National Equity Fund and Pacific Crest Affordable Housing Partner to Create 96 Units of Much Needed Affordable Housing in High-Rent Bend, Oregon using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits

Phase two of the Canal Commons development is underway to provide new affordable workforce and family housing options for those being priced out of the expensive resort town.

News provided by

National Equity Fund

Oct 26, 2021, 16:23 ET

BEND, Ore., Oct. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Crest Affordable Housing (PCAH) and non-profit tax credit syndicator, National Equity Fund (NEF), recently broke ground on the second phase of Canal Commons, a new development that will provide 96 units of affordable housing for families and workforce households located near Pine Nursery Park in Bend, Oregon once complete.

Phase 1 of Canal Commons, 48 units of affordable housing in Bend, Oregon, developed in partnership with National Equity Fund, Pacific Crest Affordable Housing and First Interstate Bank through investments backed by Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Phase 2 with an 48 additional units to be completed in 2022.

Phase one of the Canal Commons project finished in December 2019 with 48 units and was fully leased by February 2021 with a waiting list of 200+ households, showing the high demand for more affordable housing in the expensive Bend, Oregon market. Phase two is expected to be completed in October 2022 providing the additional 48 units.

The 96-unit apartment community is made up of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments with rents set at 30 - 53% of Area Median Income for 60 years. This translates to monthly estimated rents ranging from $431 - $1,089 (based on HUD figures which change slightly from year to year), with all utilities included. Other amenities include a community building, fitness room, laundry facilities, playground and community garden.

As the population of Bend continues to surge, growing from 76,000 in 2010 to 111,000 in 2020, affordable housing has become harder to come by for working families. In addition to all the standard construction complexities, developing Canal Commons required completing two roadways including parts of Thornhill Lane and Empire Avenue as a condition of the development agreement.

"At PCAH, we are committed to creating solutions that allow residents to remain in their communities among families and friends and near their jobs for the long term," said Rob Roy, co-owner of PCAH. "This is our seventh partnership with NEF and their expertise in leveraging tax credit incentives to fund development has helped us to provide over 300 local affordable housing units in our hometown of Bend."

NEF provided funding for both phases of Canal Commons through investments backed by Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits which subsidize the acquisition, construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income tenants. Oregon Housing and Community Services, City of Bend and First Interstate Bank are investors.

"At National Equity Fund, our vision is that all individuals and families across the country have access to stable, safe and affordable homes that provide a foundation for them to reach their full potential. Partners like Pacific Crest Affordable Housing and First Interstate Bank are helping to make that vision a reality for more communities in need," said Lisa Decker, Investor Relations lead for the Western Region at NEF.

About NEF
National Equity Fund, Inc., based in Chicago, IL is a nonprofit affordable housing investor and one of the nation's largest syndicators of Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Since 1987, NEF has invested more than $18 billion in 2,900+ developments, supporting 200,500 affordable homes. NEF is an affiliate of the nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and has made more than $196 million in grants to support LISC's broad-based community investment efforts throughout the country. For more information, visit www.nefinc.org or https://www.nationalequityfund.org/AnnualReport2020/index.html.

About Pacific Crest Affordable Housing
Pacific Crest Affordable Housing, LLC is an award-winning developer of high-quality housing for low-income tenants in Central Oregon. These projects are public-private partnerships, funded with various combinations of public funds, private investment, grants, loans and in-kind contributions. Five of the seven projects are restricted to seniors (aged 55 and better), and all are income restricted to serve households earning 60% of the Area Median Income or less. Pacific Crest aims to locate its projects in some of the most desirable neighborhoods in the communities in which they are located to foster a seamless blend of low-income housing with the rest of the community.

SOURCE National Equity Fund