Ore. Legislature Funds Oregon's First Intentionally Inclusive Mixed-Income Cohousing Community In North Portland (Photo) - 06/22/26
$1.4M in Lottery Bond Dollars supports affordability for workforce housing; Groundbreaking Set for Early 2027
The State of Oregon has awarded $1.4 million in Lottery Bond funding to Cathedral Park Cohousing, a first-of-its-kind housing development in Portland's Cathedral Park neighborhood that will create permanently affordable and market-rate homeownership opportunities—including homes preferred for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities—within a single, intentionally inclusive and diverse built community.
Governor Kotek has signed the legislation, completing a multi-year, multi-source funding effort and clearing the path for the project to break ground in early 2027. The award was championed in the 2026 Oregon Legislative Session by Representatives Shannon Isadore and Rob Nosse and passed with the full support of the Ways and Means Joint Subcommittee on Capital Construction.
What Is Cathedral Park Cohousing?
Cathedral Park Cohousing is a 23-unit residential development being built in the St Johns area of North Portland. Unlike a conventional apartment building or subdivision, it is designed as a cohousing community: residents own their individual homes and share common spaces, and participate in decisions about how the community is run.
What makes it distinctive and what drew state support is the combination of affordability, accessibility, and inclusion baked into its design. A portion of the units will be permanently affordable, filled in partnership with Proud Ground Community Land Trust, Oregon's largest community land trust, which uses a resale-restricted model to keep homes affordable for future buyers in perpetuity. Other units will sell at market rate. And throughout, the community is designed so that people with a range of abilities can live as full community members alongside neighbors of different incomes, ages, and backgrounds.
"While there are 23 units in this development," said Alicia DeLashmutt, founder and board president of OHICC, the nonprofit that has been working to build this community, "what we're really building is a place where everyone belongs. The lottery Bond dollars from the State means we can actually do it."
Years in the Making
OHICC has been developing the Cathedral Park Cohousing concept for several years, navigating a complex funding environment that required layering state housing grants, community land trust partnerships, foundation funding, and private capital. An ~$2 million award from Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) through the LIFT Housing Program was an earlier milestone; the $1.4 million Lottery Bond award closed the final funding gap.
Advocates and families of adults with I/DD played a significant role in securing the legislative funding. Community members testified before the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Capital Construction and sent emails to legislators throughout the session, describing a housing market that has almost no options for adults with disabilities who want to live in an integrated community.
Where Things Stand Now: A Window to Get In
With funding secured and construction set to begin in early 2027, Cathedral Park Cohousing is entering its final pre-sale phase. Affordable homeownership opportunities will be offered through Proud Ground Community Land Trust's qualified buyer program. Four market-rate units remain available for presale and project organizers are encouraging interested buyers to move soon.
"This is a cohousing community, which means the people who buy in before groundbreaking aren't just purchasing a home,they're joining a community that's being built together," DeLashmutt said. "We still have four market-rate units available, and we want the right people at the table before we break ground."
Prospective buyers and interested community members can learn more and sign up for an info session at cathedralparkcohousing.com.
