Work underway on Olalla Meadows project in Toledo, bringing 30 affordable apartments to community

By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/ Lincoln Chronicle 

TOLEDO – A bulldozer oscillated over a mound of dirt, flattening the land to make way for 30 affordable apartments.

“There will be two buildings right there in two L shapes,” said Northwest Coastal Housing executive director Sheila Stiley said as she pointed to the one-acre site.

It’s a little difficult to picture now, as construction workers prepare the lot at 1585 Sturdevant St., a portion of city-owned land overlooking the slough. The $11.2 million project will have 22 one-bedroom units and eight two-bedroom units by next year.

“There’s a real need for local business owners, city staff, teachers,” Stiley said.

Toledo city manager Rich Huebner knows the difficulty firsthand. When he first got the job less than a year ago and making the move from Washington, there was exactly one apartment available to rent in Toledo. By the time he inquired, it was already taken. So, he lives in Newport.

Nearly half of Toledo’s housing was built before 1959 and over 80 percent are single-family homes. There isn’t a lot of variety and housing affordability has decreased over the past two decades.

Over a third of residents spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, according to the city’s 2022 housing capacity analysis. In 2019, the median home value was 3.7 times the median household income, which shows that housing values grew faster than incomes.

The study outlined that as the city’s population grew, there was a need for more housing – especially different housing types that were more affordable. But there was a problem.

“There aren’t many places to put housing,” said Mayor Tracy Mix.

Toledo’s geography also makes things difficult. There isn’t much buildable land and even if there is land that’s buildable the person who owns it may not be selling.  Northwest Coastal Housing is leasing the land from the city for the project.

And Olalla Meadows has already earned some controversy. It was originally in a floodplain zone before it was re-evaluated, Huebner said. A portion of the city-owned property was determined to be out of the floodplain zone and that is where the apartments are being built. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has strict guidelines and would likely shut down the project if it weren’t up to par, he said.

To help support the project, the city waived its system development charges which total about $250,000.

The apartment complex will serve renters who make 60 percent or less of the area’s median income. The construction is expected to be finished in August 2027 and units will likely be ready to rent November 2027, Stiley told the Lincoln Chronicle.

The project has taken years to get off the ground. And while it helps fill a gap in Toledo’s housing needs, there is still a need for other types of affordable housing. Northwest Coastal Housing finished up Blackberry Hill Apartments in 2024 which provides 11 units to veterans.

There is also a need for two- and three-bedroom apartments, for families in the county, Huebner said.

“It’s a drop in the bucket but every drop counts,” Huebner said.

• Shayla Escudero is an enterprise reporter for the Lincoln Chronicle covering local governments, education, housing and social services and can be reached at [email protected]