WHITE SALMON — The White Salmon Assisted Living and Memory Care project was recently awarded an additional $1.4 million through the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Housing Trust Fund, helping to close what was previously a $3.25 million funding gap.
The funding increase brings developer of the project Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation closer to bringing the 52-unit project to fruition.
“This certainly is a welcome addition to our capital resources that will be required to make this development a reality and it shows that we have fairly significant state support with this additional investment,” CCHC Executive Director Joel Madsen said regarding the funding increase through the Department of Commerce.
Madsen warned that there is another significant hurdle before the project is fully viable. The $20 million project will rely on a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan through its community facilities program for a majority of its capital.
An application for $16 million was sent to the agency, and last August, the housing corporation received notice of initial approval, but Madsen said the agency is continuing to review the application based on the housing corporation’s eligibility as an existing non-profit agency to be a borrower, “which, to me, is navigable. We’ve been around as an organization since 1991. We have many other USDA and other federally-funded developments.”
While the housing corporation waits for a final word on financing through the USDA, in the meantime they have secured a plot of land from resident Evelyn Krentz, which was bought by Klickitat County and leased to the housing corporation for a “very favorable rate.”
Showing that there is local support on the project, from the purchasing of land to the funds received by the state, will help the housing corporation in their bid for federal support, he said.
”Our organization has devoted a lot of staff time and resources in getting it to the point where it is. I mean, we’re invested heavily into this development,” Madsen said.
The land that was secured covers about six acres and is located adjacent to school district property near White Salmon. Based in Klickitat County, the building will be served by White Salmon city utilities.
Madsen said the housing corporation is weighing options to secure the final dollars that were not funded either by state, federal, or local partners and suggested that there could be additional funding available federally — “Congressionally directed spending is helping us with the gap that we anticipate in helping us with that additional equity that we hope to bring to the table.”
In terms of additional support, Madsen said Sen. Patty Murray’s office was instrumental in putting together the federal congressional request, as well as Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office.
While development costs are rising generally across the nation, CCHC has prepared an escalatory set of numbers within their budget to compensate for the rising costs of goods and services, but Madsen said the housing corporation has not seen a recent figure to determine how much the cost of the project has risen.
About the project
Madsen said Klickitat County does not have a facility to support aging populations with a higher level of service needs that wish to reside in the county.
“So what happens is, Klickitat County residents who have helped to build the communities and build the county to what it is, are being forced out of county and often out of state in order to receive those services,” he said.
Having assisted living available in Klickitat County would allow local folks to stay close to families and stay tied into their communities, while meeting their needs and remaining independent, the organization states.
The project plans for 36 units of assisted living and 16 units of memory care that will serve residents with more advanced stages of Alzheimer’s or other dementia-related disorders.
The memory care wing would be secured and operate with its own dining, activity, and common areas.
Not only will this project meet a publicly identified housing need where existing residents are forced to seek homes and services out of area, at times even out of state, this community development will bring 28 full time equivalent jobs to the region for operations, supports and maintenance of the facility, the organization states.
Currently the housing corporation plans to partner with the same managing firm that operates the Rock Cove Assisted Living Facility in Stevenson, also developed by CCHC.
The housing corporation is committing 25% of the units to be affordable to people earning at or below 50% AMI (Area Median Income).
Madsen said CCHC’s mission of promoting and administering affordable housing solutions requires a multifaceted approach, administering multiple housing-related programs, including rental assistance, housing rehabilitation, shared equity programs, and the development, ownership and maintenance of housing projects "allows us to leverage the existing rental market, it allows us to create more homes through development. It allows us to help people get into that homeownership opportunities… That’s the work that we do throughout the region.”
Madsen said the organization accepts donations to continue supporting its mission.
“We are able to provide that charitable benefit to folks who may be interested in investing in our organization being specifically for this development,” Madsen said.
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