Breaking New Ground OREGON’S STATEWIDE HOUSING PLAN

~~“The Workforce Housing Initiative, led by the Governor’s Regional Solutions Cabinet, was designed to form partnerships between local communities, the business sector and private developers to address the housing shortage for working families in Oregon. The Workforce Housing Initiative focuses on workforce housing for incomes between 60% and 120% of AMI, where there are few dedicated funding sources and the market is underproducing housing. The Regional Solutions Cabinet, which includes the directors of OHCS and several other statewide agencies, identified tools to support workforce housing through public-private partnerships, including access to loans, grants and targeted technical assistance. Five state agencies pooled $2.05 million in funding for pilot programs. Five projects in locations around the state were selected from among 31 applications. Each project addresses different barriers, but they share a focus on employer engagement, as well as the potential for scaling up and replication across the state. In total, they will provide approximately 115 Oregonians with housing opportunities that will allow them to live in or near the communities they are employed in.”