The Northwest Oregon Housing Authority has unveiled a design plan for a new building that will double the size of the Owens-Adair, an affordable housing complex for seniors and people with disabilities near downtown.

The new four-story, 50-unit apartment complex will mirror the building on 15th and Exchange streets. The proposed design for the project, which was awarded key state funding in August, takes a modern and rustic approach.

The design is expected to go before the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission for review later this month.

The housing authority develops and operates low-income housing and provides other critical housing assistance to residents in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties.

Meaghan Bullard, of Portland-based Jones Architecture, said the design tries to marry features from surrounding industrial and residential buildings.

“Both the zoning and the districts reveal something really interesting about this site, and that’s that it is at the nexus of, in this case, where three disparate districts come together — the gateway district, the central district and … the downtown district,” she said. “Each of those districts have their own unique characters, and this building is at the kind of the nexus of the three of them.

“Astoria is an incredibly historically rich town with so much depth of history here,” Bullard continued. “And it’s just undeniable. But that’s kind of where the ultimate inspiration in many layered forms for the building is coming from.”

Bullard said the design, which incorporated feedback from residents of Owens-Adair, would include an accessible central courtyard facing Exchange Street with planters that include trees, grasses and native plants.

A protected canopy with a green garden roof would lead to the entrance of the rustic, metal-sided building. The building would include large windows and solar panels.

The $22.6 million project was approved for $1.9 million in low-income housing tax credits from the state in August.

The project is expected to serve low-income seniors and people with disabilities earning 30% to 50% of area median income.

The building would include 40 one-bedroom apartments and 10 studio apartments. Basement parking would accommodate 55 parking spots.

Twenty-five units would be reserved for people on the housing authority’s housing choice voucher program waiting list, and 13 would be reserved for supportive housing for people facing homelessness.

The housing authority will partner with Clatsop Community Action to provide supportive housing case management.

The new building, which could be completed by 2024, has had different names over the past several months, but the agency is continuing to explore other options.

While there has appeared to be no public opposition to the project, there is concern at the housing authority, especially after the backlash over the proposed workforce housing project at Heritage Square earlier this year.

Elissa Gertler, the housing authority’s executive director, encouraged board members and others to write letters of support to the city ahead of the Historic Landmarks Commission meeting.

“This is a big deal to put a building like this in this part of Astoria,” she said. “We expect some folks maybe to not like it as much as we all do. I think we all think it’s a perfect expression of what we’re trying to accomplish inside the building and in this place in Astoria.

“But if you live in across the street on Exchange Street, and you have a view today, and you won’t in a couple of years, you might be coming to that Historic Landmarks Commission with something to say.”

Clatsop County Commissioner Pamela Wev, who serves on the board of the housing authority, was concerned about how neighbors would react to the rustic design.

However, she was supportive of the project and features such as underground parking.

“One of the issues that always comes up in this neighborhood is parking,” Wev said. “And I think that this was a really tremendous accommodation for parking concerns.”