Woodmansee Housing Community Salem, Oregon

Woodmansee Housing Community a residential community to be developed by Catholic Community Services on a 1.27-acre site at 4685 Sunnyside Road, adjacent to Woodmansee Park in Salem. The goal of the project is to create a new vision for an integrated neighborhood by providing high-quality, well-maintained housing serving people with a broader range of needs and abilities than is currently available.

The one- and two-story village-style development will offer an attractive environment for individuals who need assistance in their daily lives, together with housing for others who need a safe and affordable place to live. Some of the units will be designed to allow persons with special needs to live independently, with some support, in a safe and attractive neighborhood. Other units will be attractive to individuals or families who are in the work force, but have not found an affordable place to live. One of the units will be a “Forever Home” based on the highly successful CCS program that gives foster children a permanent home to succeed in a safe and caring family setting. For everyone who lives here, and for those who visit, the promise is a livable neighborhood where people from different walks of life know and care about each other, and where people with disabilities can belong and thrive.

The project will be designed to be compatible with the adjacent residential neighborhood. A visually attractive development on this vacant site will be a significant improvement to Woodmansee Park. It will contribute a greater sense of safety at the park entrance and awareness of activity within the park. The project is in the initial visioning stage, and it will be developed with the input of community partners and neighbors. The preliminary program is to build 18 units of housing, including one-bedroom, two-bedroom, some three-bedroom apartment units, and the Forever Home. CCS is also exploring options to include community amenities that would contribute to neighborhood and help make this a vital place to live.