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The Portland Housing Bureau is moving full steam ahead with plans to build more affordable housing in North and Northeast Portland.

Since the Portland City Council last week unanimously approved a proposal for implementing Mayor Charlie Hales‘ pledge to invest $20 million to increase access to affordable housing in those neighborhoods, PHB staffers have worked on initial steps, said Traci Manning, the bureau’s director.

The five-year strategy aims to address concerns about a history of gentrification in the area. The proposal is based on feedback gathered during an extensive community outreach campaign and calls for construction of at least 100 new units of affordable housing.

鈥淭he team is churning away as we speak,鈥� Manning said. 鈥淐reating the affordable homes will take a bit longer, but we’d like to move on those right away.鈥�

One of the first projects expected to benefit is a $4.5 million, 40- to 80-unit affordable housing complex with ground-floor retail space on a 32,400-square-foot, city-owned lot known as the Grant Warehouse site, at Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Northeast Cook and Ivy streets. Plans call for larger, family-size units and family-friendly amenities.

Manning said she was unsure when the city will start soliciting proposals from firms interested in designing and constructing the complex, but noted that a project timeline will likely be established in the next couple of weeks.

Another $3.5 million investment will create 30 to 60 affordable housing units via redevelopment of additional properties owned by the city, Multnomah County, nonprofit agencies or private developers. Identifying these properties will be a long-term effort in collaboration with the Portland Development Commission and the resulting projects aren’t scheduled to move forward until 2017, Manning said. At this point, no sites have been selected for future affordable housing projects in the area, she said.

鈥淚 have nothing in my sights right now,鈥� she said.

The PHB also plans to spend $3 million to buy more land for future affordable housing projects. The remaining $9 million will be spent helping homeowners repair their properties and creating homeownership opportunities.

Along with the $20 million investment, the housing strategy calls for increasing the PHB’s goals for hiring minority-owned, women-owned and emerging small businesses to work on affordable housing construction projects. The bureau’s current MWESB subcontracting goals are 20 percent of construction costs, but officials would like to increase that percentage for projects in North and Northeast Portland, Manning said.

This goal, along with plans to include construction trade pre-apprenticeship programs on affordable housing projects in the area, will be achieved through a continued partnership with the National Association of Minority Contractors‘ Oregon chapter, she said.

鈥淚t’s important to us, but we don’t know how we’ll work it out,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople want jobs 鈥� The economic benefits that accrue will accrue to the community.鈥�

While developing the affordable housing strategy, PHB staffers also worked closely with industry firms with extensive experience in the area, such as Portland-based Colas Construction and Carleton Hart Architecture. Carleton Hart principal Bill Hart said city staffers reached out him for feedback on the proposal because the firm has designed a lot of affordable housing projects in those neighborhoods.

The mayor’s pledged investment in affordable housing stems from concerns raised by community members over the lack of transparency in a November 2013 PDC deal to sell the 1.79-acre lot at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Northeast Alberta Street to California-based Majestic Realty.

The developer planned a commercial development that included Trader Joe’s as an anchor tenant. Amid the controversy, Trader Joe’s pulled out in February 2014. Natural Grocers has since signed a letter of intent to take its place. Colas Construction crews are scheduled to start work on the project this month.

Meanwhile, an oversight committee will be formed by this summer, Manning said. Members will hail from the targeted neighborhoods and oversee all projects that result from the five-year plan. This will help combat a long history of input from North and Northeast Portland residents being left out of city development plans, Manning said.

鈥淭he idea of this committee is it is community-based,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nybody funded under the plan will report to them.鈥�