MMHF and Partners Take the Stage at Oregon Infrastructure Summit

This Monday and Tuesday, Missing Middle Housing Fund staff helped organize and deliver two sessions at the Oregon Infrastructure Summit at the Seaside Civic Convention Center.  Organized by Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, the Summit served as an educational opportunity for the latest and greatest in infrastructure planning and development. Core to that work, of course is housing. 

On day 1, our CEO Nate Wildfire led a 2.5 hour workshop on Decreasing Project Barriers for Housing, Childcare, and Workforce. For those who have been to one of our Let's Build events, it felt a lot like that – groups of talented, committed practitioners brainstorming and developing action plans to solve common project barriers. A huge shoutout is due to Business Oregon and DLCD staff who served as facilitators for the event after training from MMHF. People from across the state rolled up their sleeves, met each other, and got to work proposing solutions with timelines, identified resources, and metrics of success. 

On day 2, Nate led a panel on Middle Income Housing and Innovation case studies.  Joining him were our partners Quang Truong of UrbanForm, Bec Wilder of Green Canopy NODE, and MMHF’s own, Ryan Olsen. In a wide-ranging discussion, the panel drilled down into specific actions governments and ecosystem partners can take to support middle income housing creation and innovation commercialization. 

Some questions were left unanswered, such as “if cities reduce fees and taxes to promote desperately needed housing creation, how do they pay for the commensurate increases in services for those residents?” Housing, as a key driver of economic development and quality of life, is a nonnegotiable pillar of strong communities – but it takes significant capital. How we find solutions to these macro challenges will define the future of housing accessibility.