Thursday, April 11, Washington County, Metro and other partners gathered to celebrate the opening of the Opal in Cedar Mill. This new apartment community will provide 54 affordable homes for older adults, with an emphasis on serving LGBTQ+ residents. Construction was funded in part with over $6 million in Metro affordable housing bond funds – about a quarter of the project’s total costs.
Half of the apartments in the Opal are designated for households who make between 31 and 60 percent area median income (60 percent AMI is $47,400 for a household of one), and the other half for 30 percent or less ($23,700 per year for a household of one). These 24 deeply affordable apartments come with project-based housing vouchers from Washington County, which means their residents will pay 30 percent of their income for rent.
Friendly House Elder Pride Services will provide resident services, with the goal of creating a safe, welcoming community where residents have the support and resources they need to live healthy, active, independent lives. Friendly House will offer a variety of educational, social, recreational, fitness, wellness and community-building opportunities.
Friendly House's Elder Pride Services program staff.
The Opal was developed through a partnership with Home First Development Partners and Christ United Methodist Church, which owns the land and the adjacent church. As Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth explained in his remarks at the opening celebration, this project is part of the church’s ongoing initiative to use its land for the creation of affordable housing. Church members made over 60 quilts to welcome new residents. The church is also donating supplies for the communal kitchen.
The building was designed by Architect Doug Circosta and features colorful decor, details and art throughout its common spaces. The one- and two-bedroom apartments have high ceilings with large windows for lots of light. There are common spaces to gather inside and outdoors, and the site is within walking distance to the library, shopping and public transit.
“It’s a true delight to think about the quality of life that seniors will have in this building,” said Metro Councilor Juan Carlos Gonzalez, pointing to “the quality of construction, the design, [and] the intention.”
Metro Councilor Juan Carlos Gonzalez addresses attendees of The Opal's opening celebration.
“We have been dreaming of this building for many, many years,” said Friendly House Executive Director Mya Chamberlin. “This week I have been reflecting a lot on how we got here and why it was so important.” She shared a story about her experience as a case worker for the organization in 2004, and how she helped an LGBTQ+ elder find housing, only to be told that due to his sexual orientation, the apartment “wasn’t going to work out.”
Stories like this, Program Manager Brandy Penner explained, is why it’s so important to have housing options where LGBTQ+ community members – many of whom have experienced decades of discrimination – can live in dignity in the later years of their lives. “There’s really no other term except for ‘revolutionary’ to describe this building and this partnership,” she said. “It is not lost on our population that this is a faith-based organization came together and said ‘This is how we want to serve, this is how our faith is going to be put into action.’”
Penner looks forward to starting Friendly House’s programming at the Opal, with the aim to engage residents and create a thriving community in the apartment complex.