255 Maxwell Road
About the Project
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.
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 currently planning our sixth permanently affordable housing co-op for this 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
Transforming an existing church property into a permanently affordable housing co-op that continues the site’s long legacy as a community asset.
Project Data
Location: 255 Maxwell, Eugene, Oregon
Type: Limited-Equity Co-op
Number of Units: 44
Lot Size: 2.4 acres
Density: 18 units/acre
Unit Mix: (12) Studio | (16) 1-bed | (12) 2-bed | (4) 3-bed
Status: Pre-development
Permanently Affordable for: 80% area median income or under
Interested in living at this Co-op?
Village Design & Sustainability
Preliminary plans involve developing a limited-equity housing co-op that will add approximately 44 homes to the site with a mix of studio, one-bed, two-bed, and three-bed floor plans—permanently affordable to households earning under 80% of the area median income in Lane County.
Arranged in a “village” style layout on the east side of the property, parking is kept to the perimeter, and the new residential buildings and existing church building will frame a central open space with mature trees where future residents can gather and play.
The existing 2,300-square-foot fellowship hall will be utilized as a common house with shared amenities for residents (gathering area, community kitchen, laundry, and other shared resources), while other parts of the existing building will continue to support programs that serve the surrounding community.
The existing community garden, stewarded by the Amicus Memorial Garden Collaborative will remain a vibrant space for food production and education in the northwest corner of the site. This collaborative includes NAACP, Beyond Toxics, Nurturely, and other organizations that will help inform the planning and outreach for the future housing co-op.
