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Affordable housing project gets funding Friday Apr 20, 2018 at 1:26 PM Apr 20, 2018 at 1:26 PM By Tran NguyenAshland Daily Tidings Ashland City Council has awarded $400,000 to a Medford-based nonprofit to help in its efforts to build at least 25 units of affordable housing behind the newly opened Rogue Credit Union branch at 1661 Ashland St. ColumbiaCare is a primary provider of mental health services for Jackson Care Connect. It received $100,000 from Ashland’s Community Development Block Grant and $300,000 from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to cover some costs in land acquisition, construction and permit applications, according to a city staff report. “I’m very impressed with the services that ColumbiaCare provides,” Councilor Jackie Bachman said. “I feel very positive about moving forward with these grants.” The project, anticipated to be finished in October 2019, has received support from a number of nonprofits and government agencies, including AllCare Health, Jackson County Health and Human Services and Jackson Care Connect. According to the group’s application to the city, Oregon Housing and Community Services granted the development $1.25 million to cover construction costs. The project will use a bank loan to cover the remainder of the project’s $3.8 million cost, according to ColumbiaCare. It proposes to build an affordable housing complex with 25 to 32 units, including as many as 13 units for low-income individuals suffering from mental illness. The number of units will be determined through the city’s permit application process. The complex, called Rogue Ridge Apartments, would be staffed with professionals to provide special care to those tenants. The remaining units would be available to those who earn no more than 60 percent of the median family income, according to its application. The complex would be on a 1.09-acre lot at 1651 Ashland St., behind the new branch of Rogue Credit Union, which will have a grand opening May 10. The lot is within the area the city has identified as “Transit Triangle” — an area where the city is seeking zoning to encourage more affordable units. Last year, the Ashland Planning Commission initially denied the credit union’s request for an exception to divide its lot for a potential affordable housing development. The credit union appealed the decision to City Council, pleading that the exception would bring benefits to the community. The council unanimously overturned the decision in March. A credit union representative said the credit union and ColumbiaCare are still in negotiations, but declined to elaborate. “We are in very early stages of the process,” credit union spokeswoman Kelsey Esquela said. “We can say that we have every intention to partner with a nonprofit.” According to its proposed timeline, ColumbiaCare anticipates finishing the land acquisition — for $650,000 — with Rogue Credit Union by July and breaking ground in early 2019. It’s still required to go through a building permit process, which would include a zone change request, according to staff report. ColumbiaCare didn’t respond to a request for comment. ColumbiaCare is among six nonprofits who received grant funding from the council this week — Rogue Valley Habitat for Humanity got $50,000 for land acquisition, Ashland Housing Opportunities received $49,653 to renovate its housing complex, Options for Homeless Residents of Ashland was granted $19,000 for a community needs assessment and other planning fees, Maslow Project received $7,143 for operation costs, and St. Vincent De Paul got $16,655 to fund emergency rent and deposit assistance. The council on Tuesday also approved the long-planned sale of a property on Clay Street to the Housing Authority of Jackson County. According to staff report, the sale — for $268,238 — will not include the land where the cottonwood tree that was named “Tree of the year” in 2013 is located. HAJC has said it will use the land to develop workforce housing. According to city staff, the organization is still in negotiation with the parks department to also acquire the adjacent 2.5-acre parcel. “(HAJC) is looking for land to be able to build 50 affordable housing units in Ashland,” Acting City Administrator Adam Hanks said. “If they can’t acquire the adjacent land, they can still look for a different site and meet their requirement through a ‘scatter site.’” Revenue from the sale is expected to be about $250,000 and would be transferred to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. —Reach reporter Tran Nguyen at 541-776-4485 or [email protected]. Follow her on twitter @nguyenntrann.