This blog shows that homeownership is more than just having a house. It represents dignity, safety, stability, and opportunity. By sharing these personal perspectives, the post shows how the organizers’ lived experiences shape their passion for helping others achieve affordable homeownership.

A recent article in The Oregonian highlights the growing role of community land trusts (CLTs) in addressing Central Oregon’s housing affordability crisis. RootedHomes, a nonprofit in Bend, is at the forefront of this movement, helping local workers and middle-income families achieve homeownership through a unique land lease model that keeps costs permanently low.

“We at RootedHomes are thrilled to announce our first of four Redmond communities, bringing more permanently affordable homes to Central Oregon families," said Tess Spellacy, Homeownership Program Director at RootedHomes. The lottery will be open to the public beginning March 31st and conclude on May 15th.

RootedHomes opens lottery for 40 new affordable homes at Simpson Ave.

Housing efforts celebrated at second day of Western Governors’ Housing Workshop.

“We live in a community where nurses, teachers, restaurant managers, and so many others who once earned a decent living can no longer afford to buy a home,” shared Katy Brooks, CEO and President of the Bend Chamber of Commerce, in a recent Bend Bulletin article titled As Central Oregon Grows, People Struggle to Set Down Roots.

Pedro and Miriam represent just one of the hundreds of families who turned to RootedHomes this fall.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday that will turn a former small farm in Redmond into affordable housing. RootedHomes, which builds workforce housing using a community land trust model, is the developer on the project.

The lot on Northwest 19th Street will feature two-, three- and four-bedroom homes with EV charging and covered bike parking. The 100-year-old farmhouse will be preserved.

RootedHomes, a sustainable and affordable homeownership developer, is set to break ground in Redmond on a new development in west Redmond, near Redmond High.

A ceremonial groundbreaking is set for Sept. 27 at 11 a.m., where community members and potential buyers can attend. This is the first time that RootedHomes is building affordable housing in Redmond.

The RootedHome houses on Simpson will be the largest community for the nonprofit. The lottery application opened Monday and will continue until August 28th. As of Tuesday, there have already been 16 applications.

Workforce homes are for those in the local workforce who earn too much to qualify for affordable housing programs, but would otherwise not be able to afford a home. A Sisters School District math teacher purchased the first RootedHomes workforce housing home in Sisters.

RootedHomes Executive Director Jackie Keogh said, "In most of our communities prior, we had hundreds of people apply for a few units. And what that said to us was two things: One, we've been building more units to meet our community needs. And two, we want to be a little bit more intentional about who has access to these homes."

Grant awards came from the OHCS Local Innovation and Fast Track (LIFT) Homeownership Program that the legislature established to be one of the standing mechanisms that Oregon has in place to create affordable housing for more Oregonians.

Of the 10 projects receiving funding, 5 were in Central Oregon, including:

RootedHomes in Redmond received $2,599,996 for Rooted at 19th, a complex that will create 22 additional units of affordable housing.

RootedHomes in Redmond received another $1.47 million for Rooted at Antler for an additional 18 units of affordable housing.

A new affordable housing neighborhood is heading to the City of Redmond.30 cottage style homes will be available to low-income families making 80% or less of the area median income. It's called Cinder Hollow, designed by RootedHomes.

RootedHomes was recently awarded development rights by the City of Redmond for 8.35-acre property off of SW 31st St. near the Redmond Memorial Cemetery. The site, known as Cinder Hollow, will be transformed by RootedHomes into at a homeownership community of an estimated 30 units. RootedHomes has engaged former RootedHomes board president, Rick Hayes, now of Luxe Homes to support the management of the project. The community has a goal of being completed in 2027.

Rooted at Poplar provided affordable homeownership for essential workers in a region grappling with escalating housing costs.

The new community will be at 1699 W. Antler Ave. in Redmond. The three apartment buildings will have a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units available for households earning less than 60 percent of area median income. The duplexes, with two or three bedrooms each, will provide ownership opportunities for households earning less than 80 percent of area median income.

The community will include 60 rental units designed as garden-style walk-up apartment buildings for households earning less than 60% AMI (average median income) and 16 permanently affordable homeownership units designed as 2- and 3-bedroom, net-zero duplexes for households earning less than 80% AMI.

Residents will have access to on-site playgrounds, community gardens, ample parking, and walkability to social-service facilities along Antler Avenue. The commercial buildings will include the new offices of Housing Works and RootedHomes, as well as a secondary standalone building envisioned as a day care.

To help end displacement, preference for Rooted homes will be given to renters now living in Housing Works rentals. For this project, RootedHomes and Housing Works bought land, parceled it and then prepared to build both homes and apartments in the same community. The developers are doing the same thing in Redmond and La Pine and planning to follow suit elsewhere in Central Oregon.

Rooted Homes intentionally purchased land on the west side of Bend as the area contains a number of amenities. Keogh believes the homes should be dispersed through the community and not just centered in low-income areas.

Affordable housing in SW Bend aims to provide 99 affordable homes, apartment units.