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Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Broadleaf Arbor taking shape 16-acre housing development at St. Helens
Originally published in The Chronicle Vol. 140 July 20, 2022 JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
A major housing project is taking shape in St. Helens. Located at 2250 Gable Road at the intersection of Gable Road and Columbia River Highway, Broadleaf Arbor is described as a 16-acre, 239-unit affordable housing development and intergenerational community, connecting working adults, families and seniors. It is comprised of 11 buildings, including walk-up style apartment buildings, town homes, a senior housing building and a central community and resident services building. On-site amenities will include common area gathering spaces, such as a teaching kitchen and library, an expansive lawn and playground, car parking and bike storage, and a trail system along the existing wetlands. An early release from developer Community Development Partners (CDP) stated that the new development is critical to addressing the region’s need for affordable housing. “When completed Broadleaf Arbor will provide 239 one-two-and three-bedroom homes to individuals and families earning 30%-60% of the area median income ($29,010-$58,020 for a family of four),” the CDP release stated. For insight into this local major housing development project, The Chronicle reached out to CDP’s Director of Development Jessica Woodruff. The Chronicle: What is the current status of the project: On time and on budget or have there been delays? If so what delays? Jessica Woodruff: The project is currently tracking to a final completion date in late September 2023. The original final completion date was the end of June 2023, so we are about three months behind schedule. The primary reason for the schedule delays stems from the quantity of basalt found on site, far more than was initially discovered during our due diligence. The site has swaths of basalt but also areas that were soft and needed to be over excavated. The basalt requires additional blasting or breaking to remove and to be able to prepare the site for the building pads and utilities. The Chronicle: We understand that the project is utilizing much of the rock and dirt at the site as a recycling effort. How much dirt and rock and how it is being recycled? Woodruff: We are using
Courtesy photo from Community Development Partners
This flyover photo illustrates the 16-acre footprint of Broadleaf Arbor in St. Helens. See more photos with this story at thechronicleonline.com
15,419 tons of fill that has been recycled from the site. The Chronicle: What have been the challenges in building such a large housing project? Woodruff: In this uncertain climate and with a project that stretches over several years, there are elements that are more difficult to predict such as cost escalation, rising interest rates, and a tight labor market. It takes a skilled and dedicated project team to manage a project of this scale in this time of volatility. The Chronicle: What was the actual start date of construction and when is the anticipated date when this project will be done? Woodruff: Start date: August 25, 2021 Anticipated completion date: September 26, 2023 The Chronicle: We understand that the project is being built in phases. Briefly, what are those phases and why that system? Woodruff: The project is being built in phases to be able to move people into their homes in a staged way. We are planning to lease the units as the buildings come online so people can move in quickly and efficiently. The Chronicle: In a release, the 16-acre, 239-unit housing development has been described as “affordable.” Could you give us the range of what the prices will be and what those prices cover? Woodruff: Rents are
Courtesy photo from Community Development Partners
A large hill of dirt from the site is being recycled for use at the property. See more photos with this story at thechronicleonline.com
based on Income Limits for LIHTC & Tax-Exempt Bonds projects in Columbia County. The units will be available to households earning 30% to 60% Area Median Income (AMI). 30% AMI units: These units will have project-based vouchers administered by the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority and potential residents will be able to apply to the project through the NOHA website when the application process opens in October. Income limits are established by HUD and range from $20,310 for a one-person household to $31,350 for a five person household and rent is based on household income. These households will pay 30% of their income in rent. 50% AMI units: 1 BR, 1 BA = $862 (includes parking, water, garbage collection, and hot water heating; electric and internet paid by resident); 2 BR, 1 BA in elevator building = $1,034 (includes parking, water, garbage collection, and hot water heating; electric and internet paid by resident); 2 BR, 1 BA in family housing = $1,024 (includes parking, water, and garbage collection; electric, hot water heating, and internet paid by resident); 3 BR, 2 BA = $1,181 (includes parking, water, garbage collection; electric, hot water heating, and internet paid by resident) 60% AMI units: 1 BR, 1 BA = $1,044 (includes parking, water, garbage collection, and hot water heating; electric and internet paid by resident); 3 BR, 2 BA = $1,433 (includes parking, water, garbage collection; electric, hot water heating, and internet paid by resident)
The Chronicle: Is there a waiting list established for potential tenants? If so, what is the process to be placed on that waiting list? Woodruff: The project currently has an interest list in place - see https://www. broadleafarbor.com/ for more information and to sign up. In the coming months management will establish a waitlist for prospective residents, and the interest list participants will be alerted on the timeline and process to join. The Chronicle: Beyond the housing, what other amenities will we see at this property? Woodruff: The project is an eleven-building affordable apartment building that will provide 239 residential apartments. The unit mix includes 65 one-bedroom (with one non-income manager unit), 101 two-bedroom and 73 three-bedroom apartments, 444 parking spaces, bicycle storage, a central community building adjacent to an expansive lawn and playground, common space in the elevator building that includes a library, teaching kitchen, and courtyard, laundry facilities throughout the project, and specific attention paid to the site including art installations. The site has been designed to take advantage of the wetlands on the property by including a trail that runs along its edge and ample outdoor spaces for recreational opportunities, including the lawn, picnic areas, gardening opportunities, and native and edible plants and trees, giving residents the opportunity to experience
Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chronicle
A look inside one of the unfinished dwellings at Broadleaf Arbor. See more photos with this story at thechronicleonline.com
culturally relevant landscaping. On-site resident services will be led by EngAGE, an organization with 20 years of experience changing lives through transformative affordable, multigenerational apartment communities. On site offerings will be focused on art, wellness, lifelong learning and community engagement. Through a community-wide collaboration of service providers residents will be connected to services that support family stability through educational and employment programs that include; financial stability, school enrollment and food assistance. Broadleaf Arbor has been conceived as a Community for All Ages in the heart of St. Helens and includes: • 16.35 acres, 4.8 acres of protected wetlands • 10 residential buildings • 75 Project Based Vouchers for those households earning 30% AMI or below • 126 family-sized units in five 3-story walk-up apartment buildings • 31 family-sized townhomes divided across four buildings • 82-unit senior elevator building; including a restriction for 55 and older for the non-PBV units and one nonincome manager unit • 444 parking spaces • Earth Advantage Certification which includes energy efficiency and water saving plumbing fixtures The Chronicle: What will be the hallmark of this project? Woodruff: The project is designed as a Community
for All Ages (CFAA). CFAA is a well-planned, intentional community that is a welcoming home for people of all ages. By creating this community, our intent is to advance intergenerational living and promote inclusion. Broadleaf Arbor’s goal is to be a place where the efficacy of a well-planned, intentional community for all ages serves as a replicable, sustainable model, one that illuminates fully what happens when people of all ages live, work, and play together, purposefully, and reap the rewards of intergenerational interdependence for themselves and for the community which is fortunate enough to develop such a place or, even better, places. Reaction
In a published interview in The Chronicle in November 2021, Northwest Oregon Housing Authority (NOHA) Board Chair Nina Reed said, “Affordable housing coupled with community outreach and services improves our new residents’ chance for a productive and happy life.” Community Development Partners CEO Eric Paine said the company has spent the past two years working with NOHA, “understanding the needs of the St. Helens community with the goal of creating an asset for the city, a place where households of all ages can live together and thrive,” Paine said. “The need for affordable workforce and supportive housing in St. Helens and in our region continues to outpace supply, and we are honored to be a part of the solution through a long-term investment in the community.”
Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chronicle
This is one of the housing sections being built at Broadleaf Arbor. See more photos with this story at thechronicleonline.com