New Co-op Provides Path To Home Ownership

SquareOne Villages celebrates near-completion of its fourth and largest housing co-op development

Chromatic red, green, blue, yellow and white buildings have cropped up on the corner of River Road and Ferndale Drive in Eugene, Oregon, as the newest development from non-profit entity SquareOne Villages comes to fruition. The newly constructed Peace Village Co-Op is planned to provide 70 units of permanently affordable and resident-owned housing specifically for households that make less than 60% of the median area income. The project was made possible by nearly $6.1 million of funding from state, city and county grants and $1.6 million in charitable contributions.

In addition to the 70 housing units, the on-site amenities will include a community kitchen and dining area shared by the church, a large meeting space as well as other flexible use spaces, outdoor common areas for gardening and other co-op-approved uses, laundry facilities, bike storage and shared tools and resources. According to Project Manager Andrew Heben, this is SquareOne Villages’ fourth and largest housing co-op and the largest housing co-op in Oregon. “This is by far our biggest and most ambitious development to date,” Heben said of the project.

SquareOne Villages purchased the 3.6-acre site from Peace Presbyterian Church in January 2022. The church will be able to continue use of some of the existing property buildings such as the sanctuary and community kitchen spaces but is not affiliated directly with the co-op or SquareOne Villages.

The development operates on a cooperative housing agreement where residents purchase a membership for $5,000 and are expected to co-govern the complex with responsibilities such as adopting budgets, making decisions democratically, overseeing repairs, setting policies and resolving conflicts. Cooperative housing models work to share responsibilities and costs usually handled by landowners or property managers.

For those who cannot afford the upfront membership cost, SquareOne’s Revolving Loan Fund may have the capacity to provide a loan of up to $4,000 to cover the initial membership fee. Additional costs for residents will include carrying charges ranging from $450 to $750 a month for each household depending on the unit type. These charges cover the costs for all utilities, mortgage payments, replacement reserves and operating costs.

While residents will co-own the buildings, SquareOne will own the land in order to maintain affordability in perpetuity. The co-op holds a single mortgage to which all members contribute. Because it is a limited equity co-op, if a member wishes to sell their share, the price of the sale is limited to a 3% interest rate plus the value of any improvements made to the unit being sold.

Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis spoke of her gratitude toward the team at SquareOne Villages. “This project along with all of the other projects happening in our community and the other projects that SquareOne Villages has undertaken are crucial and very exciting steps to how we break the barriers. We break the mould and we create new moulds — new ways of doing things, better ways of doing things to create the community that we want to be.”

SquareOne Villages has come a long way from its start 10 years ago as a grassroots organisation seeking to support the needs of unhoused community members, according to Dan Bryant, Executive Director of SquareOne Villages. “We had no plan at that time to build housing,” he said of the organisation’s origins. “It actually evolved out of that work when we realised that the solution to the unhoused crisis was not more shelter. The solution is more housing.”

For coordinators at SquareOne Villages, the way to alleviate some pressure caused by the housing crisis is to think outside of the box and innovate to bring effective, sustainable solutions to those who need them by utilising what SquareOne calls its ‘Village Model’ — “where community is built into the housing,” according to Bryant.

Amanda Dellinger, community relations director for SquareOne Villages, said the organisation is dedicated to expanding affordable housing options in Eugene and Springfield. “Our strategic plan is to start developing a new co-op every two years so that will keep coming,” Dellinger said. “We’re not going to stop — we’re just ramping up. SquareOne is really about supporting options for affordable housing.”

Peace Village is also net-zero ready – solar panels can be installed on roofs at any time to generate energy.