Moving toward 'affordable living' at Orenco

The well-known new urban community Orenco Station west of Portland, Oregon, is getting affordable housing adjacent to a light rail stop.

According to the The Oregonian:

Washington County has asked REACH Community Development to help build the first affordable housing apartment complex at Orenco Station. Washington County has awarded a $750,000 grant to a Portland-based nonprofit to help build the first affordable housing apartment complex in Orenco Station.

REACH Community Development plans to begin construction next year on a first phase — 57 units just south of Northeast Cherry Drive at Northwest 231st Avenue. The units are targeted to workers who make about $25,000 a year and will be some of the first apartments in the nation built using Passive House standards, reducing heating consumption by 90 percent. The development will be the nonprofit's first original building project outside Portland.

The project, called The Orchards at Orenco, will help the nonprofit move beyond affordable housing to “affordable living,” according to REACH, because the proximity of public transit, a grocery store, shops, and parks in Orenco Station will help residents to reduce their transportation costs. Units rent for $661 for a one-bedroom unit and $794 for a two-bedroom unit.