Oregon Modular Housing Developers Highlight Progress During Site Tours

SALEM, Ore. - Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) visits recipients of the Modular Housing Development Fund (MHDF) who are increasing the state's capacity to produce affordable, factory-built housing.

"These visits highlight how targeted investments can help Oregon manufacturers produce more housing," said OHCS Executive Director Andrea Bell. "By supporting this work, we are making progress toward increasing affordable housing supply and creating more housing options for Oregonians across the state."

The grantees - Blazer Industries in Aumsville, InteliFab in Klamath Falls, Pacific Wall Systems in Phoenix, and Zaugg Timber Solutions in Portland - are using MHDF grants to upgrade facilities, adopt new technology, and expand production to deliver homes more efficiently and at lower cost.

The MHDF, supported by Governor Tina Kotek and the Oregon legislature, invested in modular and factory-built housing as one strategy to address Oregon's housing shortage.

Highlights from the grantees:

Blazer Industries is using its $5 million grant to upgrade production systems, create ready-to-build home designs, and improve efficiency. The improvements are expected to add 100-200 homes per year, with a priority on disaster recovery units and affordable homes for lower-and middle-income buyers.

PacWall has added a production line for emergency housing and increased storage capacity to have more units ready to go when needed. They've also added powerful equipment to help move wall panels across the factory floor more efficiently.

InteliFab expanded its Klamath Falls facility, upgraded manufacturing tools, and increased workforce training, allowing them to produce a two-bedroom home every two days. They have also created new modular transit trailers and bought state-of-the-art tools like the Hornet Saw.

Zaugg Timber Solutions purchased custom equipment to produce to-scale modular mass timber affordable housing.

Videos of these visits are posted on the Modular Housing Development Fund webpage on the OHCS website.

Photo caption: OHCS Executive DirectorAndrea Bellvisits InteliFab, a modular housing developer, in Klamath Falls.