La Grande School District may apply for a state affordable housing grant

May 5—LA GRANDE — A new small-home housing center may be in the La Grande School District's future.

The La Grande School Board is considering having its district apply for a grant from Oregon Housing and Community Services for the purpose of getting the funding needed to help the school district build multiple cottages and townhouses on a site of at least 10 acres.

The homes, which would be at a site in south La Grande, west of 12th Street and south of Gekeler Lane, would provide housing for La Grande School District students and families who do not have a place to live, according to La Grande School District Superintendent George Mendoza.

The homes would also provide residences for teachers and classified staff who cannot find affordable housing in La Grande. Mendoza said there are often times the school district has trouble filling job openings because of a housing shortage in the region.

"This is especially true for our classified staff," he said.

The superintendent said the school board and the district are now determining whether to apply for the grant. Mendoza said the district is looking at whether the grant makes sense from a business or a real estate perspective.

"We want to know the exact stipulations," he said.

Mendoza noted that any grant that would help the school district provide affordable housing is one the board must take a closer look at.

Community partners

The superintendent said the school district will not pursue the grant unless it has the support of organizations such as the Department of Human Services and others that support youth, because the students, who would be housed at the site, would need support from more than just the school district.

"There are a lot of community partners we would be working with," Mendoza said.

The superintendent said he would like the affordable housing at the site to be available to those working for Grande Ronde Hospital, Eastern Oregon University and other major employers in the community. The housing would be viewed as short-term, Mendoza said, noting that residents would be encouraged to stay for no more than two or three years.

The La Grande School District would be working with GCT Land Management, owned by Gust Tsiatsos, of La Grande, and Seder Architecture + Urban Design LLC, of Portland, on the development, which has been named the Sako Project.

Tsiatsos said it is too early to know how large the grant the La Grande School District could apply for might be.

Tiger Homes

The Sako Project would also give a boost to the long-term future of the high school's future Tiger Homes program, set to start this fall. Through Tiger Homes, students in a construction class at the high school will build homes under the direction of teachers and Tsiatsos. The homes will later be sold to the public. The program will operate perpetually because money from the sale of the homes will fund the construction of future Tiger Homes.

The first two homes will be built just east of the high school, Tsiatsos said. However, if the Sako Project moves forward, future Tiger Homes would be constructed on between 20 to 30 lots at the site. Tsiatsos said this would boost the Tiger Homes program by ensuring there is land to build future homes on. He noted that it is now hard to find land to build homes on.

Tsiatsos said this may be the best time for the school district to apply for the Oregon Housing and Community Services grant because its chances of receiving it may be better.

"After this year, there may be a lot more competition for the grants," he said.

Tsiatsos also said this a good time to apply because the state may never again have as much money for affordable housing as it does now.

Mendoza is approaching the possible project from a guarded but optimistic perspective.

"It is a promising opportunity we need to look into," he said.