After four years, the $140 million Northpoint Vista mixed-income housing project has taken a significant step forward.

At the Feb. 28 Redmond City Council meeting, council unanimously voted to negotiate a disposition and development agreement between deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co., beating out three other developers for one of the largest housing projects in Central Oregon.

Formerly known as Skyline Village, Northpoint Vista will include approximately 450 units of affordable, workforce and market-rate housing in east Redmond. Units will include a mix of housing options ranging from cottages to multifamily units and townhomes.

According to John Roberts, Redmond deputy city manager, half of the units are to be reserved as affordable housing for those that make 80% or less of the area median income — nearly $72,000 per year for a family of four in 2022.

The other half will be reserved for market-rate and workforce housing. There will be both rentals and opportunities for home ownership.

City officials are hoping to break ground on the project in 2024, on the currently vacant 40-acre plot of land next to the Desert Rise Industrial Park in east Redmond.

According to deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co.’s Jan. 13 proposal, construction of the project could finish in Q4 of 2027 — roughly eight years after the city was awarded the project in 2019.

“This is a really unique opportunity to make something special,” said Deputy City Manager John Roberts. “This is an opportunity to do something unique … (and) create a type of community with a mix of housing that Redmond hasn’t seen or experienced yet”

Roberts said deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co. presented good ideas on how to create better connectivity, noting their ideas for the project’s proposed parks, parking and infrastructure.

“They’re well established in Oregon,” Roberts said. “They’ve assembled a great team.”

According to Mark Miksis, partner and co-founder of deChase Miksis, the company was started in Bend and specializes in multi-family home projects. This project, however, will be their first in Redmond.

Miksis was involved in the construction of Bend’s Hixon at Westside Yard, which includes 203 units of mixed-use market-rate housing with office and retail space in the Old Mill District.

Miksis pointed towards the company’s work on Eugene’s Crescent Village, a 40-acre mixed use project that included options for rental and ownership, a festival street and a town center.

“You can really create a community within a community,” Miksis said.

Jill Sherman, co-founder and partner at the Portland-based Edlen & Co., said the company has projects across the country but has a mission to reduce environmental impacts on housing projects. The company will be focusing on funding for Northpoint Vista.

According to the proposal, deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co. have been equal partners in eight joint venture projects over the last five years. Some of their projects include the 41-acre Brewery Blocks and the 38-acre South Waterfront Central District in Portland.

According to the proposal, the companies will bring together a number of partners, including construction management company Redpoint, master planners GBD, BLRB Architects for architectural design, DOWL for civil engineering and land use and PLACE for landscape architecture.

“It takes a big team to execute on a complex project like this,” Miksis said. “Bringing all these disciplines together is going to be required to have a successful project here.”

The companies involved have a large number of projects throughout Central Oregon, including work on the Deschutes Public Library District Bond Program, the Stevens Ranch Development, Hixon at Westside Yard, Gateway North, The Reserves at Pilot Butte, Eagle Crest, Bend Bulletin Apartments and Brasada Ranch.

Additionally, deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co. reached development agreements with Kôr Community Land Trust, a local non-profit focused on affordable housing in Deschutes County, and Housing Works, Central Oregon’s local housing authority.

According to a letter from Keith Wooden, real estate director for Housing Works, the selection of deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co. would continue the organization’s efforts to increase housing supply as the region grapples with a shortage of units.

“We are committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing in Redmond and see this partnership as an opportunity to further advance the number of quality, affordable units that will serve Redmond’s low-income workforce,” Wooden wrote.

Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch said that while there’s still many steps and negotiations to create a contract between the city and deChase Miksis and Edlen & Co., the council’s approval is an important first step.