Peace Village
A scalable model for developing resident-owned, infill housing on typical residential lots, permanently affordable to people with low-incomes.
Location: 1075 C St, Springfield, Oregon
Type: Limited Equity Co-op
Size: 6 one-bedroom suites on 0.1 acres
Status: Open since 2021
Carrying Charge: $825/month
Permanently Affordable for: 80% area median income or under
Project Background
In January 2022, SquareOne Villages officially purchased 3.6 acres of land and roughly 9,000 sq. ft. of existing buildings from Peace Presbyterian Church at 3060 River Rd. in Eugene. Pastor Glenn Edwards explains, “Peace Presbyterian Church is a relatively small congregation and yet we are committed to making a big impact in our neighborhood and community. We are excited to be working with SquareOne to create this housing."
Given that there are a large number of religious institutions with extra land that is developable, we hope that this type of partnersthip provides a replicable model for increasing our stock of permanently affordable housing stock. While Peace Presbyterian Church played a critical role in making this housing opportunity possible, it is not directly affiliated with Peace Village Co-op.
$602,442
Total Project Cost
$100,000
Cost per Unit
$60,000
Total Resident Equity
Ownership Model
On the land, SquareOne is building 70 new units of resident-owned housing, permanently affordable to households under 60% area median income.
The project is founded on a shared ownership structure that combines a Community Land Trust with a Limited-Equity Co-op.
SquareOne will retain ownership of the underlying land, with the intent of preserving long-term affordability, and the residents will collectively own the housing on the land as member-owners of Peace Village Co-op. The goal of this shared-equity ownership structure is to create the most accessible pathway to homeownership in Lane County—reaching households with incomes as low 30% of the area median income—while also preserving the long-term affordability of the housing.
Finance Model
This structure is far more accessible than single-family homeownership because it doesn’t require each household to qualify for a mortgage. Instead, the co-op holds a single mortgage on the property, and each member-owner makes a monthly payment to the co-op to cover all housing costs. In other words, it allows people with limited incomes to pool their resources to operate quality housing at cost rather than for profit. SquareOne's community land trust structure restricts the sale of land, and a limited-equity co-op further protects the long-term affordability of housing through limiting the resale value of membership in the co-op.
In the News
Housing & Site Design
Peace Village includes five unique floor plans to support a variety of small households. Many make cost-effective use of space with optional sleeping lofts in addition to ground-level bedrooms that support accessible living.
The compact homes are extremely energy-efficient, and are designed to use around 50% of the amount of energy as a similar sized home built to minimum code standards. Sustainability measures include highly insulated 2×8 wall construction, elevated airtightness measures, fully insulated slab construction, and high-efficiency heat pump space heating and water heating.
Existing buildings on the site will provide common amenities that extend the space of each individual home. This includes a community kitchen and dining area; meeting space large enough to accommodate all of the residents; laundry facilities; storage space for bicycles, shared tools and resources; and other flexible use spaces.
All homes also feature a functional front porch or balcony. Vehicle parking is consolidated to the perimeter of the site, and the homes are clustered around generous open spaces to provide residents with a connection to the landscape and their neighbors. A fire lane and service road provides limited vehicular access into the center of the site.
