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An empty property off Hilyard Street could become 12 units of housing. Councilors also agreed to grant more than $650,000 for two other affordable housing projects elsewhere with a combined 89 units.
A vacant city-owned lot in southeast Eugene could soon be the site of a new affordable housing project.
The Eugene City Council on Monday, July 13, unanimously voted to award Portland-based affordable housing nonprofit Hacienda Community Development Corp. a 0.76-acre property on the northeast corner of 34th Avenue and Hilyard Street. The nonprofit wants to develop 12 two-story, three-bedroom homes for ownership in a project called “Yonkalla Commons.”
Hacienda CDC is in the early stages of financing and planning for the project, which has an estimated development cost of $7 million. The city expects construction to take 18 months.
According to plans, three of the 12 proposed units would be for households earning no more than 60% of the area median income, or $53,160 for a three-person household. The other nine homes would be sold to households earning no more than 80% of the area median income, which amounts to $70,850 for a household of three.
Affordable Housing Production Manager Ellen Meyi-Galloway said the grassy, empty lot has been owned by the city since the 1940s.
The project would operate under a community land trust model, meaning that Hacienda CDC would own the land and residents would own the housing built on it.
Hacienda CDC has built 11 projects in northwest Oregon. Yonkalla Commons would be the Latino-led nonprofit’s first project in Eugene.
Councilor Matt Keating asked about the environmental impact of the project.
Meyi-Galloway said an environmental review of the property found that it is at moderate risk of flooding, which the city asked developers to consider in their project.
The review also found a 0.13-acre wetland on the property, meaning the developers will need to obtain a wetland permit before construction, she said.
“Through that process, they preserve as much of the wetland as they can,” Meyi-Galloway said.
Affordable housing projects get boost
The council also agreed to grant more than $650,000 from the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund to a pair of proposed developments in Eugene with a combined 89 units.
A project called River Road Housing will get $325,439. It is a 45-unit complex at 45 Hunsaker Lane in the Santa Clara neighborhood being developed by mental health nonprofit Laurel Hill Center.
The nonprofit plans to demolish the existing house on the property and build four three-story residential buildings serving low-income people with behavioral health, mental health and substance use concerns, including unhoused people.
Laurel Hill Center and its partners would provide on-site resident services like housing stability guidance, case management and behavioral health support.
Eleven of the one-bedroom homes would be for those earning no more than 30% of the area median income, or $20,650 for a one-person household. The remaining 34 units would serve people earning no more than 60 percent of the area median income, or $41,340.
Eugene officials expect construction to begin in 2027 and the project to wrap up in 2029.
The other development, SquareOne Villages’ 44-unit OUR Village project at 255 Maxwell Road, will get $325,000. The $11 million project combines a community land trust model with a housing cooperative, where residents buy a membership share to the co-op instead of the housing itself.
Per the plans, 12 units would be available to households earning up to 60% of the area median income (a one-person income of $41,340) and 32 units would be for households earning up to 80 percent of the area median income ($55,100 for one person).
Eugene officials expect construction to begin in 2027 and project completion in 2028.
Trust fund
A construction excise tax established in 2019 funds the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Eugene charges developers or property owners 0.5% of the value of permitted work for improvements that result in additional square footage, structures or living space.
The city uses the tax revenue for affordable housing, including gap financing for new developments, purchases of land or property, and assistance with down payments, rent and security deposits.
More than $4 million from the fund will help support the construction of 302 rental units, 56 permanent supportive housing units, and 126 homeownership units. Only 66 of those rentals and 74 of the homeownership units are currently completed and occupied.
The fund has $1.12 million for use in fiscal year 2026. The city offered $650,439 to development projects through its annual Affordable Housing Trust Fund Request for Proposals, released in January.
The city received six development proposals by March, requesting a combined total of more than $3 million.
The fund’s nine-member advisory committee reviewed the proposals and favored River Road Housing and OUR Village for the award.
They passed on funding requests for The Harlow, a 27-unit project on Coburg Road by Cascade Housing Association; the Floral Hill Community Land Trust, a controversial 40-unit DevNW project on Floral Hill Drive; and Lincoln Commons, Red Apple Square LLC’s 75-unit project on Lincoln Street.
In early June, the committee also recommended that councilors consider increasing the construction excise tax rates because available funds have dropped over time.
