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53 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, January 28, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 3, 2004 Floyd Pawlowski, a board member of Rogue Valley Community Development Corp., walks past one of the three houses that will be demolished to make way for a new Southern Oregon University dorm. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Ashland homes face the wrecking ball By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune Three perfectly nice Ashland houses need a home fast, or they will be demolished. Originally there were eight homes, all rentals owned by Southern Oregon University along Indiana and Madrone streets, which, to make way for new residence halls, had to be either demolished or moved — preferably moved. They got bids to move only three of them, from Rogue Valley Community Development Corp., a nonprofit that moves and renovates them for much-needed low-income housing. But RVCDC has run into a problem — they can’t find land in Ashland or Medford to put the homes on. Advertisement "Our board of directors, which includes a couple of real estate agents, has exhausted all possibilities in Ashland and Medford and we have one message to the public — help! We’re getting desperate," said Ron Demele, RVCDC director. The group is seeking flag lots, dividable backyard lots or the unlikely full residential lot and will pay fair market value for them. They move the house to the site, place it on a foundation and spend six months renovating it, "until it’s the best house on the block," Demele said. "So many people want to see affordable housing so regular working families can afford to stay here, especially in pricey Ashland," he added. "But what we all need to understand is that when we talk about low-income families — that’s you and me. Forty-two percent of adults here can qualify to buy these homes." Since 1991, RVCDC has relocated 10 homes in Ashland and 10 in Medford. Their latest, three college-owned homes on Hersey Street in Ashland, sold for around $132,000, a quantum drop from Ashland’s entry-level homes, which start at about double that. Assisting the move into home ownership for the working poor are 1 percent, no-down loans from the federal Rural Development program, which applies only to cities with less than 20,000 population. Ashland is right at that limit. To qualify for the low-income homes, the income limits are $29,200 for one adult, $33,350 for two adults and $37,500 for three adults. "These people can’t afford what’s on the market here today," said Demele. "But this isn’t welfare and they’re not what you think of as poor people. They’re the people who work at the caf�s, city and county governments, the university, the newspapers and, of course, all the shops." Phoenix and Talent don’t have enough correctly-zoned small lots available, he said. RVCDC thought Medford would have the land, but "it’s gotten real tight there." The SOU homes are being rented to about 20 students, who will have to relocate. The new dorms, across from Forest Hall, will house twice that number of students, Demele said. The five houses not sold to movers will be demolished at a cost to the school of $3,000 to $7,000 each, said SOU contract administrator Beth Sunnich. "We’ve got May and June to get these houses out of here, or they’re going to be destroyed," said Demele. "We’ll take any legal lot." The houses are at 633 and 647 Indiana St. and 1380 Madrone St. To contact RVCDC, call Demele at 821-0975. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers