REDMOND, OR -- A mixed-income housing project in northeast Redmond is moving forward. Mayor Ed Fitch hopes builders will break ground on Northpoint Vista - south of the High Desert Sports Complex - later this year.  

"We received now about $8 million from the legislature to put in infrastructure," says Fitch, "We’re working with a developer and with Rooted Homes to do the first phase for affordable housing. It’s going to be a fantastic project. It’ll take a number of years to develop the whole 40 acres."

Recent action by the City Council allows Rooted Homes to apply for more funding for its cottage cluster. Fitch says, "Right now, we’re moving forward with a partition of the property so we can do the first phase. Rooted Homes, which is going to work on the affordable housing tract first, will be submitting an application to the state for some financial assistance, to make sure these housing and these units are affordable in that 80% AMI category." Housing Works also plans a three-story affordable apartment building. "We believe that it’ll help provide housing for those particularly in need who are making the same wages as teachers, nurses, people who work in the retail industry, food and beverage industry. They’re the ones most in need of housing, either rental or buying."

Market-rate homes will be built in future phases. "We do have a stress on affordable housing because of the real estate market and the high prices that now we see in both Bend and Redmond," Fitch tells KBND News, "And the gap between those who can afford to have a home and those that cannot is growing."
The 40-acre parcel was brought into the UGB through an expedited process, as part of a state pilot program designed to stimulate housing development. Redmond was approved for that pilot in 2019.