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Old Town Chinatown is on the cusp of a significant transformation, according to industry professionals involved in efforts to revitalize the Portland neighborhood long plagued by crime and urban blight.

鈥淭iming is quite magical right now,鈥� said Suenn Ho, principal urban designer with Portland-based RESOLVE Architecture + Planning. 鈥淭he economy is picking up. We have a good chunk of time to look back at what has failed. Let’s time things together better. There’s a grander possibility to do it together.鈥�

Ho, who has a long history of work to improve Old Town Chinatown, was among the panelists at last week’s 鈥淭he Future of Old Town/Chinatown鈥� event hosted by the Society for Marketing Professional Services‘ Oregon chapter. Other panelists included Jill Sherman, vice president of Portland-based Gerding Edlen; Jillian Detweiler, a policy director for Portland Mayor Charlie Hales; and Sarah Harpole, a Portland Development Commission senior project manager.

The group discussed implementation of the PDC’s Old Town/Chinatown Five-Year Action Plan, approved by the Portland City Council in August. The plan calls for waiving the city system development charge for construction in Old Town of up to 500 units for renters who earn up to 100 percent of the region’s median family income, or $48,580 for one person. The aim is for the development subsidy 鈥� estimated to total $7 million over the next five years 鈥� to trigger diversification of the neighborhood’s housing stock, according to city officials. Currently, 72 percent of apartments in Old Town are restricted to low-income renters, compared to 6 percent citywide.

There is interest among developers in the subsidy, Detweiler said.

鈥淲e have had inquiries,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s not a silver bullet, but we are hoping it’s a short-term initial investment.鈥�

The plan’s intent is not to push out the social services organizations operating in Old Town, but instead bring others into an area with rich history and cultural ties, Harpole said.

鈥淲e’re trying to preserve and bring back a lot of the community that has chosen to leave,鈥� she said. 鈥�(To) bring back a balance to a neighborhood that’s lost its balance.鈥�

One of the first projects that could benefit from the SDC waiver is Gerding Edlen’s planned $37 million, six-story mixed-use development on PDC-owned property at the corner of Northwest First Avenue and Davis Street. It will include 58 units of workforce housing.

Sherman said the waiver is a step in the right direction to encourage development of more market-rate housing, but hurdles remain for private investment in the neighborhood.

鈥淚 don’t think it will get you all the way on a project,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t still needs to be bundled, but it’s not an insignificant thing to offer in terms of getting a project off the ground.鈥�

The costs to construct new apartments in Old Town is the same as it would be in the nearby Pearl District, but the rent that can be earned in Old Town is 20 to 25 percent lower, Sherman said. So, Gerding Edlen had to find other ways to make the company’s new Old Town development feasible. Securing anchor tenants like Ankrom Moisan Architects and not including parking made the project possible, she said.

鈥淚t’s still a challenging project from a pro forma (standpoint),鈥� she said. 鈥�(The neighborhood is) so convenient to so many things. I think people like the culture that it has. Putting new market-rate units in Old Town was definitely a question because people look at where they live different from where they work.鈥�

That’s not to say that Gerding Edlen is the only developer to show an interest in Old Town, Sherman said.

鈥淚 think there are definitely others who are actively looking at properties and projects in the district,鈥� she said.

Harpole said she hosts walking tours of Old Town Chinatown for potential investors and what she discusses is shifting.

鈥淣ow I can point to six properties and say they are under contract, so I think already that story is changing,鈥� she said.

An encouraging sign is the rise in creative office space in Old Town Chinatown, Detweiler said.

鈥淚t’s starting with affordability and proximity,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think for young professionals in all kinds of creative work, it’s been a good place to be. As demand continues, we want to have supply to meet the needs of those firms.鈥�

The trick will be capitalizing on Old Town Chinatown’s assets, including the Lan Su Chinese Garden, Ho said.

鈥淚t’s not just the garden; it’s all about the blocks around it,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ow many chances do you have to (gain) a class A garden? We need to so-called brand the space with a collective story 鈥� We are holding something really, really cool here.鈥�

Ho admitted to being inherently optimistic, but said she has a good feeling about what’s to come for Old Town Chinatown.

鈥淚 know we have everything we need to move forward,鈥� she said.