Blazer Industries of Aumsville has received a $5 million state grant to ramp up its modular building work.
Oregon Housing and Community Services awarded the grant, one of four of that size that the state agency has delivered out of 17 eligible applicants. The other recipients were Intelifab of Klamath Falls, Pacific Wall Systems of Phoenix and Zaugg Timber Solutions of Portland.
The team at Blazer has first-hand experience with the demand side of the housing crisis question. The company has been forced to turn down business occasionally.
“As a modular builder in Oregon for 47 years, we have seen the ebbs and flows of the residential market,” Jessica Bailey, the company’s grant administrator, told Our Town.
“[But] what we are now seeing is unprecedented. Inquiries for residential projects received in 2022 increased by 550%, and then another 123% in 2023. We received inquiries for the entire West Coast, 47% specific to needs in Oregon. In addition, partnering with organizations who have a strong history in the residential market will help us address the state’s housing crisis. As a team, we can and will do better for Oregon.”
Blazer will use the grant funds to create standardized residential units for disaster recovery and low-middle income families in Oregon, Bailey said. Blazer will work with Age+, Hacienda, IdeaBox, and Emmons Design on best practices, training, design, and processes.
“The grant funds research and development for standardized modular units (including a multifamily model), along with construction of three prototypes,” Bailey said. “During the grant period, Blazer will continue to develop and build both commercial and residential orders. The R&D resulting from the grant funding will be used to increase production of all of Blazer’s emergency-response, low and middle income residential projects for Oregon.”
Blazer has approximately 150 employees and produces 300 to 500 modules per year depending on their size and complexity, Bailey said.
The grant allows Blazer to assemble a team that will focus on residential projects.
“Initially we will add four to six positions for the grant team,” Bailey said. “We’ll add production staff as needed.”
The $20 million in OHCS grant money stems from House Bill 2001, a massive piece of housing legislation that originally was passed in 2019 and updated and expanded in 2023.
OHCS officials said the goal of the grant money is to allow developers to prioritize modular housing that is affordable following a wildfire or other disaster or that fits the needs of low-income and middle-income residents.
“Oregon needs affordable and middle-income housing in all shapes and sizes,” OHCS director Andrea Bell said in a press release. “Investing in the production capacity of modular homes is vital to increasing housing options, particularly in rural communities.”
Housing is considered modular when building sections are constructed in a factory and then put together at the intended site. The modular method of housing development can help accelerate affordable housing production as it can lower construction costs and reduce construction schedules compared to traditional building methods.
“The intent of the process and production efficiencies is to keep pricing as reasonable as possible, and also to enable Blazer to produce modules faster, which in turn will increase our capacity to build more residential projects.” Bailey said.
Blazer has a deadline of June 2025 to spend the grant funds. Bailey said it is her understanding that the grant is a one-time opportunity.
“However, the state may choose to offer similar grant opportunities in the future,” she said.
