Community leaders in Lincoln City broke ground Friday on an affordable housing complex.
The 44-unit complex, known as Wecoma Place, will be reserved entirely for low-income families. Affordable housing can be hard to find in Lincoln City, especially after the Echo Mountain Fire destroyed hundreds of homes two years ago.
Lincoln County Commissioner Claire Hall said, as chair of the Oregon Housing Stability Council, she’s familiar with the state’s housing shortage. As such, "it’s extra special, extra nice to see ground broken right here in our own backyard for housing that will immediately have an impact on the lives of dozens of families,” she said.
Officials say state and local tax incentives will help fund its construction, which is expected to cost $12 million. It should open in early 2024.
Oregon Housing and Community Services director Andrea Bell was on hand for the event. She said the new complex will be the result of a community-wide effort.
“For all of you that are here, whether you are a service provider, whether you are working on the architecture side, whether you are supporting from the sidelines, supporting from the inside and the building up, this is what community building looks like," she said. "This is what community resiliency looks like.”
