After several delays, Almeda and South Obenchain fire survivors may begin to move into new homes they will own in the restored Royal Oaks housing project north of Phoenix as early as April.

The Housing Authority of Jackson County has reached an agreement with Oregon Housing and Community Services to provide 118 manufactured homes at the site, which burned in September 2020. OHCS will provide nearly $17 million for the housing. Modular homes originally constructed for the project were rejected for occupancy due to defects.

“We anticipate we will have residents moving in the first half of next year, potentially as early as April,” said Ryan Haynes, development director for the county housing authority. “We are doing everything in our power to make sure we are getting it done in the first-class manner it should have been delivered at.”

InteliFab of Klamath Falls has been contracted to construct the 118 units, which will have two bedrooms, one bath, a floor space of 917 square feet and an attached carport.

The funding consisted of Affordable Rental Housing resources and state general funds dedicated to wildfire recovery, according to Delia Hernandez, a public information officer with OHCS.

“OHCS in partnership with the Housing Authority of Jackson County are working towards delivering on our commitment to restore safe and healthy housing at Royal Oaks,” Hernandez wrote in response to questions from the Rogue Valley Times.

After the 2020 Labor Day fires in Oregon, OHCS contracted with Boise-based Nashua Homes of Idaho, Inc., to provide 140 modular units to help meet housing needs in the state. Of those, 118 were slated for Jackson County.

In early 2022, the housing authority purchased the 21-acre Royal Oaks Mobile Manor site that was destroyed in the Almeda Fire with $6 million awarded by OHCS to provide housing for survivors. The authority spent another $5 million to redevelop the site, including replacing most of the infrastructure.

Most of the work, except for landscaping and items related to unit placement, had been completed by August 2023 when OHCS announced plans to have the defective units rebuilt. There were 66 units on site by June 2023, with occupancy set to begin in fall of that year.

“It was obvious when they first arrived on site that they were not of the quality to be expected,” Haynes said. State officials said there were health and safety issues. A complete teardown of one unit found 20 problems.

But in April of this year the state agency said it was abandoning the rebuilding plans, which would have used local craftsmen, after a review with local partners. The agency said at that time that rebuilding would not fully reassure community members.

As agreed by the state agency and the housing authority, ACCESS, Jackson County’s community action agency, has been handling the applications and screening process for future residents who will own the homes.

Gracie Perry, ACCESS’ marketing and communications director, said the organization has no comment at this time on the latest developments.

ACCESS is working with the Housing Authority of Jackson County to keep the potential residents of Royal Oaks updated, Hernandez said.

ACCESS had paused processing applications for residency when the plans to rebuild the defective units were announced. At that time, the agency had been reviewing 44 applications from former Royal Oaks residents, who had first priority to receive homes. They had also selected another 100 fire survivors for review through a lottery.

Future residents will receive the homes with little or no costs. ACCESS will look at fire-related aid that applicants have received to determine how much they may need to contribute toward home costs. The aid could include insurance payments or assistance from government or other agencies.

Residents who pass the initial screening by ACCESS will be reviewed by the county housing authority for income status. To qualify, resident income must not exceed 80% of the area median income based on family numbers. That includes $70,2409 for four people, $81,520 for six and $56,240 for two.

Monthly costs to residents will be space rent and charges for electricity, with the housing authority covering other expenses.

Residents’ moving into the units will take place in phases, Haynes said. “We don’t want to wait until all 118 units are done.”

The carports are already in place. While all the units are of similar architecture, entranceway location will vary based on carport locations.

Working with a color analyst, 10 different colors have been selected for the homes, and units of the same color will not be placed next to each other. Residents will have the option of repainting their homes, Haynes said.

The site also includes a clubhouse with a management office and another office that will be available to use as needed by outside agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which might be offering services on site. A site manager will occupy one of the units.

There will be play spaces and fields. There will also be a gravel parking lot for residents who need to have their work vehicles at the development. 

OHCS has removed Nashua Homes’ defective units from the site. The units are currently in storage in Medford awaiting a resolution to the manufacturer’s legal situation.

Earlier this year, Hernandez said the state is exploring its options with respect to Nashua Homes, which had a contract for OHCS for just under $24 million to construct and transport the homes to sites in Oregon. Homes were also transported to other counties that suffered destruction in the fires.

“OHCS continues to work, day in and day out, with the (Oregon) Department of Justice which has expertise in construction litigation to ensure agency’s rights, and those of the citizens of the state, are protected,” Hernandez wrote in her response.

Editor’s note: Photo captions for this story have been updated.