Farmworker Housing Community Opens

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorEast Wenatchee, Wash.–The opening of Bello Rio Apartments, a community of 25 newly constructed townhomes for farmworker families earning 50 percent or less of area median income (AMI), will take place today afternoon in East Wenatchee, Wash.Bello Rio is located at 2017 Northwest Cascade Ave. and features two-, three- and four-bedroom units with patios or decks. It is available to eligible agricultural workers, including those who work in packing sheds, warehouses, fields, orchards and dairies. The property also includes one manager’s unit. Bello Rio is built through a public-private partnership with the Washington State Office of Community Trade & Economic Development, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, the Washington State Farmworker Housing Trust, the Douglas County Affordable Housing Fund, the Federal Home Loan Bank, Banner Bank of Wenatchee and Enterprise. The Housing Authority of Chelan County/City of Wenatchee and the Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing are the developers.Several speakers are expected at the event, including Lisa Romaine, board chair, Housing Authority of Chelan County/City of Wenatchee Bobbi Alseth, housing development specialist, Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing Washington State, Senator Patty Murray and Brien Thane, executive director, Washington State Farmworker Housing Trust.