leaders also hope the firm is more nimble to adapt to market changes. Also, as a woman-owned enterprise, Commonwealth is Women's Business Enterprise National Council-certified, making it eligible to access additional resources.
Morgan and Jaye have collaborated to make a lot of decisions over the last 11 years. “I would say almost every time we get to the same spot,” says Jaye, who worked as a low-income housing tax credit syndicator earlier in his career.
Morgan’s career has centered around the development side of the business. Right out of college, she started at a small mortgage brokerage and tax credit development company and shortly thereafter as an affordable housing developer at The Great Lakes Cos. In 2005, she formed her own development company, Silverstone Partners, and in 2013 partnered with Jaye to form Mirus Partners. Morgan has personally developed more than $305 million in affordable housing, netting over 2,900 units. Now, she takes great pride in mentoring the next generation of affordable housing developers and support staff and creating a “family” culture of teamwork and collaboration.
Eyeing the Future
Active in 18 states, Commonwealth has developed more than 10,000 affordable homes over the years. In 2023, it completed 11 diverse projects involving new construction communities for seniors and families as well as rehabilitation work.
The firm is also adept at adapting historic buildings into affordable housing. A recent example is the award-winning Spartan Lofts, the preservation of a landmark school into a 40-unit affordable housing development in Sparta, Wisconsin.
These old schools tend to be in good locations, and classroom sizes are adaptable to apartments. They also have unique features such as gymnasiums, wide hallways, and even wooden lockers that the firm strives to preserve, according to Morgan.
Like other affordable housing organizations, Commonwealth has faced rising construction costs, escalating operating costs, and other steep challenges. The developer worked to adjust its underwriting to reflect the latest “new world” conditions. In one move, the team has expanded its third-party relationships to better position the firm with insurance providers and others, says Jaye.
In some cases, it has also been partnering with a single regional general contractor to handle the bulk of its work in an area to be more efficient.
“It’s building stronger teams whether it’s management companies or general contractors,” Morgan says. “It’s trying to build people and teams so they’re all at the table working with us.”
Despite the recent industry challenges, the executives say they are bullish about the future. They hope to start construction on about 12 developments with more than 800 affordable units this year.
Commonwealth will be looking at entering two new states, Kansas and Nevada.
“I feel very good about the deals we’re closing this year and underwriting going forward,” Jaye says.
The keys will be remaining nimble to take on opportunities, being smart about how to approach construction, and always improving as an operator, he says.
The firm will strive to maintain its consistency in the year ahead, according to Morgan.
“We’ve done a fair amount of development in affordable housing, and we want to continue to do that,” she says.
