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Construction crews have broken ground on a 50-unit affordable housing development in Southeast Portland.

ROSE Community Development is leading development of the approximately $25.4 million project. The three-story, 50,045-square-foot Berry Ranch Apartments will rise on the developer’s property at 11110 S.E. Powell Blvd., in the northeast corner of the Lents neighborhood.

The project team includes architect BDA Architecture & Planning, civil engineer KPFF, structural engineer Stonewood Structural Engineers, landscape architect Marianne Zarkin Landscape Architects, and general contractor Walsh Construction. Other project partners include Portland General Electric, Community Vision, and Mercy Housing.

The new building will have 13 one-bedroom units, 28 two-bedroom units, and nine three-bedroom units. Four units will be restricted to residents earning up to 30 percent of the area median income (AMI), 45 units will be restricted to households earning up to 60 percent of AMI, and one unit will be for the manager. The 60 percent AMI units are intended to be affordable for households at 50 percent of AMI through rent reductions. The work with Community Vision will ensure that 14 units will serve people with physical or intellectual disabilities.

The building will have an elevator as well as a central courtyard with a play area, ROSE Community Development co-Executive Director Nick Sauvie said.

ROSE Community Development worked with David Douglas School District and Earl Boyles Elementary School for a long time on the project. Gentrification is displacing a lot of families from within the school boundary, Sauvie said. This apartment building will provide many families an opportunity to stay within the area, he said. The developer will work with the school to encourage students’ families to apply for housing at Berry Ranch when it opens.

A solar array will be installed on the building’s roof, Sauvie said. Also, batteries will be installed to ensure power is accessible during any power outages.

An approximately $16.5 million building permit is currently under inspection by Portland Permitting & Development. Officials expect project completion in late summer or early fall in 2025.