On Wednesday, Sept. 4, Metro and project partners celebrated the grand opening of Las Flores, an affordable housing community in Oregon City. Metro’s affordable housing bond contributed $16 million to Las Flores’ total development cost. As of August 2024, the voter-approved bond has helped fund the construction of 1,620 affordable homes throughout greater Portland.
Co-developed by Community Development Partners and Hacienda Community Development Corporation and designed by Salazar Architects, Las Flores brings 171 affordable apartments to Oregon City, with homes ranging in size from one to four bedrooms. Seventy apartments are reserved for households making 30% area median income (AMI) or less, while the remaining apartments are for households earning 60% AMI. Rents range from $590 to $1,940 depending on household income and the number of bedrooms.
Las Flores was designed to provide stable, permanent housing for several high-barrier groups. With support from the Agriculture Workforce Housing Tax Credit, twelve apartments are set aside for agricultural workers and their families and will be paired with services and programming. Seventeen homes are geared toward households exiting homelessness, including eight homes reserved specifically for formerly homeless U.S. military veterans.
In their remarks at the grand opening event, speakers emphasized the importance of providing affordable housing for workers who sustain Oregon’s thriving agricultural industry. “Too often farmworkers are priced out of places, particularly in Oregon City, that they used to call home,” said Metro Councilor Christine Lewis. “With Las Flores we have an opportunity to change that. Farmworkers and other low-income families are welcome in this community.”
A colorful playground sits at the heart of Las Flores.
Las Flores is a multi-building complex with apartments surrounding a central green space that includes raised garden beds, walking paths, a playground and outdoor dining areas. A community room with a large demonstration kitchen is available for residents’ use and can host events and classes. Located along a hillside in a quiet residential neighborhood, the housing community is just minutes from Clackamas Community College’s Oregon City campus and an Albertson’s supermarket plaza. The seasonal Oregon City farmer’s market is also a close drive away.
Las Flores’ community room, called Casa Rosa (Rose House), features multi-use furniture, including adaptable play couches for children.
As Oregon City Mayor Denyse McGriff said in her celebratory remarks, “Today we see the blossoming of a project which will not only benefit from the community that lives here, it will benefit the community of Oregon City, and it gives people a place they can truly call home.”