County and housing leaders, neighbors, and partners gathered together in late September to celebrate the Saltzman Road Apartments groundbreaking and learn more about this new community slated to open in October 2023. The apartments will be the only affordable housing complex for seniors in the Portland metro area that has explicit anti-discriminatory policies for LGBTQIA+ residents.

“Saltzman Road Apartments is the result of voter-approved trust in action and is one way we can solve our affordable housing crisis, and end homelessness as we know it,” emphasized Washington County Chair Kathryn Harrington. The project is a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments affordable to seniors earning at or below 30% and 60% of the Area Median Income.

As a vulnerable population, LGBT residents will be served through informed resident services by non-profit provider Friendly House. Its Executive Director, Mya Chamberlin, stated that for more than two decades its program SAGE Metro Portland “has been advocating for safe, welcoming, and affordable housing for LGBTQ+ older adults, one of our state’s most historically underserved and underrepresented populations. We are thrilled to be collaborating with bold, courageous, and innovative partners.”

This project, funded by the Housing Authority of Washington County and Oregon Metro’s affordable housing bond, is a partnership between Home First Development Partners (HFD) who developed the site along with Christ United Methodist Church and Low-Income Tax Credit Investor Red Stone Equity Partners.

Community is key to the development with its ample space that will include a community kitchen, lounge, activity, and multi-purpose rooms, some of which will be available for outside groups. Ben Pray, Owner and Financing Director at HFD said, “We are grateful for the funders, lenders, and community support that made it possible. We can’t wait to see the vibrant, inclusive community that we know will thrive at Saltzman Road for years to come.”