BEND, OR -- Two housing projects are moving forward after getting approved for a Multiple Unit Property Tax Exemption, also known as "MUPTE." This week, the Bend City Council cleared the way for the 246-unit Timber Yards project, while the Redmond School Board provided the necessary approval for the 156-unit Redmond Landing. 

Bend City Manager Eric King says the Council granted, "A 10-year exemption for about 240 units of housing that is planned to be built right near the Box Factory, off of Bond and Industrial Way." But he tells KBND News Timber Yards will be the last MUPTE approval in Bend for a while, "We have four projects that are in the queue, but we essentially last month said we want to be careful and not overuse this program because it does have implications on our future revenue." 

King says the purpose of the exemption is to stimulate housing production. MUPTE applications receive an independent review, and only is approved if that review determines the project isn't viable without the tax break. For Timber Yards, he says, "The return on investment without the MUPTE was like 5%. Bare minimum for projects to move forward is about 6%. Even with this MUPTE, it went from 5% to 5.9%; still just shy of the six, but it was enough to make it happen."

Redmond Landing (rendering pictured above) is planned for near SW Umatilla and Canal Blvd., behind Dollar Tree. Redmond Schools Superintendent Dr. Charan Cline acknowledges approving a MUPTE means a loss in tax revenue. But for schools, the impact is spread around the state, "It hurts the school in the same way that it hurts a school in Portland or hurts a school in Medford. Everybody, if you will, would take a little bit of a bite to that." Cline acknowledges schools aren’t the only entity losing out on the tax money, "Fire department doesn’t get their revenue. Parks and Rec doesn’t get their revenue. And that of course concerns those agencies. In fact, the fire department came out and talked about not approving it just for that very reason."

For a MUPTE to be granted, the developer must get approval from 51% of the impacted taxing districts. The City Council had already agreed to the exemption for Redmond Landing, which Cline says is enough for that project to advance. Its apartments will be restricted to renters earning 60% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI). And, the developer has promised an additional benefit to the school district, "They’re giving us a preference for about 10% of the units, for school district employees," says Cline, "So, folks that work for us, maybe folks on the lower end of our pay scale, like bus drivers and secretaries and instructional assistants. Those folks would have the opportunity to live in this unit at a much lower rate than you would pay on the regular market."