Help for Renters
The Housing Authority of Yamhill County administers a number of housing programs utilizing federal, state and/or local funds.
The Section 8 Program. This program allows eligible families to find their own rental unit in the existing housing market. The family pays a portion of the rent and utilities (equal to 30 percent of their adjusted monthly income), and the Housing Authority pays the landlord the balance of the rent. The Authority has a contract with HUD which provides funds for the Section 8 Voucher Program. We currently have 1,303 Vouchers under contract with HUD.
Low-Rent Public Housing. We currently own 70 units of Low-Rent Housing. All (with the exception of four existing units acquired in May 1986) were constructed in 1982. The units are located in McMinnville (40 units) and Newberg (30 units) and consist of two- and three-bedroom duplexes and single-family units on scattered sites throughout the two communities. The units are rented to low-income families, with rents based on 30 percent of adjusted income. This program is funded by HUD.
Farmworker Housing. We currently own and manage 54 housing units for farmworker families. Fresa Park has twenty-two units that were built in 1992 and are located in Dayton (14 units), McMinnville (six units) and Newberg (two units). The Fresa Park Development was financed through a loan/grant package from the Farmers Home Administration. Additionally, Abbey Heights, a 32-unit tax credit housing development in Lafayette, opened in August 1998.
Workforce/Family Housing. We currently own four affordable housing complexes. Tice Park. In early 1994, we opened our first affordable housing development (households between 50-80 percent of median income). Located in McMinnville, this 88-unit apartment complex has 60 two-bedroom and 28 three-bedroom units. Tice Park was financed by our offering of revenue bonds. Woodside Park. In 1996 we expanded our affordable housing inventory with the purchase of Silverado Inn in Newberg. Renamed Woodside Park, this complex provides 84 two-bedroom units in Yamhill County’s second largest city. Like Tice Park, this complex was financed through revenue bonds. Haworth Terrace. In 1999, utilizing funds from the State of Oregon, we purchased and rehabilitated Haworth Terrace, a 38-unit complex located in Newberg. Haworth Terrace has 18 one-bedroom units and 20 two-bedroom units. Sunflower Park. In February 2006, we opened Sunflower Park Apartments. Sunflower Park is a 33-unit multi-family apartment complex just off Highway 18 in east McMinnville. Sunflower Park includes 6 apartments designated as "Transitional Housing" for persons moving out of the emergency housing shelter program run by YCAP, our local community action partners. Sunflower Park has 15 2-bedroom apartments and 18 3-bedroom apartments. Funding for Sunflower Park comes through Oregon Housing & Community Services and includes Federal Housing Low Income Tax Credits.
Elderly Housing. The Housing Authority of Yamhill County currently owns two elderly complexes. Riverside Terrace Apartments. In 2002, we purchased Riverside Apartments through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program. It provides 27 units of housing to low-income seniors or individuals who are disabled, 14 one-bedroom units and 13 two-bedroom units. In addition to the purchase, we received a loan from Rural Development to rehabilitate the units. Vittoria Square Apartments. In May 2005, the Housing Authority purchased Vittoria Square Apartments, a 43-unit elderly and disabled complex in Newberg, as a preservation property in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Rural Development) and the Oregon Department of Housing and Community Services. The property receives a long-term subsidy from Rural Development. Vittoria Square has 38 units of 1-bedroom apartments, four of which are designated as handicapped accessible. There are also five 2-bedroom apartments.
Special Needs Housing. We currently own and manage 41 units of special needs housing. Bridges. A private mortgage and a grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank financed a six-unit apartment complex in McMinnville for the chronically mentally ill. Bridges tenants are selected by the Yamhill County Mental Health Department and their staff provide support services for residents. Homeport. A combination of loans and grants from the State of Oregon financed Homeport, a 12-unit complex in McMinnville that provides affordable housing to developmentally disabled and chronically mentally ill individuals. The first residents moved in July of 1996. Sunnyside Apartments. Sunnyside was constructed in 2004 to provide housing for the chronically mentally ill. Funding was provided by Oregon Housing & Community Services. It has 14 one-bedroom units and 1 two-bedroom unit. In addition, there is a community room and with laundry facilities for use by the residents. The project is alcohol- and drug-free, and the residents receive case management from the Yamhill County Mental Health Department. Hendricks Place. Hendricks Place is an 8-unit apartment community for developmentally disabled individuals that was completed on July 1, 2005. All eight units are one-bedroom units and Hendricks Place is run in conjunction with support services oversight from Families United for Independent Living (FUFIL). Hendricks Place is centrally located in McMinnville within walking distance of neighborhood stores and services as well as on the public bus route.
Housing Rehabilitation and Home Repair. The program is funded through Oregon Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to assist low-to moderate-income owner-occupied families in Yamhill County make repairs to their homes. Loans are zero percent (0%) deferred, or two percent (2%) installment, until the property is sold, refinanced, use changes or income increases. As funds are made available, they are re-loaned to other eligible homeowners in our community. This program has been awarded thirteen grants and has been successfully administered since its establishment in 1980.