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is a low-income community for senior citizens, part of a growing effort among Portland developers to provide housing in tough economic times. The states a goal to increase the number of units available in the greater-Portland area over the next five years, with a focus on residents who earn between 0 and 50 percent of mean family income (MFI).

The MFI is used to figure limits on income for potential residents of low-income housing. The is $25,200.

The senior citizen market for low-income housing is a bit of a niche for developers, and firms like and are getting involved with the Knoll at Tigard, among other projects. Other thriving communities include Gresham’s , and Beaverton’s . has overseen the creation of seven communities throughout Southwest Portland and nearby suburban cities, areas where senior citizen care is becoming a big opportunity.

The boom of suburban development that towns on the Multnomah-Washington county border experienced during the 1980s and ’90s has leveled off, with second- and third-generation families now accounting for much of the area’s residents. What this means is that a boon of college kids will snatch up entry-level positions at growing companies, as the working class of yesterdecade ages into their fixed-income years. Anticipating that maturity in the development cycle is how the Knoll at Tigard is able to maintain high occupancy rates, as there are plenty of residents age 55 and over who need a place to live but aren’t flush with retirement funds.

Whether there will be a regular trend for low-income senior living remains to be seen, but there’s certainly a trend of families locating to the area and staying for generations. The heavy chatter about how the South Waterfront was to be Portland’s hot spot for development of low-income housing is less chatter these days and more of a punchline for jokes about poor follow through.

Working in the ‘burbs has kept low-income projects — and the developers who partner to complete such projects — alive and close to Portland’s progressive heart.