91视频

The Portland City Council Wednesday voted unanimously to spend $1.3 million for the Portland Housing Bureau to buy land for affordable housing in the Pearl District.

The deal came about because Hoyt Street Properties fell slightly short of provisions of a 1999 agreement with the city to devote 35 percent of its 34 developable acres in the Pearl District to affordable housing. In accordance with the agreement, Hoyt Street agreed to sell a portion of the property back to the city to be used for affordable housing.

After six months of negotiations, Hoyt Street struck a deal with the Portland Housing Bureau to sell the property, which they mutually selected, to the city below the market price of $1.5 million. The 10,000-square-foot site, a quarter of a city block on Northwest Raleigh Street between 13^th and 14^th avenues, is currently a vacant lot. It is located near public transportation and was the only one of Hoyt Street’s available parcels on paved streets, according to the Portland Housing Bureau’s .

The parcel was appraised by three different appraisers who calculated a price that factored in the value of Hoyt Street’s improvement in the area as well as the city’s infrastructure investments over time. Funds for the parcel’s purchase will come from proceeds from the River District Urban Renewal Area Tax.

Traci Manning, director of the Portland Housing Bureau, praised Hoyt Street for achieving an affordable housing rate of 30 percent of its property, for coming to an agreement with the city in a short period of time and for selling the land at 13 percent below market value.

鈥淲e feel that very low income families would be a great addition to that neighborhood,鈥� Manning said.

Attorney Dina Alexander, representing Hoyt Street, said the company was pleased with the results and that negotiations with the city had gone smoothly.

鈥淗oyt Street has done a lot and 30 percent is very commendable,鈥� she said.

Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman said Hoyt Street Properties has been an important partner in providing affordable rental housing for Portlanders as part of the River District Urban Renewal Area.

鈥淚 want to acknowledge Hoyt for its contribution and going above and beyond what they needed to do,鈥� he said.

Mayor Charlie Hales concurred.

鈥淪ixteen years later and they gave us more time and a lower price,鈥� he said.

Per the 1999 agreement, last fall Hoyt Street and the Portland Housing Bureau agreed that Hoyt Street had fallen short of its 35 percent goal, despite recently closing on the Abigail Apartments to build 142 units of affordable family housing. Hoyt Street has close to 2,000 units in 14 projects and 601 were considered affordable.

Matching the pace of the private market in a boom cycle was 鈥渁 real challenge鈥� for Hoyt Street, Manning said, but with thousands of affordable homes in the River District, she considers the collaboration a success.

The Portland Housing Bureau plans to acquire the site by the end of the month and will solicit a developer this summer.