Upper Valley MEND’s affordable housing proposal gains traction with Leavenworth housing committee

LEAVENWORTH — The City of Leavenworth’s Housing Advisory Committee (HAC) is moving forward with an idea proposed by Upper Valley MEND as part of the HAC’s community-wide Request for Ideas (RFI) to develop and enhance workforce and affordable housing.

Viable RFI submissions have the potential to receive city support through regulatory and permitting assistance, dedicated facilitation and up to $500,000 of earmarked funding for one or more selected projects.

The other two submissions, which included an affordable housing development on the golf course and a rent subsidy initiative, were determined to be incompatible with the RFI criteria. Although the golf course concept reached the city council for discussion, the concept was ultimately dropped.

Upper Valley MEND’s idea proposes a program that would leverage the organization’s established Community Land Trust (CLT) infrastructure, a partnership with developer Matt Melton and city funding to secure four permanently affordable homeownership opportunities in the city.

The proposal requests $600,000 in city funding to subsidize four homes within the Leavenworth Cottages development, Melton’s eight-unit cottage housing project planned on Orchard Street. Under the plan, four homes would remain market rate while the other four would become permanently affordable through MEND’s CLT model, creating a mixed-income neighborhood on a single shared site.

Cottage housing is defined by the city as “a group of smaller detached dwelling units with shared common space, including a shared courtyard or open space.” According to Upper Valley MEND Executive Director Kaylin Bettinger, cottages open up another avenue to add lower priced housing to the market. While it’s not quite affordable for the local workforce, she added, it offers a price point that hasn’t been available to the community in recent years.

“It really kind of unlocks a possibility for us to come in with a reasonable amount of subsidy and put buyers into those homes who otherwise would not have an option to work locally and own

a home,” said Bettinger.

According to Melton, the market rate for the homes are listed at $525,000 each, but units reserved for MEND’s CLT program would be offered a $25,000 discount. Combined with a $150,000 city subsidy per unit, the homes would be priced at $350,000 each.

Under the CLT program, the homes would be available for one, two and three person households earning up to 120 percent of the area median income (AMI), said MEND. Qualified homebuyers would purchase the homes at below-market prices, while MEND would retain ownership of the land beneath the homes. The homes would also carry resale restrictions intended to preserve long-term affordability for future buyers.

The proposal builds on MEND’s established CLT portfolio, which already has 20 permanently affordable homes with two duplexes on the way. Bettinger said the program could easily expand with this framework, drawing from a pool of already interested buyers. She estimated that of the 60 to 70 applicants for the duplexes, a little over half would be more suited for the smaller cottage units.

“I think there's going to be substantive interest,” Bettinger told HAC members during a May 28 meeting.

Upper Valley MEND said it also has the ability to offer additional downpayment assistance loans up to $50,000 to buyers, as well as make referrals to other resources. With known downpayment assistance resources, low-income buyers could be eligible for up to $135,000 in assistance, according to MEND.

The units are expected to be completed in two phases, with the first phase scheduled for fall 2026 and the second for spring 2027. Under the proposal, Upper Valley MEND is requesting $450,000 to subsidize three units in phase one. Because the city is expected to have additional funding available in 2027, MEND is also requesting another $150,000 to subsidize the fourth unit.

The HAC agreed to present the idea to the Leavenworth City Council in a study session in June, with plans to formally recommend council approval in July.

“I see a win-win-win between developer, nonprofit and the city, which frankly was the vision of the RFI effort, if I recall. So a pretty amazing outcome,” said HAC member Kurt Peterson.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media