Local nonprofit opens Oro Vista Village, a $5.6 million project built in nine months for low-income older adults

By Damian Mann for Ashland.news

An elderly man who lives out of his car is about to move into a brand-new, low-income housing project in Talent that went from start to finish in nine months.

“It’s been such a labor of love,” said Stephanie Hooper, CEO for AGE+, a nonprofit organization that has built two similar 55-plus projects and held an open house and ribbon-cutting Thursday morning at Oro Vista Village.

Located at 600 South Pacific Highway, the new community, which received a certificate of occupancy on Wednesday, offers 26 units, which are 550 square feet and feature a bathroom, bedroom, living room, kitchen, and laundry facilities. Each of the units is designed for wheelchair accessibility and has features such as roll-in showers, flat entryways, and wide doorways. Pets are allowed.  All 26 units have tenants lined up, and Age+ has received more applications than available units, pointing to the demand for this type of housing.

Hooper said she would be picking up the keys for the units after the open house and hoped tenants could move in by Thursday night or Friday morning.

She said providing a key for the elderly man who lives out of his car illustrates the urgent need for this type of project. She said many elderly people struggle to find affordable housing, and she hopes that other types of similar projects in the valley can be built if her organization can find a flat, one- to two-acre site.

The total cost for Oro Vista was about $5.6 million, or roughly $200,000 per unit, and state grants through Oregon Housing and Community Services paid for it.

“We don’t have any debts,” Hooper said. “To get this puppy built is as close to textbook as far as developments go.”
She said early in the project a land deal hit a rough spot.

“This project might not have happened if not for (Rep.) Pam Marsh,” Hooper said.

Marsh, who helped keep the land deal together for the project and helped spearhead legislation to fund projects like this one, said, “Some mornings make you smile, and this is one of them.”

She said the Oro Vista project is a model for the types of project that two recent pieces of legislation envisioned.
House Bill 3589, approved this year, puts $24 million toward affordable housing projects for seniors and the disabled.

This bill would work in tandem with House Bill 3506, which provides $3 million to retrofit existing homes to make them more senior-friendly.

Marsh said a tsunami of seniors will need housing in the coming years and available housing for them is scarce.

According to information provided previously by Marsh, Oregon has 807,000 adults age 65 and older, which is expected to hit 1.28 million by 2050.

“We know we need to build housing in a different way,” she said. “It’s a population in great peril if we don’t provide for them.”

Suncrest Homes in Talent oversaw the construction of the project, and the units were built off-site by Blazer Modular Construction in Aumsville, Oregon.

Hooper said Suncrest was particularly helpful in lining up skilled workers and making sure the project stayed on track as well as keeping in touch with Age+.

“They would end the call and ask, “Is there anything else we can do for you,’” she said, expressing her appreciation.  Each unit will rent for $795 a month, which includes all utilities except electricity. In addition to the units, there is also a community room.

Eligibility criteria include being 55 or older, with up to $36,900 annual income for a single person and $42,180 for two people, and assets of less than $5,000. The income qualifications are based on 60% of area median income.

Talent City Council President Eleanor Ponomareff said this is the second Age+ housing development in Talent, and the city waived fees to help build Oro Vista.

“Age+ has been an excellent partner,” she said.

Ponomareff pointed out that many people in the valley assume that things are back to normal after the devastating Almeda Fire of 2020, which destroyed nearly 2,500 residences.

She said there is still much work to be done to replace the lost housing

AGE+, which has a board of directors that includes former Ashland Mayor Julie Akins, opened a 22-unit project at 41 Suncrest Road in Talent last year, and also has a 24-unit complex in Madras.

Beth Mitchell, AGE+ communications director, said her organization is currently looking for other land that could provide the opportunity to build more housing for seniors.

She said the immediate goal is to get the Oro Vista units occupied.

“We hope to get them in as soon as possible,” she said.

Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at dmannnews@gmail.com.

Oct. 20: This story has been corrected to reflect the cost of the project, which was $5.6 million, or roughly $200,000 per unit. Beth Mitchell’s title is communications director and AGE+ is spelled in capital letters.