City previews Allenwood affordable-housing project after developer wins state funding

At a June 1 workshop the Grants Pass City Council received an informational briefing on the Allenwood development, a proposed mixed‑income housing project on city-owned land near Highway 238.

Brad (speaker 4) summarized the history and planning to date: the city acquired about 9.7 acres in 2005, added the parcel to the parks master plan in 2010, and completed a wetland delineation that found roughly one contiguous acre of wetlands. The city issued a request for interest and received one valid response from a team led by Pano LLC with Ink Built Architecture; Pano’s representative was identified as Robin Smith.

The approved planned-unit development shows roughly 110 rental units (attached triplex/quadplex types), 19 ownership townhomes in a southwest corner, a 3,500-square-foot community building and about 3 acres proposed as a future city park adjacent to Allen Creek. Staff said the rental phase is the priority and that the state (Oregon Housing and Community Services) has indicated more than $37 million in lift funding for the rental portion, which creates a near-term requirement for the developer to close on the rental portion this July.

Brad said the city applied for and received a $1.9 million Business Oregon infrastructure grant to construct key transportation elements (extension of Arroyo Drive and a public street toward Williams Highway). The developer has spent more than $600,000 on engineering and design; staff said the city will not use its own funds to build infrastructure beyond the Business Oregon award and a CET grant previously approved for a homeownership component.

Councilors pressed on parking ratios, transit access, traffic impacts to Highway 238 and school capacity. Staff noted ODOT denied full direct access to the state highway for safety/visibility reasons but approved emergency access; staff also said the developer performed a traffic-impact analysis as part of entitlement and that conversations with the local transit operator (JCT) are ongoing.

Staff identified two nonprofit long-term owners/managers—NeighborWorks Umpqua and Oregon Human Development Corporation—and outlined that state funding will likely trigger deed restrictions that preserve affordability and limit resale appreciation for a defined period. No formal council action was taken at the workshop; staff will return with a development agreement and appropriate documents for future council action.

Next steps: staff will present a formal disposition and development agreement to council and provide additional details on unit mix, parking, accessibility and deed-restriction terms ahead of any final approvals.