Officials broke ground Thursday on Gussie Belle Commons at the former Salem General Hospital site on Center Street.
When completed, the complex will have 180 affordable housing units — a critical need in the community.
Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency Executive Director Jimmy Jones, whose agency will partner with residents to provide services, said the housing development comes at a very difficult time for low income people.
“The need for these projects has never been more acute, never greater,” Jones said.
A rendering of the Gussie Belle Commons affordable housing community planned for 2561 Center St. NE.
Green Light Development, Home First Development and Seed of Faith Ministries partnered for the project.
“Gussie Belle Commons is going to deliver affordable housing for families and individuals in Salem at a time when housing needs are high,” said Mark Desbrow, founder and managing partner at Green Light Development. “We and all of our partners involved are excited about the opportunity to provide high-quality, affordable homes that people can be proud of.”
Located at 2561 Center St. NE near the Oregon State Hospital and Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, Gussie Belle Commons will include a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units, as well as a community building, outdoor spaces and in-unit amenities such as washers, dryers and dishwashers.
Ben Pray, owner of Home First Development, said the project will be the largest development his company has worked on. He said it was important to make the homes beautiful and comfortable and to give residents a sense of community.
“They are going to feel like they’re home,” he said. “They’re going to love it.”
Twenty-four of the units will be available to individuals and families earning 30% of the area median income, and 96 will be for those earning 60% of AMI.
This means a two-bedroom, 901-square-foot apartment would cost $521 for people at 30% AMI and $1,137 for people at 60% AMI.
The first phase will include the construction of 120 units, a playground and a community building. The second phase will bring an additional 60 units. Developers hope to build an affordable day care for residents and the community in the third phase.
The community is named for the late Salem pastor and certified nursing assistant Gussie Belle Brown.
Developers said Seed of Faith Ministries, a Black-led church with a long track record of serving the community, will bring its experience, leadership and network of partnerships to the project to help ensure stability and prosperity for future Gussie Belle residents.
Seed Of Faith Ministries Bishop Wade Harris said he was proud of being able to name the community after his Sunday school teacher.
“She put in me community and to work in the community, and I’ve been doing that work ever since,” he said.
He thanked nonprofits, city and local leaders and developers for having faith in the project, summing the results in one word: “Wow.”
Seed of Faith Pastor Evelyn McCoy-Harris said as someone who once faced homelessness as a single mother, the community meant more to her than just new housing.
“It means more to me because I have lived experience,” she said. “I understand what it means to be homeless.”
Mayor Chris Hoy said the groundbreaking marked his last public event as the mayor of Salem, and he couldn’t think of a better send off than a project adding more affordable housing to the city.
He said Gussie Belle Commons shows what can happen when community partners work together and the city puts in the effort to prioritize affordable housing.
Before the city purchased the land and sold it to the developers, it was the site of the hospital that was the birthplace for the bulk of Salemites before 1990.
“It’s really coming full circle now,” he said. “This sat empty for so many years … we’re going to be sort of rebirthing this property with amazing affordable housing for people who probably have either been on our streets or been at risk of living on the streets, and now they’re going to have a place to call home. This was a hospital that saved lives before, and this property is going to continue to save lives.”
It is expected to welcome families in early 2026.
Additional partners in the project include the city of Salem, Salem Housing Authority and Mid-Willamette Community Action Agency.
Funding for the $45 million development comes primarily through a $17.9 million Local Innovation Fast Track award by Oregon Housing and Community Services and $17.8 million in low-income housing tax credit equity through investment partners CREA and Aetna.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on X at @wmwoodworth
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem’s Gussie Belle Commons affordable housing to open in 2026