Mercy PeaceHealth Family is now Columbia Heights

Mercy Housing Northwest and PeaceHealth celebrated the grand opening of Columbia Heights, an affordable housing community, on August 24, 2022.

Located at 408 Northeast 93rd Avenue, Columbia Heights provides 69 affordable homes for families in Vancouver, Washington. The property features a spacious community room with a kitchen, computer lab, and outdoor recreation space with walking paths, seating areas, and a playground. Two-thirds of the units are two and three-bedroom apartments, helping meet the critical need for affordable, family-sized housing in Southwest Washington.

Those attending the celebration had the opportunity to hear from guest speakers as they talked about the impact of the project. They also had a tour of the space and learned from Resident Services staff about the programming and services that will be offered at Columbia Heights.

Mercy Housing would like to thank the following project partners: PeaceHealth, the City of Vancouver, Clark County, The Washington State Housing Finance Commission, The Washington State Department of Commerce, Washington Community Reinvestment Association, The Vancouver Housing Authority, Walsh Construction Co., MWA Architects, and Wells Fargo Bank.

PeaceHealth approached Mercy Housing Northwest in 2016 to explore how they could take direct action to address housing instability in the communities they serve in Southwest Washington. PeaceHealth donated the land for the project and gifted $2.4M in capital funding.

“PeaceHealth and Mercy Housing Northwest share a common mission to serve those in need. We are proud of our collaborative partnership and honored to celebrate the final outcome of bringing much-needed affordable housing to dozens of families in our community,” said Sean Gregory, Chief Executive of PeaceHealth Columbia Network. “Adequate housing is directly linked to the quality of one’s health. We applaud the expertise and investments Mercy Housing and many other organizations are making right now in our community to address the housing crisis. It takes a village; our village has needed momentum.”

Public funders for this project are the City of Vancouver, Clark County, and the Vancouver Housing Authority. Financing partners are the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, The Washington State Department of Commerce, the Washington State Community Reinvestment Association, and Wells Fargo.

“A safe, stable place to live is critical for good health of any kind,” said Steve Walker, executive director of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. “This new community highlights that, and we’re proud to be a part of the financing through the federal housing tax credit.”

The community was designed by MWA Architects and was built by Walsh Construction Co.