SquareOne Acquires Another Church Property for New Affordable Housing Development

Building on the success of its recent Peace Village development, SquareOne Villages has acquired a second church property in Eugene to create another permanently affordable, resident-owned housing cooperative.

SquareOne opened the 70-unit Peace Village Co-op at the end of 2023, following the acquisition of the Peace Presbyterian Church property at 3060 River Road. The development provides a pathway to long-term housing stability for households earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income in Lane County ($19,260 to $38,520 per year for a single person household).

Inspired by that project, members of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church (ORLC), located just a mile away at 255 Maxwell Road, began conversation with SquareOne in hopes of continuing their legacy of community service. For more than seventy years, ORLC has served as a neighborhood cornerstone—supporting not only its congregation but also hosting vital community programs such as the Larry Collins Food Pantry, Amicus Memorial Garden Collaborative, and Busy Bees Preschool.

As the small congregation prepared to close its doors, they held a final service in February 2025 and agreed to sell the 2.4-acre property—including approximately 12,000 square feet of existing buildings—to SquareOne at a well below-market price of $260,000. 

“We are deeply thankful to the Our Redeemer congregation for supporting our vision,” said Andrew Heben, Executive Director of SquareOne Villages. “Historically, churches have functioned as community hubs—not just places of worship, but also a place for delivering needed community resources. That legacy is alive at this site, and we’re honored to carry it forward.”

SquareOne plans to develop its sixth limited-equity housing cooperative in Lane County on the site. Preliminary designs include 44 new homes—offering a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units—targeting households earning between 40% and 80% of the area median income ($25,680 to $51,360 per year for a single person household).

In the meantime, the site will continue to host the existing programs that have anchored it in the community. This includes a bi-weekly food pantry and a free organic produce market on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon through October.