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Kurt Creager just started his new job a new director of the Portland Housing Bureau this week, but he already has at least one item on his 鈥渢o-do鈥� list: address the city’s affordable housing situation.

鈥淲e have to increase our level of effort on all fronts,鈥� Creager said. 鈥淧ortland’s toolbox for affordable housing is a little sparse.鈥�

With more than 30 years of experience in community development, Creager was selected for the bureau position after a nationwide search. He has been involved in planning, financing and developing more than 10,000 dwelling units, and most recently was agency director of the Fairfax County (Virginia) Redevelopment and Housing Authority. He has also been director of housing and community development for Otak, Inc., an international design firm based in Portland, and is a former CEO of the Vancouver Housing Authority.

That depth of background gives Creager plenty of experience to tackle Portland’s problem of affordable housing, a main concern of Dan Saltzman, the city commissioner recently tapped by Mayor Charlie Hales to oversee the housing bureau.

鈥淚 work for Dan, so his goals are my goals, and my priorities reflect his priorities,鈥� Creager said.

During his career, Creager has focused on urban mixed-use housing and redevelopment policy as well as program and project implementation. In recent years, he has focused on 鈥減lace making and community-building鈥� through mixed-income and mixed-use development projects in Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., he said. He plans to build on what’s he’s learned to find ways to help alleviate Portland’s current housing problems.

鈥淲e live in a world that includes policy, but at the end of the day, I’m a producer,鈥� Creager said. 鈥淚’ve worked in both the public and private sectors and produced thousands of levels of housing. And now I hope to get to the next level.鈥�

That means looking at the big housing picture and including everyone, he said.

鈥淚 also realize the quality of life here is a big draw and people of moderate incomes have a hard time as well,鈥� he said. 鈥淧ortland needs to be looking at a wider solution for housing. It has an affordable-built problem, but you can’t just focus on one narrow area. It takes a wider view.鈥�

When it comes to encouraging developers to build affordable housing, increasing tax increment

funding set-asides is one tool the city can use to encourage the construction of affordable housing, Creager said. He’s also glad to see the city consider incentive zoning because the majority of affordable housing will be built by the private sector.

鈥淚 think Portland needs a full array of tools, including financial resources as well as development incentives to help make housing more affordable,鈥� he said.

The city’s bonus density incentives, which Creager said are currently under review, look at giving greater incentives to open space and preservation, and urban renewal areas are somewhat becoming a thing of the past, he said.

鈥淭he city focuses most efforts in urban renewal areas but housing is needed city-wide,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s not sufficient to focus on URAs any longer.鈥�

But URAs can still fill an important need, according to Creager. So as some expire, others may need to be created.

鈥淲e are a bureau of city government,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we should not limit (our focus) to just target areas 鈥� the whole north and northeast corridor, the Lents area 鈥� I don’t want to diminish or detract from investing in those areas, but we need more housing for people with disabilities, which should be a city-wide priority.鈥�

Creager’s last project in Virginia, for example, was 100 percent adaptable.

鈥淚’ve done quite a lot of work for people with disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder,鈥� he said.

As for the Portland rental market, while apartments are all the rage right now, Creager expects that condominiums will return to the city at some point.

鈥淭here’s a cycle and right now credit is widely available for multifamily rental construction,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat’s the most favored asset class. Even in northern Virginia, we were starting to see condos coming back. They will come back; it’s a cyclical process.