Reporter for The Canyon Weekly
The largest housing project in Mill City history is ready for occupancy.
Beech Street Commons, a 54-unit affordable housing property, has begun allowing tenants to move in. The property is on the west side of Mill City off of River Road NW via 8th Place between Highway 22 and the North Santiam River.
“I am excited to share that Beech Street Commons received our temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) this week,” builder Tim Lawler of Greenlight Development of Portland told The Canyon Weekly. “The first residents moving in are happening today.”
Today referred to Friday, Nov. 1 when Lawler said 11 families were scheduled to arrive.
“I’ve heard from property management that leasing is going great with a lot of interest,” Lawler said. “We are pleasantly surprised.”
Mill City Mayor Tim Kirsch has stressed the importance of adding housing for the Canyon given that the lost homes in the 2020 wildfires represented in many cases a loss of employees for the region’s businesses.
“It is a big deal for Mill City and the whole Santiam Canyon as it will add a much needed inventory of affordable workforce housing,” Kirsch told The Canyon Weekly.
Built to give homes to families affected by the 2020 wildfires, Beech Street Commons offers 10 1-bedrooms, 12 2-bedrooms, 28 3-bedrooms and 4 4-bedroom townhomes set aside at 30% and 60% of local adjusted median income.
The deal was put together by a collaboration of Green Light Development, Home First Development, Marion County and the Marion County Housing Authority, and Oregon Housing and Community Services.
The development was funded with Local Innovation Fast Track (LIFT) funds through Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) and federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) also were used.
Marion County supplied one of the two tax lots that was consolidated into one 4.33-acre parcel.
For information on apartment availability as well as photo galleries of the buildings and amenities, go to .
Beech Street is a new street built for the development. It currently dead-ends at the west end of the property, which includes a sign noting the intent to continue the road “with future development.”
County and state housing officials are hoping to build the 60-unit Santiam Meadows development west of Beech Street Commons. No timetable has been released on that project.
A direct route to Beech Street from Highway 22 will be built once Santiam Meadows is developed.
The project is scheduled to include single-family homes and duplexes on 15 acres. Like Beech Street the project is aimed to serve those displaced by the wildfires.
