Redmond, Oregon-based homebuilder and developer Hayden Homes LLC has announced an initiative that will award a total of $150,000 in grants to three cities, counties, or agencies in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon for their efforts to solve their community’s housing affordability crisis.

Deborah Flagan, vice president of community engagement, says the Hayden Opportunity Fund for Housing Affordability is intended to spur cities and counties to invest in innovative solutions for housing affordability.

“We’ve gotten to a point where the cities and the counties really have to make this a priority, and until they make it a priority, we don’t believe that it’s going to be solved,” Flagan asserts. “We feel like this is an opportunity for us to support their efforts.”

Grants of $100,000, $30,000, and $20,000 will be awarded to the top three most innovative solutions. Flagan says Hayden Homes has three categories for the grants: leadership, innovation, and partnership.

For the leadership category, Flagan says Hayden Homes is seeking city and county governments that are taking a proactive role in combating housing affordability crisis.

The winner of the innovation category will need to prove that their city or county government has taken bold new steps to create more affordable housing, she says.

“In many cities and counties, we’re seeing the same programs being used over and over again, and it’s resulting in less affordability and less housing,” Flagan claims.

The partnership category requires that a city or county government partner with businesses and nonprofits to create innovative solutions.

The application for the grants and information about deadlines will be available at haydenopportunity.org after Jan. 1, Flagan says, with applications accepted starting in the spring. Grants will be awarded in fall 2020.

Hayden Homes has several housing developments in various stages of development in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area, including Pillar Rock, on the West Plains; Summerfield, in Spokane Valley; and Brookshire, in Rathdrum. Homes the company currently is marketing range in price from $242,000 to over $350,000.