SALEM, Ore. — On Tuesday, the Mahonia Crossing housing community in Salem’s South Gateway neighborhood marked the start of a new chapter for hundreds of residents.
“To see it evolve from plans on a page and an idea in the head to this beautiful built environment that we are in, it’s just really thrilling,” said Laura Spidell, the executive director at EngAGE NW.
Some of those apartments on the 14-acre lot are reserved for people earning 30% to 80% of the area’s median income. In Marion County, that’s $27,390 to $73,040 for a family of four.
“It’s a CDP, a community-for-all-ages project, where we are housing seniors and dedicated housing and families and trying to create that inter-generational connection,” said Erik Paine, CEO for Community Development Partners.
There are 313 one-, two- and three-bedrooms available alongside a community building, fitness center, outdoor play area and more.
“Having larger-sized apartments is not the norm in affordable housing, so being able to have a larger size apartment available to you is a big benefit to the community,” said Spidell.
A portion of these units will be prioritized for people who lost homes during wildfires, as well as for agriculture workers and their families.
“I’m thankful because rent spending nowadays... so having this — something we could be able to afford — is really good,” said resident Sonia Torres, who has been living at Mahonia Crossing with her daughters since May.
According to CPD, the development of Mahonia Crossing emerged from a wide-ranging and rigorous study conducted with the help of Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design, which researched, surveyed and mapped assets and challenges of the surrounding area. This included many meetings with Salem community members and organizations, whose input shaped the design of buildings, shared spaces and on-site programming.
Access to green space ranked among the top priorities for neighbors who had previously used the site to walk their dogs, watch wildlife and bring their kids to run around.