The 92-apartment community is along a MAX light-rail line and will offer a community room, three-bedroom units and inside bike storage
USA Properties Fund, one of the fastest-growing and leading affordable developer-manager-owners in the West, and Northwest Housing Alternatives are partnering on Terracina Vista, a much-needed affordable apartment community in Gresham along a MAX light-rail line and close to shopping centers, schools, health providers and two freeways.
Construction on Terracina Vista – located at 16519 E. Burnside Street, about 10 miles from downtown Portland – will start in the next few weeks and should be completed in summer 2025. The 92-apartment community will include a community room, computer workstations and inside bike storage, a popular feature in the bike-friendly Portland region.
The City of Gresham, Oregon Housing and Community Services, and Oregon Metro are subsidy lenders on Terracina Vista.
“We’re encouraged by this collaboration and the opportunity to provide much-needed affordable housing options to our community,” said Gresham Mayor Travis Stovall. “Housing for all is one of Gresham’s strategic plan priorities, and projects like this bring us closer to that vision.“
WNC & Associates is the tax credit investor on Terracina Vista. The construction lender is Capital One and the permanent lender is Citi Community Capital.
Second affordable apartment community in Oregon for USA Properties
The $43 million development is the second in Oregon for USA Properties Fund, which has more than 90 affordable and market-rate apartment communities in California and Nevada. The company and partner Northwest Housing recently completed and has started leasing The Canopy Apartments at Powell, a 169-apartment community in nearby east Portland.
The state’s far-reaching and forward-looking efforts to address the critical shortage of affordable housing, including through legislation and local bond measures passed by voters in recent years, attracted USA Properties to Oregon, said company President Geoff Brown.
“Oregon has been working hard on developing more affordable housing and ensuring lower-income residents have a quality, safe place to call home,” said Brown, who knows the Portland area well, earning a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Willamette University in Salem. “In a short time, we have already developed strong relationships in the region and enjoy working with Northwest Housing Alternatives and Oregon Housing and Community Services.”
‘One more step forward in addressing the critical housing crisis in the Portland metro region’
A public-private partnership is critical for Terracina Vista, located in the Rockwood-West Gresham Urban Renewal Plan. The urban renewal plan is an effort to boost the economy, improve job opportunities, provide more affordable housing and revive the Rockwood neighborhood.
“Northwest Housing Alternatives is committed to increasing access to safe, stable and affordable housing,” said Trell Anderson, Executive Director of Northwest Housing Alternatives. “Our investment in Terracina Vista is one more step forward in addressing the critical housing crisis in the Portland metro region and helping some of our most vulnerable community members. Affordable housing serves as the foundation for building a better future, from improving health to the overall well-being of residents.”
Terracina Vista will provide much-needed affordable housing for low-income residents in the Portland area, where half of households that rent are considered “cost-burdened,” spending at least 30% of their income on housing, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. More than one of every four (27%) households that rent spend at least half of their income on housing.
“The need for affordable housing across the state is one of the most pressing issues many Oregonians are facing day in and day out,” said Oregon Housing and Community Services Director Andrea Bell. “Incomes have not kept up or adjusted for inflation. Our collective mandate is to continue to come together and prioritize the creation of housing developments like Terracina Vista.”
Terracina Vista is for residents earning less than 60% of the area’s median income – about $67,680 per year for a family of four. Rents will be announced closer to the completion of Terracina Vista, but will be hundreds of dollars less than nearby market-rate apartment communities.
Three-bedroom units offer more space for families
Just as important as the affordable housing are the size of the units, housing officials say. Almost half of the apartments in Terracina Vista will have three bedrooms, helping meet an often-overlooked and underserved group of renters – families.
“We are committed to meeting the housing needs of all residents, whether they are a growing family or retirees living on a fixed income,” said Brown of USA Properties. “As much as we are building apartment communities, we are also developing a community where people from various backgrounds will share experiences, enjoy time together and support each other.”
Terracina Vista will feature a community room, where residents can connect and get together. Other amenities will include elevators and laundry facilities in the four-story building.
Apartments will include energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and low-flow faucets, showers and toilets.
USA Properties will continue to look at other possible projects in the Portland area, which needs an estimated 58,600 more homes to meet the current demand for housing – the 19th-largest deficit in the U.S., according to Just For Growth.
“Terracina Vista is another important step in a very long journey,” Brown said. “Every home that becomes available opens the door for another opportunity for residents.”
