On Friday, May 29th, neighbors, local officials, project partners, and community members gathered on a stretch of city-owned land in Toledo, Oregon to mark the beginning of something that has been a long time coming. Northwest Coastal Housing broke ground on Olalla Meadows, a 30-unit affordable housing development that will bring much-needed housing to Lincoln County and the broader Oregon coast.
The project will include two buildings comprising 22 one-bedroom units and 8 two-bedroom units, with Pinehurst Management overseeing property management, lease-up, and on-site operations once construction is complete. Residents are expected to begin moving in during the winter of 2027.
A Long Road to This Moment
For Northwest Coastal Housing Executive Director Sheila Stiley, the groundbreaking represented the culmination of a journey that began in 2019 — and for the City of Toledo, even earlier. Stiley described the path as a lengthy, complex process requiring extensive coordination, problem-solving, and last-minute adjustments among multiple agencies.
Toledo Mayor Tracy Mix captured the weight of the moment when she spoke at the ceremony. “Well, I didn’t know if this day was ever going to come,” Mix said. She took time to credit former Toledo Mayor Rod Cross for keeping the project at the forefront of city council discussions over the years, ensuring that the history and purpose of the development remained clear even as leadership changed. “It was a lengthy project,” Mix acknowledged, adding that the community’s willingness to work hard for needed housing made all the difference.
The City of Toledo played a central role in making the project possible, contributing a ground lease, infrastructure support, and system improvements. City council, the planning commission, the planning department, public works, and the fire department were all recognized for their sustained involvement. That commitment has been widely described as a model for how small communities can successfully partner on affordable housing development.
Funding Built on Partnership
Funding for Olalla Meadows reflects the kind of layered, collaborative financing that affordable housing projects of this scale require. The development is supported by a combination of grants, lift lender financing, system development charge waivers, sponsor contributions, and backing from state and local partners. Oregon Housing and Community Services and the Housing Assistance Council are among the key funders and technical support agencies involved.
Lincoln County contributed two allocations from its Economic Development Fund, supporting pre-development work and a water intrusion barrier. County Commissioner Casey Miller highlighted the significance of interjurisdictional coordination at both the local and state levels.
“We’re really blessed to be able to provide the Community and Economic Development grant, and the nonprofit social service allocation grant,”
Miller said. “Those are two ways that we contribute to these projects, but the key is interjurisdictional coordination, right at the local level, and then also interjurisdictional legislative advocacy together.”
Advocating for Rural Oregon
Northwest Coastal Housing board member Rich Musick spoke to a challenge that has shaped much of the organization’s work: making the case to state-level decision-makers that rural communities have real housing needs that deserve real resources.
“The capital knows what to do with big city developments,”
Musick said. “They’re not real good on rural developments, and Sheila has had to do a lot of education for the folks at the state level to make them understand that, yes, we have people here, we have needs here, we’re part of the state, we deserve some of that assistance to go to our folks here.”
Musick offered a vivid tribute to Stiley’s role and the board’s commitment to backing her up. “You want to know what support does,”
he said. “You see these movies, these clips where somebody’s going to go in and fight, and the person’s going to do it says, ‘Hold my coat.’ Well, we’re the coat holders, and Sheila goes in swinging.”
The Team Behind the Project
The Housing Development Center is serving as development consultant on Olalla Meadows, helping Northwest Coastal Housing navigate state requirements and adapt to shifting conditions throughout the development process. Design and construction are being led by architect Dustin Capri of Capri Architecture and Curt Meili of Meili Construction — both of whom have a longstanding relationship with Northwest Coastal Housing, having collaborated on previous developments dating back to 2002.
Speakers at the ceremony also recognized the community members who showed up throughout the planning process — neighbors who attended meetings, asked questions, and stayed engaged. Their participation is part of what makes a project like this a community asset rather than simply a construction project.
What Comes Next
The groundbreaking ceremony closed with project partners donning hard hats and taking shovels in hand for ceremonial photos at the site. Construction is now underway, with first move-ins targeted for winter 2027.
Northwest Coastal Housing’s goal is for Olalla Meadows to become a stable, positive part of the Toledo neighborhood and a long-term asset for Lincoln County. It is one more step in a thirty-plus-year commitment to ensuring that people along the Oregon coast have safe, affordable places to call home.
