Two Medford social service agencies have teamed up to build 63 apartments for low-income people and those with disabilities, addictions or other problems that make finding quality housing difficult.

OnTrack Inc. and Living Opportunities have formed Tracking Opportunities LLC to build two proposed apartment complexes worth nearly $7.8 million.

Lithia Place, a 15-apartment development on Beatty Street south of Edwards Street, will focus on serving people with disabilities, the group Living Opportunities serves. Sky Vista, a 48-apartment development at the corner of Stewart Avenue and Orchard Home Drive, will serve people overcoming substance abuse, OnTrack’s target clientele, and others, said OnTrack Executive Director Rita Sullivan.

The top consideration at both sites will be low income, said Shirley Wilkes, OnTrack’s housing coordinator. Renters must make 50 percent or less of Jackson County’s median income, which was $36,400 in the 2000 U.S. Census.

People who struggle to rent because of poor credit histories, evictions or criminal records also will have priority through a program called New Beginnings, she said.

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Residents at both sites will be screened by a team of service providers, who then will map out a plan to move the residents toward independence and provide support for them for a year, Sullivan said.

The team would include representatives from agencies each resident might need, such as disability or domestic violence advocates; representatives from Salvation Army; vocational rehabilitation, child welfare, and other state agencies; and Jackson County mental health and correction departments.

"People here in Medford are doing something quite unique," Wilkes said of the program, which is known as supportive housing.

The two proposed projects are modeled on Stevens Place, a 50-apartment complex at 1105 Stevens St. that opened in 2000 and has been in high demand — both for its affordability and the support offered.

"It’s been very successful," Sullivan said. "We’ve had a wait list from the start. That made us commit to this project."

Eagle Point architect Daniel Horton said he designed the two complexes to be affordable but to have all the amenities of other developments in the market.

Sky Vista will have one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments that range in size from 700 to 1,200 square feet in six eight-plexes. It also will have a community center with a meeting area, computer lab and common laundry room.

Lithia Place will have one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging from 700 to 900 square feet in three separate buildings.

Both developments will have accessible apartments designed for people with physical disabilities. Rents will range from about $450 to $625 and residents could tap federal rental- assistance programs, Wilkes said.

The developments must be approved by the city’s site plan and architectural review commission, which Horton expects to happen next month.

Once building permits are secured, construction could start this fall, Wilkes said. Tri-Vest LLC, a Salem-area company, will build the project, which was paid for with a combination of federal, state and local grants, loans and tax credits.

The complexes likely would open next summer.

Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail aburke@mailtribune.com.