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Housing Works urges local partnerships as Crook County faces affordable-housing shortfall
Summary
Housing Works told Crook County commissioners it is already channeling about $13 million a year in rent assistance and that Crook County needs more deeply affordable housing and partnerships to close financing gaps that keep new projects from being built.
Lynn McConnell, executive director of Housing Works, told Crook County commissioners on May 20 that the nonprofit is investing widely in the region but that Crook County still faces a shortage of deeply affordable housing.
"Housing Work's mission is fostering dignity through housing," McConnell said, adding that the organization currently pumps "about 13 million annually" into communities through rent assistance, most of which goes to private landlords.
McConnell walked the board through Crook County-specific figures, saying the agency manages roughly 88 housing choice vouchers active in the county and that 27 of those households were homeless before receiving assistance. She also said about 122 units in the county are part of Housing Works' portfolio and that the state’s needs analysis shows the greatest demand at the lowest income tiers (about 30% of area median income).
McConnell and Keith Wooden, Housing Works’ real estate director, explained why new affordable developments are difficult to finance in the county: conventional lenders typically cover a much smaller share of an affordable project’s capital stack, leaving a large funding gap that must be filled with tax-credit equity, donations, waived fees or other public subsidies. Using a 100‑unit example, presenters showed a hypothetical $36 million capital stack for market-price development and described why affordable rents compress bank lending and require additional subsidy.
The presenters discussed accessibility and unit mix, saying future developments are being designed with higher levels of accessibility and that state and federal funding sources impose accessibility requirements. They also described a home-ownership program intended to move participants off benefits and cited a local success story of a long‑time participant who purchased a home.
McConnell urged county leaders to collaborate on land, fee waivers and other gap‑closing strategies and offered to work with the county on property opportunism and an upcoming site tour this summer or fall.
The presentation closed with commissioners thanking the Housing Works team and inviting follow-up conversations and data requests.
What happens next: commissioners did not take formal action on the presentation; staff and Housing Works indicated they will continue follow-up and possible joint work on funding and site opportunities.
