(Photo courtesy of Hayden Homes)
Hayden Homes has unveiled a new community in Bend called Parkside Place, aimed at improving connectivity and providing housing for income levels that are neglected or underrepresented in the current housing market.
The affordability achieved at Parkside Place is a direct result of an innovative multi-year public-private partnership between Hayden Homes and the City of Bend made possible by HB 4079, passed in 2016. This community will help to meet Oregon Housing Needs Analysis goals for Bend that outline the need to build 7,474 new homes for the 81-120% AMI income level over the next 20 years.
In 2016, the Oregon Legislature passed HB 4079, which formed a pilot program aimed to help cities build affordable housing. The program allows two cities to add new housing units on lands currently outside their urban growth boundaries (UGBs) without going through the normal UGB expansion process. The selected cities can use an expedited UGB process if at least 30 percent of the newly built housing is affordable and the newly added land is protected for this use for at least 50 years. Bend was selected in 2018 for the pilot program.
According to Deb Flagan, Hayden Homes’ vice president of community engagement and giving, the process in Bend saw a somewhat rocky start. The City of Bend had some difficulty finding a development company that could tackle the project at the scale and pricepoint it needed to be at. Flagan says that after many conversations with the City, they accepted the opportunity to develop this community.
“After evaluating, we decided that it was going to be us or no one for this pilot project,” said Flagan. “That’s why we entered into it. It’s an incredibly important opportunity to see if this is viable and to provide real info back to the state to see if this can be a tool for affordable and market rate housing in the future, across other Oregon communities.”
A unique caveat of this bill is that while it incentivizes workforce and affordable housing, it does not exclusively do so by developing rental properties. “Many of the bills and implementations that the state has done prior to this have largely been focused around rentals,” said Flagan. “HB 4079 encourages homeownership as well as rentals, with a mix of income levels as well. We are very excited about Parkside Place, as it integrates many different types of housing.”
Those kinds of housing include both affordable and market rate rental units like apartments, as well as cottages, duplexes and homes for purchase. This diversity of housing options is complemented by a requirement within HB 4079 that requires “complete communities.”
Parkside Place is within walking distance of both groceries and a medical center (Safeway and St. Charles Family Care Clinic) and features walking trails within the development to connect the community and provide ease of access for residents. There is a 4.95 acre park within the community and a water canal with a trail alongside.
At its core, Parkside Place offers Bendites a clear and accessible path to homeownership. In a housing market with prices that make homeownership seem unreachable to many locals, Parkside Place provides a rare solution.
“This community offers not just housing, but homeownership, to working class people,” said Flagan. “Providing opportunities like this is essential for the health of our community, as many if not most homeownership opportunities have escaped the median wage earner. For this very reason, it has become challenging to recruit qualified candidates such as teachers or nurses. Our goal is to give people like this a path towards staying local and investing in their own community.”
“Parkside Place has achieved a level of affordability for Central Oregon families that is almost unheard of in our community today,” said Brett Swanson, regional director of Hayden Homes. “When government and market rate builders collaborate, we can create life-changing affordable homeownership opportunities, and we’re so excited for the families who will soon make this new community their home.”
“Parkside Place has achieved a level of affordability for Central Oregon families that is almost unheard of in our community today,” said Brett Swanson, regional director of Hayden Homes. “When government and market rate builders collaborate, we can create life-changing affordable homeownership opportunities, and we’re so excited for the families who will soon make this new community their home.”
