Support Jackstraw Housing and Mixed Use
Bend City Council and Bend La Pine School Board
In support of Jackstraw
The Jackstraw development is a mixed-use project currently being constructed across from Market of Choice on Arizona Ave. It will provide over 300 units of housing (aka homes) and 17,000 sq ft of retail space, and is centrally located with easy walkable access to amenities like grocery shopping, the Old Mill, and the Deschutes River Trail.
The project has applied for a Multiple-Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE), which is a tax incentive program that encourages the development of multi-unit properties that would not be viable without a tax exemption.
Bend is currently experiencing a housing affordability crisis. Home prices, development costs, and rents are higher than they have ever been, and the solution is clear. We need to build more places for people to live. Bend needs to build more homes, and we need to build denser than we have in the past if we hope to accommodate this growth without sprawling into the forests and farmlands Oregon has spent decades trying to preserve. Incentivizing denser development is the purpose of the Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption, and because of our high interest rates and elevated building costs, these developments need the help. New rental condo and apartment unit development starts have fallen dramatically.
Because the development is being built in the Core Area Renewal TIF district, there will be no direct impact to the budgets of our schools, parks, or city. After the exemption concludes, the project will bring in $27 Million dollars into the TIF, money that will be directly allocated to improving our Core area. If this exemption is not approved, it is very likely that this number will become zero. A third party review of the financial statements of the Jackstraw project has concluded that the project will not be viable without an exemption, and the developer has stated that their loan that is funding this construction is contingent on MUPTE approval. Without approval, construction will be forced to halt, and the city will be left with a half-constructed concrete skeleton in the center of the city.
Regarding the re-negotiation of MUPTE
Throughout the approval processes of projects currently in the pipeline for MUPTE approval, it has become clear that this tax exemption needs to be renegotiated.
Requiring housing developers to pass through a minimum of three discretionary reviews from multiple taxing districts requires too much time, and introduces too much variability to the approval process. Approval needs to be streamlined. The process should be simpler and less arbitrary.
We also would like to see stronger below market rate requirements: Eugene’s MUPTE requires a percentage of Affordable housing in the project or an in-lieu-of fee to an affordable housing fund.
The multi unit property tax exemption helps the city encourage dense developments that would not otherwise be built that we need to make Bend an affordable place for everyone. We need to incentivize developments like Jackstraw. It is our hope that the tax districts in Bend work together so we don't lose this important tool.
Sponsored by
To:
Bend City Council and Bend La Pine School Board
From:
[Your Name]
Mayor Kebler, Councilors, Chair Barnes-Dhalokia and Bend La Pine School Board Members,
We are writing to express our strong support for the MUPTE for the Jackstraw project.
It will provide over 300 units of housing (aka homes) and 17,000 sq ft of retail space, and is centrally located with easy walkable access to amenities like grocery shopping, the Old Mill, and the Deschutes River Trail.
Bend is currently experiencing a housing affordability crisis. Home prices, development costs, and rents are higher than they have ever been, and the solution is clear. We need to build more places for people to live. Bend needs to build more homes, and we need to build denser than we have in the past if we hope to accommodate this growth without sprawling into the forests and farmlands Oregon has spent decades trying to preserve. Incentivizing denser development is the purpose of the Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption, and because of our high interest rates and elevated building costs, these developments need the help. New rental condo and apartment unit development starts have fallen dramatically.
Because the development is being built in the Core Area Renewal TIF district, there will be no direct impact to the budgets of our schools, parks, or city. After the exemption concludes, the project will bring in $27 Million dollars into the TIF, money that will be directly allocated to improving our Core area. If this exemption is not approved, it is very likely that this number will become zero. A third party review of the financial statements of the Jackstraw project has concluded that the project will not be viable without an exemption, and the developer has stated that their loan that is funding this construction is contingent on MUPTE approval. Without approval, construction will be forced to halt, and the city will be left with a half-constructed concrete skeleton in the center of the city.
Regarding the re-negotiation of MUPTE
Throughout the approval processes of projects currently in the pipeline for MUPTE approval, it has become clear that this tax exemption needs to be renegotiated.
Requiring housing developers to pass through a minimum of three discretionary reviews from multiple taxing districts requires too much time, and introduces too much variability to the approval process. Approval needs to be streamlined. The process should be simpler and less arbitrary.
We also would like to see stronger below market rate requirements: Eugene’s MUPTE requires a percentage of Affordable housing in the project or an in-lieu-of fee to an affordable housing fund.
The multi unit property tax exemption helps the city encourage dense developments that would not otherwise be built that we need to make Bend an affordable place for everyone. We need to incentivize developments like Jackstraw. It is our hope that the tax districts in Bend work together so we don't lose this important tool.