In just one month from first contact to close, we provided a $1 million bridge loan to help NeighborWorks Umpqua cover construction costs for infrastructure upgrades for Newton Creek, a 50-space manufactured home park in Roseburg, Oregon.
On their own tight deadline, NeighborWorks Umpqua started the project in April with funding from various state grants. Financing for the remaining construction costs was to come in August, but in July, with the project well underway, that funding fell through – leaving them in a bind to meet the state’s October 31 completion deadline.
From their positive experience with NC from two previous construction and acquisition loans, NW Umpqua turned to us.
“Based on what we knew about NC, their flexibility and ability to tailor solutions that worked, I called and explained. We were able to work out a good project, and had a great experience working with Tamar and her team,” said Brian Shelton-Kelley, Director of Acquisitions and Development at NeighborWorks Umpqua. “They were very responsive and really able to help us meet the timeline we had. The loan product they had available made sense for our project. We’re appreciative for NC to step in at the 11th hour to provide much needed financing to make it all work. They were flexible and worked with us to get turnaround on the deadline we needed.“
“This transaction is a great example of how we aim to help our borrowers, especially when they’re facing challenges to move a project forward. We wanted to make sure they had the financing they needed, when they needed it, so that they could successfully complete this project on time and on budget,” senior loan officer Tamar Sarkisian said.
With the additional time, NeighborWorks Umpqua then secured a $1 million permanent loan commitment from the Network for Oregon Affordable Housing (NOAH). Manufactured homes are integral to this region of southern Oregon. NeighborWorks Umpqua’s work on Newton Creek will help preserve much-needed affordable rental homes in a market that has significant demand for affordable homes. Roseburg was once the “Timber Capital of the World” and the local economy is transitioning from resource extraction to a service sector.
NeighborWorks Umpqua has worked with stakeholders in Oregon to preserve manufactured home parks, replace units, and upgrade facilities. Newton Creek is one example of this.
“Newton Creek is an important piece of affordable housing. In rural Oregon, much naturally occurring affordable housing is in manufactured homes, and many of those are in parks,” said Shelton-Kelley. “We had not worked in manufactured home issues historically, but we really started to see the need, and an opportunity to leverage our strengths and have a positive impact.”
Newton Creek provides affordable homes for residents who own their units and lease a space from the park. It includes 45 manufactured home and five recreational vehicle spaces. Most of the property is at 60% AMI or below ($31,300 for a family of four), with 4 spaces at 80% AMI ($41,700 for a family of four.)
The property was developed in the late 1950s, and its infrastructure was deteriorated and in need of replacement. The grant and NC loan funds have been used for the preservation of the park and for the replacement of the deteriorated subsurface and street infrastructure, including water lines, sewer lines, storm drains, paving, curbs and gutters.
“We’ve done the work with residents in place. We’ve seen people exhibit more pride of ownership as we’ve come in to take care of these infrastructure issues,” said Shelton-Kelley.
To further raise awareness about this important affordable home sector, NeighborWorks Umpqua will sponsor NOAH’s The Southern Oregon Manufactured Housing Conference on October 8.
NeighborWorks Umpqua are passionate advocates devoted to the betterment of residents of Southern Oregon, tireless in their mission for promoting opportunity for all. NeighborWorks Umpqua provides quality homes, community development, property management, financial services, education, and advocacy in order to attain economic, social and environmental sustainability, and equity. The organization was founded by a group of concerned citizens in 1991 in response to the lack of affordable home development in Douglas County, Oregon.
