New affordable housing project is breaking ground, and barriers, in Oregon City

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Quality housing, financial stability and community-minded spaces, that’s the goal of a new affordable housing project in Clackamas County.

Two developers came together to make Las Flores a reality.

Ernesto Fonseca runs Hacienda CDC and Eric Paine runs Community Development Partners. Together they’re building Las Flores, an affordable housing complex opening this summer in Oregon City.

171 units, one to four bedrooms, some even dedicated to agricultural workers, all with access to services on site.

For the developers, it’s all about fostering community and financial stability, something which they will help with.

“We save $3 for each dollar that you save into your account, then we try to get you, once you’re settled and stable, to get you into homeownership classes and eventually, you know, certifying you on that we have to we’ll help you to fix your credit,” said Fonseca. “And eventually, you know, we help you to get your mortgage”

But, the situation is of course unique, with two separate developers working together to turn a push for shelter into a push for a better quality of life.

Las Flores is a break from the norm and the first of its kind outside of Multnomah County.

Hacienda CDC is behind several other projects, like Rockwood Village in Gresham and the new Las Adelitas complex in Northeast Portland.

And it couldn’t be done without the support of the taxpayers, legislators, and the federal government who helped get these projects off the ground.

A large share of funding for the project came from Clackamas County’s share of the Metro Regional Affordable Housing Bond, which voters approved in 2018.

“Across this region, we are in the middle of multiple housing crises,” said Metro Councilor Christine Lewis, who represents District 2, which includes Oregon City. “It may look and feel a little different than downtown Portland, but we’re part of all the same problems. We have a lack of affordability, we have homelessness. We have folks who are getting displaced from their current housing and they don’t know where to turn.”