A California couple has donated a valuable lot of land in Roseburg. They’ve asked a local non-profit to develop it for veteran housing.
Neighborworks Umpqua develops affordable housing to assist first time home buyers and homeless vets.
Karen Reed is a programs officer with the non-profit. She says the $500,000 land donation from the California owners came as a surprise because it had been for sale and vacant for years.
Reed: “The owner of the property had read a book from Tom Brokaw, that was ‘if you have done well in your life, you should give back,’ and she felt like this would be an opportunity that they could give back to specifically the veteran community.”
Rose and Robert Rothstein have a long history of military service in their family. Reed says the elderly couple hopes homes will be developed for vets “sooner than later.”
A creek runs through the property and it must be surveyed to discover what is buildable. The housing project is years out. Reed expects multi-family homes, perhaps duplexes, to ultimately impact the greatest number of veterans.
