Property Purchase

The City of Hood River purchased the property in January 2020 for $1.2M. The Oregon Business Development Department granted $410,000 for the purchase and the remainder was financed by the City. Construction Excise Tax is a repayment source, and other funding sources include local, state and other community partners.

Goals

At the time of purchase the City committed to development of at least 50 housing units for households earning at or below 120% of area median income. Since that the time the city council refined its primary goal and identified additional goals.

Hood River’s Housing Needs

Following adoption of a Housing Needs Analysis in 2015, the City developed a housing strategy and established goals of creating opportunities for a more inclusive and diverse housing inventory.  Elements of the Housing Needs Analysis were updated in 2019.  Key points about housing affordability include:

• Median home prices and median rents have seen steady increases.  Both exceed Oregon statewide levels.
• Hood River will have an ongoing need for housing affordable to lower- and moderate-income households including those making $75,000 or less annually.

• Homeownership rates in Hood River declined recently from 51% to 46%; 54% of Hood River households are renters.
• About 48% of renters are cost burdened, meaning they pay more than 30% of their gross income for housing and may have difficult affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care.
• 77% of people who work in Hood River live elsewhere and commute.

The aerial photograph below depicts Hood River’s city limits (dashed blue line) and Urban Growth Boundary (dashed red line). The 780 Rand Road site is highlighted in yellow.  It is in close proximity to many businesses along Cascade Avenue (US Route 30, the Historic Columbia River Highway), as well as the site of a future school.

Preparation of preliminary development alternatives included evaluation of zoning, utilities, topography and natural features on the site and in the surrounding area, as well as the City’s capital facilities plans for public infrastructure. The Village at Rand Hill neighborhood is located immediately east of the site, and the Maley Subdivision is located to the southwest. There are undeveloped properties to the west and south, and partially developed properties to the north. Public utilities including water, sanitary sewer and stormwater facilities are available to serve the site, but new roads and other infrastructure will need to be constructed. Wetlands and steep slopes will affect where housing and other improvements can be constructed on the site.

The images below describe a variety of housing types. The City anticipates development on the site will feature multi-family housing (apartments) for rental. Shared-equity home ownership (rowhouse/townhouse in a Community Land Trust) may be included if economically feasible.

The preliminary development alternatives incorporate other improvements and amenities including public trails, park space and open space.

The overall process for development of the site is expected to occur like this:

Download this document to review two broad housing market economic topics affecting Hood River.

Factors affecting housing demand:

• What factors influence Hood River’s growth and housing market? Will they change over time?
• What might Hood River look like in the future if current development patterns continue?

Effects of housing production:

• How can Hood River increase housing supply to positively impact housing
  affordability?
• What impact does allowing increased development capacity have on the housing market?
• What’s the relationship between SDC’s and housing prices?