SISTERS, OR -- Sisters School District employees will get priority in the new Woodlands planned community, as a part of a workforce housing initiative. 

“The Sisters School District, the local EDCO, and the City of Sisters reached out to us and asked if we would consider building affordable housing in Sisters. So, we've been working on this partnership for the past six months,” Rooted Homes Executive Director Jackie Keogh tells KBND News the affordable housing non-profit, formerly known as Kor Community Land Trust, is eager to help. “Our homes are going to go for an average of $430,000 compared to The Woodlands current asking prices averaged $700,000,” she says the Sisters district was looking for housing solutions, “They see the need to retain and hire folks who want to be educators but can't afford to live here. And so, we will be giving a preference to Sisters School District employees.”

Rooted Homes helps families who earn too much to qualify for traditional affordable housing programs. “These are the folks that we call our missing middle. Folks who have good jobs, but those jobs just don't pay enough, given the cost of homes in the market,” says Keogh adding they have more plans for the community, “Our goal is to really expand throughout Sisters with our own new construction, as well as subsequent phases of the Woodlands development.”

Two houses in the Woodlands will go to two district staff selected through a lottery conducted by Rooted Homes this fall. They’re expected to move in next spring.  

File Photo: Sisters High School