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Metro is aiming to pull off the difficult task of increasing affordable housing stock while boosting use of public transit and creating a walkable environment in Southeast Portland. To meet those goals, the regional governing body is partnering with ROSE Community Development to build the $16 million Jade Apartments and Community Center at Southeast 82nd Avenue and Division Street.

Project plans call for demolishing an existing former furniture store and then building 48 affordable housing units and more than 5,000 square feet of retail space 鈥� all within walking distance of a proposed bus rapid transit line that would run from Portland to Gresham.

鈥淲e want to hit ground by 2017,鈥� said SERA Architects associate designer Gauri Rajbaidya, who is overseeing design of the mixed-use building.

Metro is donating the land for the project while ROSE Community Development Corporation is overseeing development. The structure will be funded, in part, by Oregon Housing and Community Services; Home Forward will provide rent subsidies to tenants. The project also could get money from the Portland Housing Bureau.

鈥淲e are still working on getting funding from the Portland Housing Bureau,鈥� ROSE Community Development Executive Director Nick Sauvie said. 鈥淓very indication from them was really positive. They see the importance of the site, but we don’t have commitment yet.鈥�

The bureau will likely make a final decision next spring, he added.

Under the current plan, the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) would own the first floor of retail space. It plans to rent out space to small businesses and keep some of the outdoors area dedicated to community events.

鈥淲e want to retain a lot of the community element,鈥� APANO Associate Director Duncan Hwang said. 鈥淚t also complies with Metro’s idea of activating the streetscape. There is a huge demand for that.鈥�

The apartments are intended to house people with moderate and low incomes in the area.

鈥�(Most of) the units will be for those with incomes of 60 percent of the median family income,鈥� Sauvie said. 鈥淭welve units will be for those earning 30 percent of median family income.鈥�

When the idea of putting a bus rapid transit line between Portland and Gresham was first floated, Metro saw it as a chance to combine the goals of keeping housing in the area affordable while also improving the area’s transit lines.

鈥淚n the past couple years affordable housing has really emerged as a bigger area of concern,鈥� said Jon Williams, Metro project manager for transit-oriented development. 鈥淲e have looked at how we can use our dollars to improve the area housing picture.鈥�

The development is being built to encourage tenants to use mass transit. In fact, the complex will have only 12-15 parking spaces for residents. Other parking spaces will be for retail use, as mandated by city codes.

鈥淲e thought it was a chance to cement that it’s a walkable area by having a high density of affordable housing,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭he trade-off is that if we try to put more parking we could only get 12 or 15 units on the site.鈥�

The site’s small size made satisfying neighborhood concerns about parking, public transit needs and housing affordability a significant challenge for project planners.

鈥淧arking is always an issue,鈥� Rajbaidya said. 鈥淢etro wants to provide this to promote TriMet, meaning most of the residents would use TriMet. So trying to fit all of those things in a site that is rather small makes it a bit difficult.鈥�

Another challenge is that the project team must work with multiple agencies. Southeast Division Street falls under the jurisdiction of the Portland Bureau of Transportation. Southeast 82nd Avenue also doubles as Oregon Route 213, so the Oregon Department of Transportation is involved in anything along that thoroughfare.

鈥淲e have to cater to the state, and Division (Street) is under PBOT, so it’s a challenging site,鈥� Rajbaidya said. 鈥淲ithin that tiny, little piece of land there are a lot of different dynamics that have to be considered.鈥�