A rumor about a Hazel Dell apartment complex evicting all its tenants in a Courtyard Village-esque scenario sounded plausible and spread online — but it turned out to be untrue.
What’s more, the rumor involved an unlikely target: A Vancouver-based property management company trying to make a dent in the affordable housing crisis.
Westwynd Apartment Homes at 10117 N.E. Ninth Ave. was sold in February 2016 to Christensen Properties LLC for $13.6 million. It was formerly Crown Plaza and had a “pretty tough reputation,” according to an email from Richard Gress, CEO and executive vice president of RealVest Corporation, the company managing Westwynd. Businessman and philanthropist Paul Christensen owns RealVest. Kathy Maynard and Mike Maynard own Westwynd.
Gress said the complex was financed through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). To get the loan, a comprehensive inspection was required and certain repairs had to be made, while other repairs could be made within the first 12 months. Those requirements include completely renovating 90 of the 120 units at Westwynd, which are set to be finished by April 30.
Rents are being raised about $50 for renovated units. Current rent at Westwynd is below fair-market rent. A one-bedroom apartment is $950 to $995, and a two-bedroom unit is $1,095.
RealVest said it’s worked hard to retain as many residents as possible with most renovations completed as people leave the complex. Otherwise, tenants have the option to transfer to renovated units, making their old units available for renovations.
To meet HUD’s timeline, six upcoming leases were not renewed. Residents were selected based on non-compliance issues such as having too many people living in a unit, noise disturbances, habitual late payments, and housekeeping or hoarding issues, RealVest said. Those tenants were given 60-day notices to vacate their units, which is longer than the legal minimum.
In Clark County, tenants can receive 20 days’ notice to vacate an apartment for no cause. The city of Vancouver passed renter protections that say tenants have to be given 60 days; those protections don’t apply outside city limits. Gress said RealVest chooses to give all its tenants in Oregon and Washington 60 days’ notice to vacate for no cause and 60 days’ notice of rent increases.
RealVest put together the 2% Initiative program along with the Council for the Homeless and the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington. A minimum of 2 percent of its apartment units are rented at a reduced rate and rental criteria are modified to allow people who would “otherwise not qualify, the opportunity to get and hopefully stay off the street,” Gress said.
Those households get two years of rent assistance from Share or the Council for the Homeless and can keep renting at the reduced rate without assistance for another two years.
RealVest manages seven participating properties. Some 14 units in Clark County are part of the 2% Initiative, including a few at Westwynd. Gress said he’d like to grow participation with other like-minded property owners.
“We wanted to work out the bugs for a year or so on our own properties so we could stand behind the program and promote it to others,” Gress said in an email. “There have, of course, been some bumps; however, it has been very successful and well received at our communities.”
In discussions about the housing crisis, advocates have talked about the need for more involvement from the private market and for-profit companies that are socially motivated, which would include efforts similar to the 2% Initiative.
