Newberg Workforce Housing Consortium (NWHC)
Our Vision:
Our vision is development of corporate partner housing, with access to services that further support the developing workforce in the City of Newberg. We
aspire to create a model that can be replicated throughout the state.
The term, “workforce housing” is frequently confused with the model of transient farmworker housing. The NWHC defines workforce housing as options that sit between state subsidized affordable housing options and market rate housing. The lack of these housing options drive our residents to look for housing, and often jobs, outside of our community. According to various estimates, Newberg needs between 600 and 1,000 new units of housing over the next 15-20 years to serve residents making 80%-120% of Area Median Income (AMI).
Since 2019, the NWHC has included public and private sector organizations including A-dec, Chehalem Property Management, Friendsview, George Fox University, Marquis Companies, Newberg Public Schools, Providence Newberg Medical Center, and SEDCOR, working collaboratively to solve Newberg’s workforce housing shortage.
The NWHC’s work garnered the attention of Oregon State Representative Anna Scharf, who supported a legislative funding request to support the creation of new workforce housing. The bill passed both Oregon houses was signed by then Governor Kate Brown in April 2022, allocating $3M in funding for a Newberg project. In late 2022, the consortium partnered with MMHF, a nonprofit workforce housing innovation fund and incubator, to develop a strategy for attracting innovative solutions that meet the consortium’s goals and requirements for funding.
RFP Announcement - March 1st, 2023 - The Newberg Workforce Housing Consortium (NWHC), Strategic Economic Development Corporation (SEDCOR) and Missing Middle Housing Fund (MMHF) announced an initiative to seek innovative workforce housing development models and partnerships to serve the needs of the City of Newberg and Yamhill County.
The entire RFP announcement, including details for proposal requirements and important dates, can be read here.
"Recruiting new staff is always a challenge; this challenge is made more difficult due to the housing shortage in Newberg. Our students need quality educators now, this need will not go away on its own. We need to act quickly."
- Dr. Stephen Phillips, Superintendent of Newberg Public Schools
"MMHF is proud to partner with SEDCOR and the NWHC on this important initiative to connect housing innovators and development leaders with the Newberg community. There is no silver bullet to address the housing underproduction crisis; but we believe creative and nontraditional partnerships will lead to outcomes more powerful than individual efforts alone."
- Nathan Wildfire, CEO of Missing Middle Housing Fund
"The question I keep thinking is, how does someone just get established in our town? My hope is that we will gain some inventory in Newberg that we can use specifically for our healthcare staff who can't currently find affordable housing in the region. We need to be asking ourselves how we can keep you graduating high school and college students in our communities."
- Todd Engle, Executive Director of Friendsview Retirement Community
Learn how a collaborative community approach to workforce housing development between SEDCOR, the MMHF and the NWHC resulted in innovative solutions for the Newberg area that reduce the time and cost to build.