Stimulus, state funds to renovate Section-8 rentals

SALEM, Ore. - More than $6 million from federal stimulus funding, state bonds and other government assistance programs is being used to preserve three Section 8 housing complexes in three cash-strapped Oregon communities.

On Friday, Oregon's State Housing Council approved funding for three USDA Rural Development apartment complexes in Hermiston, Ontario and Boardman. Renovations to the units will make 138 affordable housing units available to low-income families.

"We believe it's important for every Oregonian to have a safe, clean place to live," said Victor Merced, director of Oregon Housing and Community Services, the state agency that oversees the distribution of these funds.

For Maggie LaMont, chairperson for the State Housing Council, this stimulus-dollar allocation now means more money from the federal government down the road: "These awards will ensure that [Oregonians] continue to have quality, affordable housing while keeping federal subsidies flowing to the state." She said this effort is a show of support for "the very lowest income Oregonians."

All owned by Sagebrush Affordable Housing, the three complexes are:

• Boardman - Boardman Apartments is a 12-unit apartment complex with nine units devoted to low-income Section 8 housing, known federally as project-based rental assistance. The complex, originally constructed in 1972, will receive an additional three units of rental assistance from Rural Development. Rehabilitation costs are approximately $60,000 per unit.
   
• Hermiston - Buttercreek Apartments, built from 1974 to 1975, is currently a 91-unit complex with 70 Section-8 units. Studio units will be converted to one- and two-bedroom units for 86 total units. Rural Development will provide an additional 15 units of project-based rental assistance. Rehabilitation costs are approximately $28,616 per unit.
  

• Ontario - Fairview Apartments, built in 1981 and 1985, is a 40-unit complex with nine units of project-based rental assistance. Rural Development will provide an additional three. Rehabilitation costs are approximately $31,625 per unit.

Residents of these apartments will be eligible for the Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit Program, which lowers the cost of construction financing by up to 4 percent and reduces tenant rents by an amount equal to the savings that result from Sagebrush's lower interest rate.

Meanwhile, the Low-Income Weatherization Program funding recieved by the developer will be used to increase energy efficiency by "bringing old units up to or above code and enabling new construction to be built to standards greater than code when energy savings justify the additional investment," according to a press release from the Oregon Housing and Community Services.

On Dec. 8, Sagebrush's projects were approved for $389,000 in annual 4 percent federal subsidy and approximately $4.8 million in Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit funding. On Sept. 25, the Housing Council approved approximately $5.3 million in Tax Credit Assistance Program funding. Tax Credit Assistance Program loans are funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to address diminished capital investments toward low-income housing tax credit projects.

On Dec. 18, the development company for the upgrades - Chrisman Development & Management of Enterprise, Ore. - received its own set of funding. It was approved for "Pass-Through Revenue Bond" financing, Housing Preservation funds, Housing Trust Funds and Weatherization funds to acquire and rehabilitate the three complexes. As a result of receiving the Housing Trust Fund grant, Chrisman Development is required to provide 25 years of affordable housing.