A new affordable housing development has opened in Eugene. Ollie Court not only provides living units, but also an onsite learning center.
The development is on 13th Avenue and Chambers, just a mile west of the Lane County Fairgrounds. It has two four-story buildings with 81 apartments.
In a press release from Homes for Good, the units are described as 15 one-bedroom, 50 two-bedroom, and 16 three-bedroom apartments to accommodate a variety of family sizes. It also has three playgrounds and what’s called the Leap and Learn Center, designed for young children.
Charlene Strauch is executive director of Head Start Lane County. She said the center has broad and low windows, to give kids a better sense of exploration as well as providing extra daylight. She says having it within the Ollie Court complex is a real boost for working parents.
“It’s an ease for these families that are already probably in a position where things are a little bit more of a struggle for them,” Strauch told KLCC. “The ability to get up, walk out the door, then drop their child off, it’s awesome.”
Jacob Fox of Homes for Good says his organization teamed up with Head Start and Early Childhood CARES to provide Ollie Court children with the specialized classrooms.
“So when they walk across the street to the elementary school, they’re more prepared for kindergarten,” Fox said.
Other partners included city and state agencies, and the Jefferson Westside Neighborhood Association.
The Eugene City Council and the Eugene-Springfield HOME Consortium Governing Board approved Homes for Good’s plans for the development in 2023. The property was commonly known as the Naval Reserved Property and for a while served as an overnight parking camp for the unhoused.
Fox did say that while 81 units is important, they are still 15,000 units behind in accommodating the area’s homeless population. He and other housing advocates said that there could be need of a bond measure and more support from the private sector to improve the city’s response to the homeless problem.
Copyright 2026, KLCC.
