Alma Apartments Grand Opening
On Tuesday, we celebrated the grand opening of Alma Apartments! Named after the Spanish word for “soul,” Alma provides 39 units of affordable housing for seniors, people with disabilities, survivors of domestic abuse, and people earning at or below 60% of the Area Median Income. Residents will have access to support programs, including food, coaching, group trips, and more. Cornerstone’s resident services team is partnering with Hope and Safety Alliance, LCOG Senior & Disabled Services, and Catholic Community Services of Lane County, Inc. to provide these resources.
The event, hosted by Cornerstone Community Housing, featured speeches, light refreshments, a ribbon cutting, and an invitation to experience the new building. We enjoyed watching the flow of people through the spaces: seamlessly moving between the central courtyard, the community room with its open garage door, and a furnished one-bedroom unit.
It was a very Oregonian grand opening with many people happily standing in the sudden downpour or nonchalantly stepping under the covered walkways. Darcy Phillips, the executive director of Cornerstone Community Housing, said in her closing remarks that in many cultures rain is seen as a blessing. We witnessed firsthand the blessing of the new apartments.
This project would not be possible without the support of numerous organizations, including the Oregon Housing and Community Services Agency, Eugene/Springfield HOME Consortium, City of Springfield, Oregon and Lane County Government, Heritage Bank, and the Oregon Facilities Authority. The passionate people within these organizations make projects like this happen.
During the celebration, it was great to reconnect with members of the development and A/E/C team, including folks from Home First Development, Urban Resources, Inc., Tabor Design Group, Dougherty Landscape Architects, and Meili Construction Co. Other members of the team were KPFF, Holmes, ABD Engineering & Design, Robbins Electric, HCH Mechanical, and Brothers Plumbing Inc.
For more on the grand opening, see KEZI 9 abc news’ coverage, LookOut Eugene-Springfield’s article, and the Register Guard’s article.