About 70 people turn out seeking more information about proposed 90+ unit project on practice athletic field

By Damian Mann for Ashland.news

A broad alliance of Ashland leaders continued their pitch Thursday for a proposed 90-plus unit affordable housing development that could boost enrollment at schools.

At the Ashland High Library, across the street from the proposed 4.18-acre project site at the southeast corner of South Mountain Avenue and East Main Street, about 70 people generally voiced support for the concept, though they had questions about the project’s complexity at what was billed as a listening session hosted by the Sunstone Housing Collaborative.

“Ashland has needed a project like this for 30 years,” said George Kramer, who was in the audience.

He said this project addresses a number of local goals for housing for school workers and families and also could improve the tax base.

Steven Essig, president of the Ashland chapter of Oregon School Employees Association, said this project would help people who work in Ashland schools live in Ashland.

He said a majority of the employees who work for the school district can’t afford to live here. “I make $38,000 (a year),” Essiq said. “My rent is $1,610 (a month).”

The proposed development, which would offer housing at around 60% of median income on average, would include ground floor commercial space for a childcare facility and community space, playground, and green spaces, in addition to apartments ranging from studio to three-bedroom housing.

The units will be available as rentals or potential ownership, depending on the housing unit, and a land trust will ensure the units remain affordable.

Preliminary drawings show a number of multi-story buildings in the project, including four-story buildings.

At this point, the development is still in the concept phase and no contracts or disposition and development agreements (DDAs) have been signed.

Making their case for the project are the Sunstone Housing Collaborative, established by two members of the Ashland School Board (Jill Franko and Dan Ruby); Portland-based Edlen & Co.; Ashland-based Arkitek: Design and Architecture; and Outlier Construction. 

The housing development is intended for residents earning less than 120% of area median income, with a large share expected to be at 80% or less of median income, or a household earning $68,400 annually or less, according to statistics provided during the presentation.

Ashland resident Justin Donovan questioned whether the project would offer the benefits being touted. “It’s not guaranteed,” he said.

Kramer shot back, “It is guaranteed.”

Donovan said he thinks it’s a mistake that the school district would part with a 4.18-acre field for less than it could be sold for on the open market.

“Those are $3 million to $4 million fields —That’s where it falls off the rails.”

He suggested the project be located on a different property, suggesting land next to Willow Wind Community Learning Center at 1497 East Main St.

Greg Williams, who developed Verde Village in Ashland as affordable housing, said he he has seen first hand how difficult it is to build affordable housing in Ashland.

He said he didn’t see another property in Ashland that would be capable of this kind of development.

After the meeting, Williams responded to Donovan by saying that the property next to Willow Winds is outside the city’s urban growth boundary and bringing into city limits and rezoning it would add more complexity to the project and further delay it.

Ashland School Board Member Dan Ruby said the property value is not as important as the development of affordable housing.

“The value is not in the land, but in the increase in enrollment,” he said.

Ruby said the housing in the development is designed for families, though it would be open to all ages and backgrounds, and it is anticipated that people will only live in it for a short period of time while they are putting their kids through school.

Ruby said enrollment has been on a downward trend in Ashland since 2001, leading to the closure of two elementary schools, Briscoe and Lincoln.

“The root cause is the lack of affordable housing,” he said.

He said the development, which would place the land into trust, will ensure it remains affordable into the future, though he expects that families will only live in the housing for a relatively short period of time until their kids grow up.

“We don’t want housing where people are going to stay in it forever,” he said.

Krista Palmer, executive director of Sunstone Housing Collaborative, said the project would address another concern for local residents.

“We all recognize there is a severe lack of child care in Ashland,” she said.

Palmer said a collaboration with the Oregon Child Development Coalition will establish a child care center during the first phase of the project. The center will have early childhood learning for 20 children aged 3-5, and another area for 24 infants to toddlers

Another benefit to the project is addressing the need for about 150 students in the school district who do not have stable housing, Palmer said.

Ashland resident Chris Brown of Arkitek told the audience, “This isn’t a for-profit investment scheme.” 

As a local soccer coach, Brown said he understands the concerns about losing a soccer field where the project is proposed, but he thinks there are opportunities to practice in other areas of town.

He said he has coached youth in the community who could not afford to play soccer.

Matt Edlen, a partner with Edlen and Co., said he and others have been “pushing, pushing, pushing” to answer the needs of the community to make the housing affordable, to provide accessibility for the disabled, including in the playground design, and to make it sustainable.

Fire resiliency is another important consideration in the design.

Edlen, who is the son-in-law of Greg Williams, said this is just the early phase of the design of project. If all goes well, construction could start in 2026 with people moving in around 2027.

Edlen said many more meetings will be held with the community.

He said the project will require different funding mechanisms, depending on the income levels that will be served.

“We’re looking at a blended average of 60% of median income,” he said.

Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected].