28-lot Subdivision eyed for West TD; Developer hopes to dig in this year
Site of proposed subdivision at corner of Kingsley and 15th streets in West The Dalles. Photo is looking northeast.
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles, Ore., Jan. 14, 2025 — JR Pullen of Pullen Holdings, LLC has submitted a site plan for a 28-unit subdivision in West The Dalles at the corner of 15th and Kingsley streets.
“I drive by it everyday,” Pullen said of the property on Tuesday afternoon. “We’re excited…”
Pullen said it has been several years since his company was active in subdivsion development. In the 1990s and 2000s, he said they built Eagle Caves, and subdivisions on Verdant, Honey Do and Seventh streets.
Subdivision location in west The Dalles. Boundary drawn by shakes the editor.
Plans for this subdivision come after years of low housing stock in The Dalles. Some recent estimates indicate that as many as 500 housing units are needed to fulfill current demand.
Most notably, younger people and service workers who are looking for a starter home are often price out of the market. The median home price in The Dalles sits around $400,000. Prices jacked up on Pandemic buying to hedge against inflation and the great online work migration have been key factors in this catapult in home prices.
Thus a traditional loan on a $400,000 home with 20 percent down would require $80,000 up front.
That’s a chunk.
Subdivision will include the improvement of 15th Street and a looping street to provide access to 28 lots. The streets as proposed would be private and maintained by a home owners association.
This new subdivision would be built on a 5-acre lot formerly owned by the Schultens family with lot sizes ranging from more than 8,000 square feet to a touch over 5,000 square feet.
Pullen is also the owner and operator of Columbia Gorge Affordable Homes at 1320 West 2nd Street. He said his company will also be selling the manufactured homes that will be installed in the new neighborhood.
The subdivision would have private streets with a limited home owners association or HOA for street maintenance. Pullen said the HOA will not be restrictive in nature, for example dictating house colors, but rather pay for snow plowing when necessary.
He said he was doing his best to keep new homes in the subdivision affordable.
“We’re trying to bring affordability back to The Dalles,” he said. “This will be an opportunity for people to buy a home and build wealth… It’s the American dream.”
But it is not easy.
He was still unsure of final house prices because he needs final engineering plans to help calculate real construction costs.
Site plan shows the location of lots and street layout.
However, the 5-acre piece of raw land is valued at $500,000, and the cost of a manufactured home with three bedroom two bath is around $150,000. Streets and utilities will also impact prices. A very loose estimate could put the cost at $300,000 to $350,00 once completed.
And that is inexpensive… relative to the other subdivisions that have been approved in The Dalles in recent months and years.
For example, suggested prices on spec. homes in the Park Place subdivision just west of Sorosis Park currently range between $485,000 and $619,000.
Read CCCNews’ recent stories on subdivisions that have been approved for The Dalles below:
TD Grad proposes 29-lot subdivision above hospital; Views... epic
Major commercial and housing development coming to Lone Pine in TD; Subdivision sells out
City approves 14 more homes for East TD; Ritchie Wallace's 4W Properties to build
