Oregon Housing and Community Services announced Oregon Centralized Application (ORCA) updates have been finalized and published. The updates are responsive to critical needs and ensure the impact of investments and the ability to put new legislative investments to work in communities. 

Based on analysis and engagement, this mid-year update incorporates refinements that serve to increase: 

  • Readiness: clarifies and refines readiness and expands visibility of project milestone tracking so that there is increased predictability for how OHCS will ensure resources are deployed when funds are insufficient in a set-aside or as critical timelines are approached; 
  • Access: broadens focus on rural communities, while retaining focus on culturally specific organizations, and expands organizational access to portfolio supports; and 
  • Impact: ensures state resources have maximum impact by accessing as much development financing from other resources as possible and focusing best-fit resources to support development, including large projects and urban projects using tax credit leverage. 

For more detailed information on these specific changes, please refer to the summary in the July 2025 HSC packet and the details in the ORCA Manual version 2.1, now posted on the OHCS website.  

Funding Resource Allocations and Set-Asides 
OHCS has published updated information about the resources currently allocated to ORCA, which includes investments from the 2025 Legislative Session. The ORCA establishes a pipeline of projects that are ready to move forward through the ORCA waitlist. These new investments will be matched to projects on the waitlist, based on resource eligibility and waitlist order, and brought forward for funding recommendation to the Housing Stability Council over the next few months.    

Other updates: In addition to the changes listed above, OHCS has incorporated clarifications and refinements needed based on feedback, including: 

  • Clarification of the meaning of “inactivity” in the impact assessment step to include not responding to OHCS within the allowable cure process; 
  • Updates to rehabilitation/preservation documentation requirements; 
  • Updates to the equity in contracting strategy documentation; 
  • Clarification of expectations during the financial eligibility step; and 
  • A legacy policy addressing the applicability of new ORCA versions. 

To view all updates made to the manual, refer to the redlined version of the ORCA Manual on the OHCS website.