Senate hearing spotlights revolving loan fund to spur mixed‑income housing (SB 684)

Senator Khan Pham opened a public hearing March 12 on Senate Bill 684, which would direct Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) to establish a revolving loan fund offering below‑market, short‑term construction loans to support mixed‑income developments that keep their restricted units affordable for at least 90 years.

Supporters told the Senate Committee on Housing and Development the fund aims to replace high‑cost private equity in the construction capital stack with low‑cost public loans so projects that would otherwise stall can proceed. “This revolving loan fund will get subsidized loans in the hands of developers eager to build market rate and affordable housing in communities across the state,” Senator Pham said in opening remarks. The bill’s dash‑2 amendment, as described to the committee, expands the types of mixed‑income projects public housing authorities may finance or operate and defines key program terms.

Why it matters: witnesses said the model can increase housing production without drawing on federal low‑income housing tax…