The Medford City Council has approved a $2.5 million state grant to convert vacant and underused buildings into affordable housing, part of a statewide program promoting reuse and lower-carbon construction.
The funding comes from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's Climate Equity and Resilience Through Action program, which provides rebates for projects that use construction materials with lower carbon footprints, such as bamboo or wool insulation.
"This is a great opportunity for developers to step forward and take advantage of this free money to better our city and create some additional housing that we desperately need," Councilor Jessica Ayres said.
The city expects to create 55 affordable housing units through the grant. The new housing can’t be used for short-term rentals, and tenants must earn no more than 120% of the area median income.
Builders, developers and homeowners can receive up to $45,000 in rebates per unit after a certificate of occupancy is received.
Councilor Mike Kerlinger said his questions about what would happen if all the money wasn’t spent were answered.
"This is literally money available for developers who want to do some improvements," he said. "We hope we have people who want to use all of it because that's great, but if they don't, it literally costs us nothing."
The goal is for all projects to be completed by March 2029.
The program is providing rebates for 940 new housing units in nine communities across Oregon. Projects in Medford, Ontario, Pendleton, Portland and Reedsport will focus on reuse, while projects in Bend, Eugene, Hood River and Tillamook County will focus on space efficiency.
