Astoria’s Copeland Commons housing project gets green light
Published 1:59 pm Wednesday, June 25, 2025
- A rendering of Copeland Commons.
The Astoria City Council signed off on a pledge of $200,000 on Monday for a housing project that could bring more than 60 new workforce and lower-income units to downtown Astoria.
The group behind the Copeland Commons housing project had requested city assistance as it seeks to close a roughly $700,000 gap in funding for the estimated $29 million project.
The Copeland Commons project would renovate the former State Hotel on Marine Drive and build a second building on a neighboring lot.
The funding pledged in the letter may come through the City Council acting in its role as the Astoria Development Commission, the city’s urban renewal agency.
The Copeland Commons project is not located in the Astor East Urban Renewal boundary. The development commission has not yet made a final decision on a map amendment to expand that boundary, but has expressed support for the project.
City staff say that, for now, a letter of intent will be enough to satisfy requirements by the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department as it reviews the Copeland Commons project budget.
“This initiative exemplifies a transformative vision for workforce housing in our historic downtown,” the City Council’s letter of support for the Copeland Commons project reads, “and its successful implementation stands to yield enduring benefits for the North Coast region.”
The project is a collaboration between the nonprofit Copeland Commons group and Innovative Housing Inc, a Portland-based developer that also oversaw the redevelopment of Astoria’s former Merwyn Hotel into lower-income and workforce apartments.
The project has faced numerous hurdles in recent years.
One ongoing challenge is a requirement by the state to pay union wages, an additional cost to the project of about $2.5 million.
Innovative Housing is appealing the decision and recently submitted the project as an initial step in that process. Julie Garver, director of housing development with Innovative Housing, said the organization expects to hear a response soon.
