SISTERS, OR -- A new affordable housing project is in the works for Sisters. The nonprofit Northwest Housing Alternatives just received a $9.8 million grant from Oregon Housing and Community Services for the Trinity Place development. "This announcement of funding award from OHCS is a massive step in the right direction," says Trinity Place lead developer Clayton Crowhurst, "It gives us and a lot of our other funding partners a ton of assurance that this project is real and moving forward."

He tells KBND News the 40-unit apartment complex will be built on the west side of Sisters, close to schools and other services. Crowhurst says there is a desperate need for family and workforce housing in Sisters Country, "There are plenty of folks who live, work and have kids in school in Sisters, but live in the National Forest outside of town. These are people that want to be members of that community and live there; they just can’t find anything to afford." He notes others commute from Redmond and Prineville to work in Sisters. 

Trinity Place will feature one, two and three bedroom apartments. Income restrictions will range from 50-80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), depending on the unit. "More, that 60 and especially into that 80% range, that might be where you have a one-bedroom unit with a single person. They might be an entry level teacher or firefighter," says Crowhurst.

In addition to the recent OHCS grant, the city has provided some affordable housing funds. "We also were awarded some agricultural worker housing tax credits," says Crowhurst, "We’ve actually been working with the High Desert Food and Farm Alliance, as well as some of our local ag producers in Sisters, to talk with them and explore ideas around providing housing for folks that are growing the food, herding the cattle, planting the trees there in the community." 

The project is still in the very early stages. Crowhurst says designers are still firming up preliminary plans. He hopes construction will begin in late 2024 or early '25. All 40 units will likely fill as soon as they’re available the following year. Crowhurst says, "Every project that I personally work on across coastal, Central and frontier Oregon, we have 50- or 70-person waitlists after we lease up."

Trinity Place is the second Central Oregon project for Northwest Housing Alternatives.