Medford Project Turnkey motel conversion stalled due to lack of funding

MEDFORD, Ore. – Medford’s “Project Turnkey” site is short nearly $1.8 million in funding.

Now, the city is looking for ways to bring in more money for the project.

Project Turnkey, a program to help house fire survivors and the homeless, provided a $2.5 million grant to the city.

That money is being used to convert the Redwood Inn Motel in downtown Medford into a housing complex.

The project, managed by Rogue Retreat, needs anywhere from one to $1.8 million to finish the remodel.

The city said they wanted the 47-unit complex to have kitchens, to create independent living spaces.

Now, the goal has shifted from having fire survivors place in these units to low-income individuals instead.

However, the project has been stalled for six months.

According to the city, rising construction prices after plans were put in place in 2021, drove up costs.

“When materials were increasing exponentially it found itself, like a lot of projects to not have the money it needed to actually complete the project,” Medford city manager Kelly Madding said.

Madding said the state now plans to provide an addition $450,000 to fund Project Turnkey.

That leaves a $650,000 to $1.2 million gap to fill.

The city asked the Medford Urban Renewal Agency, which helped secure the Project Turnkey grant, for additional funding to complete the project.

Now, if the city isn’t able to secure more money, Madding said they have two options.

Either, sell the project to return the money back to the state or find a new non-profit to pickup the project.