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People living in poverty can become isolated. That isolation is compounded in suburbs, according to Trell Anderson, executive director of the Housing Authority of Clackamas County.

HACC has a plan to help alleviate such seclusion at Clackamas Heights, a remote housing complex on a hillside near Oregon City. An $88.3 million project would transform the aging development into a mixed-income, mixed-use community with better transportation access. HACC is seeking a highly competitive federal grant to help pay for the project.

Clackamas Heights’ housing units, built more than 60 years ago, are outdated, energy inefficient and too small to accommodate improvements for people with disabilities, Anderson said. Buses drive by only four times a day, and light-rail trains aren’t easily accessible because of the hillside location and a lack of sidewalks. Many Clackamas Heights residents can’t afford to own a car.

“You are so reliant on an automobile (in suburbs) that getting access to jobs, education and social services is difficult,” Anderson said. “If you consider that it costs the average person $8,000 a year to own and operate a vehicle, and the average income of our residents is $8,500, you start to see the challenges they have connecting with the region.”

The redevelopment, designed by of Seattle, calls for razing 100 units of housing and replacing them with 100 public housing units, 157 affordable rental units and 22 affordable, for-sale homes. Four additional homes would be sold at market rates, Anderson said, to create a mixed-income neighborhood. The redevelopment also would include a mixed-use community center with retail space and an early childhood education and wellness center.

HACC plans to seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development silver certification for the project. The agency recently received a $25,000 grant to cover certification costs, according to Mary Bradshaw, a development project manager with HACC.

In addition, the plans to assist with energy modeling and energy education programs for residents.

“The LEED process is going to help us build a community that can adjust to the resource challenges we’ll face in the future,” Bradshaw said. “The certification also builds our credibility and guarantees we do what we say we’re going to do.”

The geographical isolation of the site poses the largest challenge for the project to meet its LEED goal, according to Nancy Walters, co-chairwoman of a neighborhood advisory committee for the redevelopment. Clackamas Heights is at a higher elevation than nearby communities, with Interstate 205 on one side and the Clackamas River on the other.

“The thing the community needs today is access to amenities,” Walters said. “Even though this is an older neighborhood, it didn’t get much population growth until the 2000s. Having better land use at Clackamas Heights is going to improve the area.”

Increasing housing density on the 20-acre site and locating new storefronts within the area could lead to more transit options and business development, Walters said. In the meantime, HACC plans to partner with Clackamas County Social Services to run a shuttle that would follow a loop from Clackamas Heights to Oregon City’s bus mall, Clackamas County’s campus and Clackamas Community College.

Anderson also plans to ask whether pedestrian or bike paths could be constructed to connect Clackamas Heights to , a planned retail center that would be anchored by a Cabela’s outdoor store.

“A partnership with The Rivers could mean hiring opportunities for our residents,” Anderson said. “The goal of this entire project is (to) connect people with the region and create a sustainable community that will stay that way for the next 100 years.”

HACC has submitted a $21.5 million HOPE VI grant application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Another project, Hillsdale Terrace in Portland, also is in competition for grant money. This is HACC’s first attempt at a HOPE VI grant for the project; the Housing Authority of Portland is on its second try for Hillsdale Terrace, Anderson said.

“Some housing authorities have had success the first time; others have had to try two or three times,” Anderson said. “Preparing this application has been a two-year process. Raising that money from (HUD) is key to making this project happen as we’ve envisioned.”