C Street Co-op

As we face our nation’s housing crisis, cities are struggling to accommodate a growing population in neighborhoods zoned exclusively for low-density, single-family housing—which comprises roughly two-thirds of the existing housing stock here in Oregon. In 2019, the state legislature addressed this issue head on by banning single-family zoning, and allowing "middle housing"—duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, cottage clusters, and townhouses—to be developed on these lots by right.

The C Street Co-op provides a model for infilling our single-family neighborhoods with resident-owned housing co-ops that increase density while maintaining the neighborhood character. From the the street, it looks no different than a single-family home with with an ADU in the rear. However, the two buildings are split into six one-bedroom suites owned by  a 6-member limited-equity co-op (LEC). In order to maintaing permanent affordability, SquareOne acts as the community land trust (CLT), retaining ownership of the underlying land and providing technical assistance to the co-op. 

The C Street Co-op opened in September 2021, and became the first housing in Oregon to combine a Limited Equity Co-op with a Community Land Trust.

This innovative and cost-effective project was developed in partnership with Cultivate. Total development cost were just $100,000 per one-bedroom suite, with just $20,000 per suite in one-time subsidies needed to achieve permanent affordability for househollds earning under 80% of the area median income. The intial buy-in price to become a member of the C Street Co-op was $10,000, and the co-op secured a blanket mortgage along with a small secondary loan to cover the remainder of the purchase.