Salem Housing Authority outlines plan to dispose 79 single‑family units, offers affordable homeownership options including 4 in Keizer
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Summary
A Salem Housing Authority official told Keizer City Council the authority plans to dispose of 79 single‑family duplex and triplex units (4 in Keizer) to create affordable homeownership pathways, partnering with Habitat for Humanity and others. A public hearing on the SHA plan is scheduled July 14 in Salem.
Keizer — Jessica Blakely of the Salem Housing Authority briefed the Keizer City Council on a regional disposal plan that would convert 79 small single‑family, duplex and triplex public housing units into affordable homeownership opportunities, including four units within the Keizer city limits.
Blakely described the process as a HUD‑regulated disposal: existing residents would receive tenant protection vouchers so the plan would not displace tenants. The authority has identified 33 of the 79 homes as candidates for direct partnership with Habitat for Humanity, which would acquire those homes at a discounted rate (subject to HUD approval) and then resell them under Habitat’s affordable homeownership model. The remaining 46 homes would be offered for sale with affordability protections or held in a program administered by the housing authority or partners such as DevNW.
SHA’s proposed preferences for buyers include existing residents of the properties, referrals from neighborhood organizations, first‑time and first‑generation homebuyers, and neighborhood preference for renters who qualify. Blakely said the authority is targeting households up to 120% of area median income for many of the offerings but asked for public feedback on the draft preferences and implementation details.
Why it matters: The plan aims to expand scarce affordable homeownership options in the Salem‑Keizer region and to use HUD’s disposal process to create permanently subsidized opportunities. Converting scattered single‑family public housing into homeownership could shrink the public housing inventory but SHA says tenant protections will be used to prevent displacement.
Public process: Blakely announced a public hearing on the Salem Housing Authority plan will be held July 14 at 6 p.m. at Laux Auditorium, Salem Public Library, and encouraged Keizer residents to review the SHA plan on the authority’s website and attend the hearing to provide comment.
Council reaction: Council members expressed appreciation for the clarification that the Salem Housing Authority serves the Salem‑Keizer urban growth area and asked SHA staff to coordinate communications so council can promote the public hearing to Keizer residents. Blakely said communications staff will provide documents for Keizer to post on city social channels.
What to expect: SHA will proceed with the HUD process, including a public hearing on July 14. If HUD approves the disposal plan, specific sales and partnerships will proceed with memoranda of understanding to ensure community preferences and affordability protections are enforced.
