Just three months ago, previously unhoused residents began moving into the Old Mill Apartments, a new supportive rehousing project located in southeast Bend. Today, thanks to a unique community partnership with Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC), the Multi-Agency Coordinating (MAC) group, City of Bend, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s office, Fortify Holdings, and R&H Construction, the Old Mill Apartments is now at full occupancy.
The Old Mill Apartments is a high-quality motel conversion with 75 studio apartments serving households coming from unsheltered homelessness. Regionally determined priority placement exists for those who are medically vulnerable, LGBTQ+ youth, and of the BIPOC community. All tenants are connected to and offered supportive services. Each unit is leased at a Fair-Market Rate (FMR) determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“We are grateful to the regional partners who worked tirelessly to help 75 of our previously unhoused neighbors find safe and stable housing at Old Mill Apartments,” said Tammy Baney, Executive Director of COIC. “To fully renovate a property built in the 1960’s and achieve full occupancy within 19 months of starting the project is just shy of a miracle. It shows that our community can and will step up to support our neighbors.”
Jan. 10 marks the anniversary of Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s first targets for reducing and preventing unsheltered homelessness. In 2023, Governor Kotek signed three executive orders to address the state’s housing and homeless crisis, including EO 23-02, which declared a state of emergency to address homelessness in Oregon.
As a result, Multi Agency Coordination (MAC) Groups were convened in many of the state’s Continuum of Care (CoC) regions. In Central Oregon, COIC facilitated and convened a MAC Group to allocate EO 23-02 funding at a regional scale, in partnership with the Homeless Leadership Coalition (Central Oregon’s CoC). Central Oregon received funding to support projects across Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties, including the Old Mill Apartments.
“At Fortify, we take pride in collaborating on public-private partnerships like the one that made the Old Mill Apartments possible,” said Ziad Elsahili, President of Fortify Holdings. “We specialize in redeveloping properties such as the former Old Mill Inn and Suites, transforming existing buildings into accessible, safe, and high-quality housing for those who need it most. We are thrilled to see this property fully utilized to house those most in need. At Fortify, our mission is to build community, and nothing exemplifies this more than seeing projects like Old Mill Apartments come to fruition.”
Last year, Governor Kotek extended the emergency declaration to address homelessness in Oregon through January 2025. State agencies and partners were re-engaged and charged to maintain the added capacity to the state’s shelter system, rehouse additional households experiencing homelessness, and prevent homelessness for additional households.
“Projects like the Old Mill Apartments offer much-needed housing for our most vulnerable populations,” added Baney, who is also the leader of Central Oregon’s MAC Group. “More individuals can quickly exit homelessness, return to stable housing, and access case managers and social services. But it’s clear – given how quickly we were able to fill these units – that we still can’t fully meet Central Oregon’s supportive housing needs. The model is working, and we need more projects like the Old Mill Apartments.”
