Housing in Hermiston keeps expanding
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, January 11th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
HERMISTON – The Hermiston Building Department approved permits for 210 new housing units in 2022, setting a new high mark in the city’s recent efforts to increase and diversify available housing for a growing population. This marks the most housing unit permits issued in Hermiston since 2006.
The new housing includes a mix of single- and multi-family site-built dwellings, income-restricted apartments, and manufactured homes. Since the beginning of 2020 the city has issued 464 new housing permits.
While the U.S. Census Bureau estimated Oregon’s population declined by 16,000 people between 2021 and 2022, Hermiston continued to grow at a steady pace. The Portland State University Population Estimate shows Hermiston adding 277 residents, in line with recent year-over-year growth and bringing the population to 19,696.
“As every city in Oregon deals with housing shortages, we’re happy to be seeing some really strong returns on our purposeful and long-term commitment to increasing a full mixture of housing options,” said Mark Morgan, assistant city manager. “Housing development is a marathon and not a sprint. City council has made housing availability an annual goal since 2017 and it has resulted in several large infrastructure investments which allowed our development community to quickly respond to the recent low interest rates. As mortgage rates rise, those infrastructure improvements will continue to be an effective investment toward maintaining affordability.”
The Moorehouse Apartments broke ground in 2022 and will add 60 income-restricted units to the city’s housing stock. The 200-home Santiago Estates Manufactured Home community is also underway and is expected to begin permitting units in 2023.
The 350-acre Prairie Meadows project on Feedville Road was also set in motion in 2022 through the development of the Southwest Hermiston Urban Renewal Area. It is expected to include 1,300 single- and multi-family units and other community amenities and to begin adding housing in 2025.
