On the central Oregon coast, finding a house a hospital janitor or nursing assistant can afford is about as hard as it gets. A new project in Lincoln City is trying to change that, nine homes at a time.
Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln County and Samaritan Health Services are teaming up on nine affordable homes on a 1.13-acre lot at 2655 NE Lake Drive, near Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital, the Lincoln Chronicle reported Oct. 18. The project, called Forest Lake Park, gives priority to Samaritan's lowest-paid employees, such as certified nursing assistants, phlebotomists and janitorial staff, and to up to three survivors of the 2020 Echo Mountain Fire.
The two- to four-bedroom homes are expected to cost between $155,000 and $195,000. Adair Homes will build them in three phases, with groundbreaking for the first three homes expected in April.
How the deal came together
When Samaritan agreed to finance and build its Lincoln City hospital in 2020, it did so in exchange for land and buildings owned by the North Lincoln Health District. One piece was this residentially zoned lot, which the hospital system didn't have a use for.
Habitat executive director Lucinda Taylor brought an idea to Dr. Lesley Ogden, chief executive of Samaritan's coast hospitals, and the project took shape from there. Samaritan donated the land, which is estimated to be worth more than $770,000.
"We thought this was an innovative way for Samaritan to work with Habitat to solve multiple problems," Ogden said, listing the need for more workforce housing, homeownership for the lowest-paid members of the hospital's workforce, and buildable land for Habitat.
The Oregon Housing Stability Council approved a $1.87 million grant for the project at its October meeting, part of a statewide batch of approvals. According to the council's meeting packet, the money comes from the state's LIFT homeownership program, the homes will average about $170,000, and completion is expected between mid-2027 and mid-2028. The packet says starter homes in the area average around $450,000.
The project also got a $50,000 grant from Lincoln County, a $73,600 grant from Lincoln City and $17,800 from Lincoln City's brownfields assessment program. Habitat plans to put in $5,000 of its own cash plus about $1.5 million from home sales. Altogether, the project is valued at about $4.3 million.
Land trust model
Habitat will use a land trust model: the homeowner owns the house, and Habitat keeps ownership of the land, which keeps prices low. If a home is ever sold, the next buyer still has to meet affordable housing requirements.
To qualify, buyers must live or work in Lincoln County, earn no more than 80% of the area median income for their household size, and show they can get an affordable mortgage.
"This is our biggest project to date," Taylor said. "We typically have 1-2 homes under construction at a time. This year, we had five homes under construction at four sites. This is the first time we've had this many homes at one location."
Taylor said workforce housing is a particular need on the central coast, where employers often struggle to hire or keep staff because there isn't enough housing.
Habitat is holding information sessions for people interested in the homes. An online session is set for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. In-person sessions are planned at the Samaritan Center of Health Education in Newport from 9 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, and at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital's education conference room in Lincoln City from 9 to 10 a.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29.
"We are hoping other organizations see what we are doing and want to partner with us for more projects," Taylor said.
Why it matters for Contractors
Coastal Oregon needs builders, and this project shows one way housing gets done there: an employer donates land, a nonprofit runs the program and a production homebuilder does the building. Adair Homes is the builder, so trades on the central coast who want in should reach out to Adair about site work, foundations, utilities and finish work across the three phases. The approach is worth watching, too. Hospitals, school districts and other big employers are sitting on land and struggling to house their workers. If more of them follow Samaritan's lead, contractors along the coast could see a steady stream of small, well-funded workforce housing jobs.