What's that construction near the Santa Clara Transit Station?
Project: An affordable housing development called Williams Place built by St. Vincent de Paul for veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Location: 101 Green Lane, Eugene
St. Vincent de Paul is facilitating the construction of Williams Place, a development that will help provide veterans who are or are at risk of experiencing homelessness with a new transitional housing option. The project is named after the nonprofit's former housing programs director, Anne Williams.
The 0.55 acre plot located off River Road will contain two, two-story buildings, each with five one-bedroom, one-bathroom units and parking. A single-story ancillary building will house laundry facilities and a staff office for on-site case management. Of the available units, 20% will be ADA accessible and suitable for residents with sensory disabilities.
The property, formerly owned by Lane Transit District, was donated to St. Vincent de Paul in 2015. A home already located on the property was rented out to a veteran family before a significant fire necessitated a full rebuild. Rather than raze and reconstruct a single family home, St. Vincent de Paul decided to construct a new affordable transitional housing development to serve more people in need.
Units will be reserved for individuals working with Supportive Services for Veteran Families and Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing. The goal of the development is to assist veterans in obtaining residential stability and security while increasing their income and skill levels to aid in transitioning to permanent stable housing. The adjacent Santa Clara Transit Station will also provide access to services and amenities on River Road and in the greater area.
The project is being developed with trauma-informed building elements designed to support the wellness of combat veterans who prefer open, quiet, light outdoor environments to ones that are perceived as closed, congested, dark or hot. Some ways these elements will be incorporated are through maintaining open sightlines in residences, allowing direct access to outdoors both in front of and behind living units, installing ceiling fans for air movement and white noise and utilizing calm, neutral color palettes for flooring, paint and cabinets.
Once completed, the project is estimated to cost $2.3 million. Most of the funding for the project comes from the Veterans Administration, American Rescue Plan, a bequest from Williams, a grant from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Grant Per Diem (GPD) program and from sales of single family homes owned by St. Vincent de Paul.
The development will serve individuals typically making anywhere from 0 to 50% of the median area income. The GPD program, which funds community organizations and agencies working to assist veterans experiencing homelessness, requires agencies to prove increases in client income as a result of program participation.
Construction began this summer and is set for completion in June 2024.
Building size: 7,294 total square feet, including residential and common spaces; approximated space for each residential building is 3,436 square feet.
Architect: BDA Architecture and Planning
General contractor: Meili Construction
Source: City of Eugene Planning and Development permit records, St. Vincent de Paul, Affordable Housing Trust Fund proposals.
Hannarose McGuinness is The Register-Guard’s growth and development reporter. Contact her at 541-844-9859 or hmcguinness@registerguard.com
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: What's that construction at Eugene's Santa Clara Transit Station?
