Director's Message
August 10, 2009
To: Employees and Partners of Oregon Housing and
Community Services
From:
Victor Merced
Re: Director’s Bulletin –
- Director's Office Reorganization
- First Multifamily Bond Sale in a Year
- Housing Council Approves Projects
- Economic Turnaround Predicted
- ARRA by the Numbers
- Housing Opportunity Meetings Planned
_____________________________________________________
Director’s Office Reorganization
Given budget and policy demands on Oregon Housing and Community Services, I have reorganized my office. Deputy Director Rick Crager sent an explanatory memo and corresponding organization chart to all staff last week.
We’ve created a set of policy advisors to the department representing the divisions; reassigned new duties and responsibilities to our policy and communications team through a merger of the two offices; and shifted support staff to division administrators.
First Multifamily Bond Sale in a Year
Oregon Housing and Community Services closed an important multifamily bond sale last week. This is the first bond sale of any kind since the housing bond market collapsed a year ago.
Martha Washington. OHCS completed paperwork late last week with Wells Fargo for sale of $9.2 million in conduit bonds to finance preservation of the Martha Washington Apartments in Southwest Portland. It will provide 108 units to serve persons who are homeless and earn very low incomes.
This is short-term financing employing tax-exempt, conduit bonds. The process provides Wells Fargo with a vehicle to fund the project through purchase of bonds and construction lending.
Separately, our last bond sale was held August 26, 2008, to finance $92 million in single-family housing. Just prior to that, on July 18, the department used its bonding authority to finance a $6.9 million multifamily preservation project in Lebanon.
Housing Council Approves Projects
Meeting on Friday, July 24, the State Housing Council approved:
- Conduit bond financing for the Martha Washington Apartments in Portland, discussed above.
- Predevelopment loan for Uptown Tower. This is planned as 72 units of very-low-income housing in Portland. The project is slated for consideration in the fall consolidated funding cycle.
Economic Turnaround Predicted
We’re beginning to get a better idea about how the troubled economy will affect the demand for affordable housing and community services.
The Oregonian late this week carried a positive story, citing economist Tim Duy of the University of Oregon.
He says, “The steady improvement in the pace of decline compared to six months ago suggests that the recession will end during the second half of this year.”
Still, Oregonians served by OHCS are confronted with troubling realities that foreshadow long-term burdens.
ARRA by the Numbers
Stimulus spending is coming. Of the $159 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act expected to flow through OHCS, a little more than $810,000 has been disbursed.
This is a start. There’s much more to come. The expectation is that ARRA dollars will be a strong force against the prevailing economic news.
Housing Opportunity Meetings Planned
Deputy Director Rick Crager is putting together a series of meetings to gather stakeholder feedback on new legislation affecting the department, especially the Housing Opportunity Bill.
The bill, which derives from House Bill 2436, will provide a projected $15 million in resources for the broad purpose of addressing the state’s housing needs. The revenue will start flowing to OHCS in January 2010.
The outreach meetings will be scheduled for late September and be designed to capture local thinking in key Oregon cities. More information is coming soon. Partners, we hope you’ll attend a meeting near you.
The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.
~ Abraham Lincoln
Victor Merced, Director
Phone 503.986.2005
Email: victor.merced@hcs.state.or.us
www.ohcs.oregon.gov
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