91视频

颅颅

The Portland Housing Bureau has earmarked $9 million to prevent displacement and produce new homeowners in North and Northeast Portland.

When the Portland City Council approved Mayor Charlie Hales‘ proposal to dedicate $20 million in tax-incremental funding (TIF) over five years to begin to address the lack of affordable housing in North and Northeast Portland, the PHB asked community members during seven months of meetings what they should spend the money on, Executive Director Traci Manning said. The bureau received suggestions from more than 450 people.

鈥淲e heard very loudly at the forums, 鈥楩or heaven’s sake, the people who are still here, help them hang on to their homes,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ith TIF money there are limits to what we can spend it on and where. It’s all got to be what’s called 鈥榮ticks and bricks.’ 鈥�

PHB officials responded by earmarking nearly half of the money from the five-year plan 鈥� the 鈥�North/Northeast Neighborhood Housing Strategy鈥� 鈥� for programs aimed at preventing displacement and creating new homeowners in the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area 鈥� 3,990 acres featuring older, sometimes historic neighborhoods connected by commercial corridors and including large-scale industrial centers.

The PHB is partnering with local agencies to offer $3.2 million in zero-interest loans (up to $40,000 per home) to 80 households during the five-year program. The loans will provide critical home repairs to low-income homeowners earning up to 80 percent of the area median family income. This $3.2 million is in addition to the PHB’s usual $500,000 dedicated to providing no-cost loans to low-income homeowners, Manning said.

Commissioner Dan Saltzman said that loans provided by the existing Single Family Home Repair Program can mean the difference between a family retaining a home or giving it up.

鈥淓xpanding these existing programs allows us to take advantage of an established program infrastructure and a network of community partnerships to move quickly to prevent further displacement,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he funding increase allows us to raise the cap on loans from $15,000 to $40,000, so that we can better address the substantial home repairs required to maintain older homes, like those in the North/Northeast area.鈥�

An additional $800,000 over five years will provide 160 households with $5,000 grants to make critical repairs. Only elderly and disabled homeowners may qualify for the grant program.

鈥淭here is a lot of older housing in these areas, and people get stuck,鈥� Manning said. 鈥淧eople get behind in maintenance or can’t keep up with repairs because they’re low income, and they end up selling.鈥�

Manning said the PHB has a backlog of applications for people seeking assistance from the bureau’s existing home repair program, which usually provides $500,000 a year in loans.

鈥淔rankly, we haven’t done as much as we could in the past because we spend all the money we have,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he programs we already have are well-used.鈥�

In another bid to address affordable housing options, the PHB has set aside $5 million for creating new homeownership opportunities through partnerships with local programs such as those offered by nonprofit Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives.

鈥淭he need to help more people move into homeownership was a common theme throughout the community forums,鈥� Saltzman said. 鈥淥ne of the primary factors behind the widening racial wealth gap is the length of homeownership. Opening up more pathways to stable homeownership opportunities is a critical first step to addressing that.鈥�

Of the $5 million, the PHB plans to add $2.4 million to its Down Payment Assistance Loan Program, helping 40 first-time homebuyers who earn up to 80 percent of the area median family income buy their first home. The DPAL Program currently has a $500,000 annual budget, Manning said.

鈥淲e heard from a lot of people who grew up in the area,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut when it came time to start a family they found they couldn’t afford to stay.鈥�

The remaining $2.6 million of the $5 million will go toward construction of new homes to increase new affordable housing stock in the area. Manning said this strategy 鈥渨ill be the last thing out the door鈥� over the course of the five-year program. The PHB’s plan is to partner with community organizations to provide low-income citizens opportunities to become homeowners through land trust and sweat equity programs, she said.