To help address the need for more housing that is affordable in Springfield, the City Council identified land acquisition for development of housing to serve people with low incomes as a priority of its Housing Strategy. The City is working to identify and purchase vacant land that is suitable for the development of income-qualified housing. The City does not plan to own the land long-term or to build housing but will instead award any property it purchases to developers with a requirement that income-qualified housing be built on that property.
The City received $1.5 million in one-time American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding through an intergovernmental agreement with Lane County in 2023 to support the City’s efforts to buy land for this purpose. The City has been using these funds towards its acquisition efforts.
LAND ACQUISITION FUNDING
The City is making one-time funding available to qualified applicants to purchase land in Springfield suited for the development of income-qualified housing. There is approximately $900,000 available. Funds will be awarded as a forgivable loan, forgivable upon completion of a 20-year affordability period. To be eligible for an award of funds, applications must meet several eligibility criteria. Property purchased with these funds may be used for the development of income-qualified rental or homeownership housing.
The City requests applications from public agencies, non-profit organizations, and private developers to address housing needs in the community. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis starting August 1, 2024 and the application process may close at any time once available funds have been allocated. Prospective applicants should reach out to staff to check the status of available funds before filling out an application.
City Owned Properties
Laura Street
The City owns a .17 acre R-1 zoned property on Laura Street. Lane County foreclosed on the property and agreed to transfer it to the City for the development of income-qualified housing for a nominal fee as allowed by County and State law. City Council has directed staff to pair the property with federal funding from the HOME Investment Partnership Program – American Rescue Plan Act (HOME-ARP) which will be awarded to a developer through the HOME-ARP request for proposal (RFP) process.
What is HOME-ARP funding?
The City was awarded one-time federal HOME-ARP funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the Eugene-Springfield HOME Consortium in 2022. This allocation is separate from the annual HOME allocation Springfield receives from HUD. The City has approximately $745,728 in HOME-ARP funding for housing development, and approximately $200,000 for supportive services which will be awarded along with the Laura Street property through the RFP process. The HOME-ARP funds are for rental housing developments serving specific Qualified Populations including people experiencing homelessness, people at risk of homelessness, people fleeing domestic violence, and people with housing instability with attention to veterans meeting those categories..
To learn more about other HUD funding Springfield receives, visit our HUD funding webpage.
What will be built on the Laura Street site and by whom?
The City will require four dwelling units to be built on the site, which could be attached or detached based on Springfield’s Development Code. The existing house has been deemed uninhabitable and will be demolished as part of this project. The new units will be required to be used as income-qualified rental housing for a period of 20 years. Developers interested in building housing on the site will submit proposals, including renderings/designs, through the RFP process. After a proposal has been chosen, the City will know who is developing the site, and will have more detailed information about the development.
What is the timeline for the project?
In order to award HOME-ARP funding, an extensive federal environmental review of the site must be undertaken. That process is currently underway. The environmental review dictates when and how certain activities for the development can be carried out. The City is working on steps to clean up the property in compliance with the environmental review requirements.
The RFP to award the HOME-ARP funding and the Laura Street property is now open and is being run by the City of Eugene which received the funding on behalf of Springfield for the Eugene-Springfield HOME Consortium. The RFP will close in January 2025. More information on the HOME-ARP RFP is available on the City of Eugene’s webpage.
How can I stay up to date?
If you are interested in periodic updates on the future development of this property, please sign up for the 1577 Laura Street e-update list.
SIGN UP FOR LAURA STREET E-UPDATES
S. 52nd Street
The City owns a .25 acre R-1 zoned property on S. 52nd Street. The City also took ownership of this property from Lane County for a nominal fee for purposes of developing income-qualified housing. The City will award the site through a competitive process to be developed with four to five income-qualified dwelling units for home ownership.
The City will update this webpage with more information about the competitive award process for this property when available.
Main Street & 16th Street
The City purchased a 1.1 acre Community Commercial and R-1 split-zoned property in January 2024 for the purpose of developing the site with income-qualified housing. City Council has directed staff to pair the property with federal funding from the HOME program which will be awarded to a developer through the annual HOME RFP process. The RFP closed in November and there were no applications to develop this property. Further updates will be provided as they become available.
Want to Stay Informed?
If you’d like to keep up with the City’s land acquisition and other housing work, please sign up for our Housing Newsletter.
