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Parkway Village Apartments
Salem, Oregon

Parkway Village Apartments offers family housing in an attractive setting.

The City of Salem, Oregon, faced a serious shortage of affordable housing in the mid-1990s. The rental vacancy rate hovered at about 3 percent at a time when decreases in Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Social Security benefits made it especially difficult for low-income families to compete for housing. The number of homeless families increased nearly fivefold between 1990 and 1996, and, in a city of 130,000, the Housing Authority waiting list grew to over 5,000 families.

The Housing Authority attempted various methods to expand the supply of affordable housing; however, none were successful until a private developer contacted the Authority about developing a seven-acre site he owned in a deteriorated, high-crime neighborhood. In late 1995, the Authority and the developer reached an agreement to build 124 units of affordable family housing on the site. Construction began in the spring of 1996 and the project, Parkway Village Apartments, was completed in February 1997.

In addition to 78 two-bedroom and 46 three-bedroom units, the complex includes a community room, basketball court, picnic area, playground, and on-site management. As a result of meetings held with residents of the surrounding neighborhood (which had experienced a sharp increase in drug- and gang-related crime), a community police office was incorporated into the development. The complex has remained about 98 percent occupied since it opened.

The financing plan for Parkway Village included the use of both HOME funds and low-income housing tax credits. The City of Salem typically limits its HOME contributions to no more than $100,000 per project, but to make the development of Parkway Village possible, it made an interest-free 30-year loan of $191,400. As a result, 10 HOME units are available for families at 50 percent of median income and 89 tax credit units are available for those at 60 percent of median. The remaining 25 units are available for families at up to 80 percent of median income. Monthly rents range from $425 to $640.

Recreational facilities make the complex appealing to working families with children.

The Salem Housing Authority acted as project sponsor, developer, tax credit general partner, and managing agency for Parkway Village. Since 1992, the Authority had developed approximately 125 units, mostly for seniors, using HOME funds, tax credits, and other funding sources. Parkway Village was the largest and most difficult development it had undertaken. The process was eased by establishing rapport with neighborhood leaders, assembling a strong development team, and collaborating closely with the city.

The development of Parkway Village Apartments has significantly expanded the affordable housing supply for low-income families in Salem, and brought physical improvement and an increased sense of safety to a neighborhood that was facing difficult circumstances. The willingness of the Housing Authority to take on the responsibility of developing a large-scale affordable housing project has resulted in lasting benefits for the community.