REDMOND, OR -- Redmond City Councilors are expected to sign an agreement Tuesday, to sell a nearly two-acre parcel just north of downtown. "The goal is to convey to Housing Works that property," says Deputy City Manager John Roberts, "To construct a 44- to 48-unit affordable housing complex. The purpose of Tuesday’s meeting is to have the Council approve the purchase agreement."

The vacant lot sits just south of Grocery Outlet on NW 5th Street. Initial discussions over a possible affordable housing complex at the site stirred up a dispute over the shared property line. Roberts says the city and neighbor worked to resolve the issue, "And we have come to a tentative agreement that meets each other’s needs." 

Redmond's Urban Renewal Agency purchased the property in 2016, for  $676,000. Under the purchase agreement, Housing Works would pay $650,000, with $450,000 of that coming from federal grants secured by the city last fall. Roberts says the plan helps the city meet a real affordable housing need in Redmond, "And, on top of that, such a project fits well into our Urban Renewal-Midtown Plan, and will help create some livability in that part of our downtown core." He believes the housing complex will be the start of improvements in the Midtown district, "[The] Historic hotel is a catalytic project for main street downtown, future additions to the hospital area are catalytic for our hospital district. This project would be catalytic for Midtown."

It could be another year and a half before construction would begin.