A six-story affordable housing complex for low-income seniors will rise on the site where Beaverton once sheltered homeless residents during ice storms.
Community Partners for Affordable Housing broke ground July 9, on Meadowlark Place at 12350 S.W. Fifth St., steps from the Beaverton Farmers Market, the Elsie Stuhr Center, and Beaverton City Park.
The 104-unit building will offer studio and one-bedroom apartments to adults 55 and older. Some units are reserved for residents earning up to 30% of the area median income, others for those earning up to 50%.
Thirty units will include wraparound supportive services for seniors leaving homelessness, provided through the Native American Rehabilitation Association and Bienestar.
Mayor Lacey Beaty framed the project in personal terms at the ceremony.
"This is about dignity," Beaty said. "This is about making sure when you spend your entire life in Beaverton contributing that we don't ask you to move somewhere else now that you're retired."
Beaty was joined by U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Washington County Chair Kathryn Harrington, Oregon Sen. Kate Lieber, Metro Councilor Gerritt Rosenthal, and CPAH Executive Director Rachael Duke. Bonamici directed $3 million in federal funding to the project.
The building will also house a Head Start early childhood development program on its ground floor, with three classrooms, capacity for 54 students, an outdoor play area, and a full kitchen. Duke told officials at the event that the location will feature programming for residents of all ages, not just those living in the building, according to the Valley Times.
Funding and timeline
Meadowlark Place received $10.7 million from the City of Beaverton's share of Metro's regional affordable housing bond, which voters approved in November 2018 as Measure 26-199.
A separate $300,000 Metro grant supports affordable housing near high-frequency transit.
Beaverton received $31.8 million total from the 2018 bond, according to Washington County records.
The project team includes DCM Communities as development consultant, Carlton Hart Architecture as architect, and LMC Construction as general contractor. The city's bond program page lists completion for spring 2028.
Who it serves
Nineteen units will come with rent assistance from Washington County. Ten units are reserved for residents aging out of farmworker housing.
The site formerly housed the Beaverton Community Center, which was razed; most recently it served as a temporary overnight severe weather shelter.
CPAH, founded in 1993 at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Tigard, has developed more than 12 affordable housing communities in Washington and Multnomah counties. Five more properties are in its development pipeline.
