Case Study: Country Terrace Apartments
In response to the recent upward trend in housing costs around Bend, Bob Caine, owner of Country Terrace Apartments, strives to keep rent as low as possible for his residents. Something that Caine has less control over when it comes to housing affordability is utility bills. Knowing that Country Terrace Apartments was built in the early 1970s and wasn’t designed to be energy efficient, in 2024, Caine set out to make improvements that would support lower energy usage.
“OR-MEP is doing the work to help keep low-income properties affordable for residents.”
— Bob Caine, Owner, County Terrace Apartments
After hearing about the Oregon Multifamily Energy Program (OR-MEP) through someone in his network, Caine reached out to learn if incentives could help offset the cost of improvements to his property. Following conversations with the program team where he discovered his property qualified as a low-cost apartment, Caine decided it was time to act. “Once I learned the specifics of the program and how it could benefit my residents, I was all in.” OR-MEP selected the project for funding during OR-MEP Open Enrollment 2025 Round 1.
Country Terrace Apartments has 40 units total spread across five buildings. One of the most impactful upgrades that Caine completed with the help of OR-MEP funding was installing ductless heat pumps. Before the renovation, residents relied on temporary air conditioning solutions such as window units to stay cool in the summer. Because the new heat pumps offer both heating and cooling, each apartment’s primary living space now has air conditioning.
Caine thinks the heat pumps have transformed the apartments in a variety of ways. “They provide comfort in every season,” he said. “Plus, they’ve helped bring heating and cooling bills down.” Compared to window AC units and the electric wall heaters that residents used to depend on, ductless heat pumps use much less energy.
Complementing the heat pumps’ efficiency is new floor insulation, another OR-MEP incentive-qualifying upgrade. “That was a no-brainer,” Caine said about the choice to replace the community’s original floor insulation. “In doing so, it made every other upgrade more worthwhile by boosting overall efficiency.”
“Once I learned the specifics of the program and how it could benefit my residents, I was all in.”
— Bob Caine, Owner, County Terrace Apartments
One equipment upgrade that OR-MEP helped Caine identify turned out to have unexpected benefits. The bath fans at Country Terrace Apartments were older systems that did not perform consistently and were troublesome. By replacing them with highly efficient, automatic systems, Caine better ensures proper moisture mitigation throughout the property while reducing the demand for maintenance.
With the project complete, Caine is satisfied knowing that he completed much more than he originally set out to do, for a lot less than he anticipated. Working with OR-MEP to improve the efficiency of his property enabled greater energy savings and improvements to resident comfort. “No way heat pumps would have been installed without the program. It would have been too expensive,” Caine said. “With OR-MEP, it became a reality.”
When receiving OR-MEP funding, owners of low-cost apartments enter into a 10-year regulatory agreement with Oregon Housing and Community Services to guarantee rents remain affordable. By completing these upgrades with OR-MEP that support lower utility costs, Caine is helping to keep working families in Bend
Measure Summary
Floor Insulation
Ductless Heat Pumps
Efficient Bathroom
Exhaust Fans
Heat Pump
Water Heaters
