Nathalie Weinstein//December 10, 2010//
A long-stalled, nearly $50 million affordable housing project planned for Portland’s South Waterfront could begin construction this spring, according to Portland Housing Bureau director Margaret Van Vliet.
Portland City Council next week will consider approval of a disposition and development agreement for Block 49, where an Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects-designed, mixed-use project is slated to be built. Once that agreement is approved by the council, the project team will be able to finish assembling private financing for the project, Van Vliet said. REACH Community Development will develop the project and relocate its offices and 50 employees to the building’s ground floor.
“We’re not at ground breaking yet, but this is an important step,” Van Vliet said. “We are moving as quickly as we can to start construction in April.”
The building will be 6 stories tall. Out of 209 housing units there, 42 will be leased to homeless veterans. The remaining units will be available to people making between 0 and 50 percent of the median family income.