A 12-story mass timber building has opened to provide permanent supportive housing for vulnerable residents in Portland, Oregon.
At 145 feet tall, Julia West House is the tallest mass timber building in the state. Inside, the new development features 90 furnished apartments—60 studios and 30 one-bedroom homes—for individuals earning no more than 30% of the area median income.
With abundant natural light, biophilic elements, and integrated supportive services, the community provides a restorative environment for formerly homeless elders and BIPOC residents living at Julia West House.
The development is the latest from Community Development Partners (CDP), which purchased the site from the First Presbyterian Church of Portland, which had been looking for a use that aligned with its values. The original structure—a single-family house named in memory of Julia West Lindsley, the wife of the church’s first pastor, was demolished to make way for the new community.
Design highlights like exposed wood ceilings and glulam columns and beams, visible from the exterior through large windows, are key elements of a warm material palette inspired by the local ecology of the Pacific Northwest. Communal spaces are expressed on the facade of the building as large carve-outs in its massing.
The development was designed by Holst Architecture, structurally engineered by KPFF, and built by Walsh Construction Co.
Programmatically, Julia West House interweaves affordable housing with comprehensive services provided by local organizations Northwest Pilot Project and Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest, along with resident services facilitated by Community for Positive Aging and Lift Urban Portland. These organizations are collaborating with Multnomah County Homeless Services Department’s coordinated access system to identify and transition residents into the building.
Funding for the approximately $58.3 million project includes a combination of public and private sources, including a 4% low-income housing tax credit allocation with equity investment by Aegon; U.S. Department of Agriculture Wood Innovations funding; a Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund grant; rental assistance from Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS); and supportive services funding from OHCS and the Oregon Health Systems Division. Construction financing is being provided by Bank of America, and permanent financing is being provided by Citi Community Capital. Additionally, services are partially funded through the voter-passed Supportive Housing Services measure.