(Crews recently completed 21st Street off of Highway 126 in Redmond. The road provides access to the Mountain View Village site | Photo courtesy of Mountain View Community Development)
A village of 75 homes in Redmond received a green light from Oregon Housing & Community Service’s Housing Stability Council Friday, March 6.
The council unanimously agreed to fund Mountain View Community Development’s (MVCD) request for just over $23 million to develop homes for formerly unhoused people with a disability, along with community spaces and on-site services. The project is planned on 9.5 acres near the Redmond Airport, which Deschutes County has leased to the nonprofit for 65 years. The project now moves into the eligibility process, where final funding will be established.
“We are thrilled about this decision and grateful to the Housing Stability Council,” Mountain View Community Development executive director Rick Russelll said. “We’ve learned from our Safe Parking & Microshelters participants that there simply isn’t enough housing that they can afford, even though they can pay something in rent. The state’s funding commitment will help us not only build the village and its infrastructure but operate it for 20 years. We’re thankful that the state of Oregon is committed to helping our unhoused neighbors.”
He added that MVCD and other service providers have seen a growing senior population who spend years on housing waiting lists. He expects that most of the residents in the village will be seniors. It is too early for people to be put on the list for the village now. Russell said he expects to break ground on the project in 2026.
The village will include 68 homes for formerly homeless people, where they will pay a portion of their income as rent. The other homes — which will not be paid for with OHCS funds — will be available at market rate for people who want to live in the village as an informal support system and bringing a stabilizing presence.
“This development really does show what a real solution would look like for stable housing paired with supportive services,” stability council member Kristy Willard said prior to the vote. “I really am super impressed with reading up on this project, so kudos to the developer on this. This is what (Permanent Supportive Housing) to me should look like …”
“Solving the affordability crisis Oregonians are facing demands that we address housing supply,” said OHCS Executive Director Andrea Bell. “In all corners of the state, we need to be united in delivering solutions that ensure every Oregonian has a safe, decent, and affordable place to live.”
While Mountain View Community Development is glad to be providing affordable housing, the project represents more, Russell said. “It’s the power of community — not just housing units.
“From the beginning, this project has been a collaboration, he said. “It began when Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch asked us to research how this property could best be used to address our
homelessness challenge; Deschutes County provided us a 65-year ground lease, and we are working with local builders on building the houses themselves.”
In addition to dedicated onsite office space for staff, the development also includes a flexible community space for activities such as tenant meetings, community-building events, or group workshops.
Laundry services, green space, community gardens, and dog runs are centrally located, with additional flex space for social gatherings. Picnic tables and additional seating areas have been placed with meandering walkways throughout the development to encourage small gatherings amongst sub-communities and reduce social isolation. And a nearby bus stop will be available for residents to use.
About Mountain View Community Development:
Mountain View Community Development is a nonprofit organization that empowers people to leave homelessness by providing safe community, personalized case management, and pathways to permanent housing. In the last two and half years, the organization has rehoused more than 100 people. MVCD runs the Central Oregon’s largest Safe Parking Program and attributes its high rates of rehousing to individualized case management.
