Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) has awarded $20 million to modular housing developers to boost production of these homes through Oregon.
The developers will prioritize supplying modular housing that is affordable to state and local governments following a wildfire or other disaster, low-income housing construction and middle-income housing construction.
Housing is considered modular when building sections are built in a factory and then put together at the intended site. The modular method of housing development can help accelerate affordable housing production as it can lower construction costs and reduce construction schedules compared to traditional building methods.
OHCS created the Modular Housing Development Fund to distribute the $20 million allocated through House Bill 2001 in the 2023 legislative session. The agency worked quickly to get funds out the door, opening applications for funding last November. Four out of 17 eligible applicants were funded including one in Southern Oregon.
Pacific Wall Systems, Inc., of Phoenix was awarded $5 million to produce modular housing for people displaced by the 2020 Almeda Fire that devastated Phoenix and Talent along with portions of north Ashland and south Medford.
Companies in Klamath Falls, Portland and Aumsville were also awarded funding to manufacture modular housing.
