Bill Van Nostran

To my disappointment, it has been some time since there has been anything published about efforts by First Presbyterian Church members to imagine creation of additional, affordable housing in Astoria.

Truth be told, there has just been very little to report. The prospect of developing affordable housing — anywhere — is very difficult and depends upon soliciting partners with expertise in design, construction and permitting and on obtaining foundation monies, tax credits and federal funds enough to complete.

By way of review, in 2018, our dear departed friend, Richard Garner, led a search to identify a vacant or underutilized commercial building which would be suitable for such a project. The ideal structure would be available for sale, close to employment opportunities and on a bus line.

The four-story, 1920s “boarding house” along Marine Drive — the old State Hotel, where the Mallternative once leased space — fit the bill perfectly. In 2019, above and beyond their pledges, church members purchased the property and the adjacent east parking lot.

Then, we established a nonprofit separate from the church, received an IRS identification number so that donors will enjoy a tax advantage, and recruited a volunteer board of community influencers to fine-tune the vision, find a housing developer, apply for financing, raise city awareness and solicit public support. And because the Copeland Lumber Co. originally owned the property — and the Copelands were Astoria pioneers — we chose to name our nonprofit and our affordable housing project Copeland Commons.

And yet, despite our seeming mission momentum and unmistakable board enthusiasm, if we thought negotiating for the property was difficult, that is not nearly the biggest hurdle to be jumped. The most significant challenges, which inhibit any rapid realization of our building rehab and housing creation goals, are identifying the right developer and garnering sufficient monies to complete the reconstruction.

First, we asked Julie Garver and Innovative Housing Inc., of Portland, the successful nonprofit developer of the Merwyn Apartments, to consider Copeland Commons. However, at the time, the Merwyn was winding down and funding approval for a Lincoln City project was looking up. We agreed we were naïve, idealistic and “didn’t know what we didn’t know,” and Innovative Housing didn’t have bandwidth to take on another coastal project yet.

After a long three years of affordable housing development education, as well as several trial-and-error attempts to discover a preferred development partner, we have now come full circle. Innovative Housing has agreed to see if, together, we can get workforce housing downtown and get Copeland Commons to the finish line.

I’m honored to share that, to date, a number of individuals, as well as faith communities — in Astoria and beyond — have given to our Copeland Commons account.

However, imagining 66 new workforce units — one donor at a time — would take forever, and achieving our dream — at that pace — would be impossible. But we trust the city will catch our vision, federal housing monies — brokered in Salem by the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department — will still ultimately provide the lion’s share of the development funds, and we are confident there are foundations which will partner with us and other agencies that will grant financial support to us.

Unfortunately, there’s also a possibility that we will come up short.

Innovative Housing has estimated our Copeland Commons project may fall short by about $1.5 million. Consequently, our volunteer board has taken on the challenge to raise that much. To that end, the board has identified a number of local and national grantors who specifically target affordable housing projects like ours, and we have begun writing them applications for assistance.

Just weeks before Christmas, we got word that Copeland Commons has been awarded $500,000 from the Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization. Our region’s coordinated care organization appropriately recognizes: “Housing is a basic determinant of health.”

Not only a huge first step — and one-third of our goal — but this early commitment makes decision making easier for private foundations and other agency funders who won’t have to feel they’re first to take this leap or that they’re taking it alone.

Would you like to be a sponsor of this worthy, community housing venture? Would you consider helping us to reclaim and restore one of Astoria’s historical treasures in the downtown corridor? Would you also recognize, with us, that the supply of available and affordable lodging is so low that 66 new units will only scratch the surface of our local concern?

Would you be willing to participate in enabling some entry-level workers invited to restaurant, hotel, government, hospital and service jobs in town find a place to live? Would you contribute something to assist us in creating housing opportunities for workers, young families and retirees or meeting opportunities in the Dick Garner Community Room?

If your answer — to any one of the questions above — is “yes,” please make your tax-deductible donation check payable to Copeland Commons, and mail it to: Copeland Commons, Post Office Box 1352, Astoria, OR., 97103.