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Years after the Jade District, in Southeast Portland, was targeted for investment by the city, the neighborhood is about to see some returns.

The largest change on tap is the Jade Apartments and Community Center, a 48-unit affordable housing development planned at Southeast 82nd Avenue and Division Street. The project is a joint venture of ROSE Community Development and Metro, which is donating the land.

The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon plans to occupy some or all of the office space on the building’s ground floor. The organization this week is embarking on a fundraising drive to help pay for the move, said Todd Struble, manager of the Jade District program for APANO.

鈥淚t fits in with our strategy of affordable housing and keeping affordable housing in the neighborhood and keeping the residents that are here,鈥� he said.

The Jade District is one of the targets of the city’s Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative that began in 2009. The program aims to jump-start economic development in diverse areas where commercial activity has lagged. Other districts receiving attention include Alberta, Cully, Division-Midway, Parkrose, Rosewood, St. Johns and 42nd Avenue.

鈥淚t’s a way of doing urban renewal differently,鈥� said Amy Fleck-Rosete, who manages the Portland Development Commission‘s Jade District efforts.

At the same time, city officials and neighborhood advocates are working to make sure residents aren’t overtaken by redevelopment. A multipronged approach is under way to ensure neighborhood residents and businesses don’t get pushed out by gentrification.

The PDC offers grants to improve storefronts and signage at local businesses through the Prosperity Investment Program.

鈥淭hey’re really focusing on making sure the businesses that are in the area can stay in the area and participate in the market changes that are coming,鈥� Fleck-Rosete said.

Neighborhood business advocates are also working quietly behind the scenes with landlords to secure longer leases for established businesses.

As Portland grows, neighborhood advocates expect the model of midsize, mixed-use apartment buildings seen throughout the city to come to the Jade District as well.

鈥淲e see that development marching east,鈥� Struble said. 鈥淲e haven’t seen that development quite yet, but we think we will in the future.鈥�

At the same time, Struble said, residents want to make sure that existing housing in the neighborhood stays in place.

鈥淎cross the board, Portland needs more housing, and right now we’re in a place where we want to preserve as much housing as we can in the district,鈥� he said.

A key to the Jade District’s future is improving transportation infrastructure. To that end, TriMet is embarking on a $175 million project to make bus travel along a 14-mile stretch of Southeast Division Street 鈥渆asier, faster and more reliable.鈥� The agency is planning to upgrade bus stops, purchase longer buses that have room for 60 percent more passengers and reconfigure traffic signals to accelerate bus commutes.

The targeted portion of Division Street extends from the Gresham Central Transit Center across Tilikum Crossing and through downtown Portland to Union Station at Northwest Fifth Avenue and Irving Street.

Construction is expected to begin in 2018, with service commencing in 2021.

Neighborhood residents and APANO are also pushing for safety improvements after two pedestrians trying to cross Division Street in December were struck and killed by motor vehicles. One victim, Rong Zhao Zhang, 65, was killed while returning home from work at Wong’s King Seafood Restaurant. Zhang was part of the Jade District’s vibrant Chinese immigrant community.

APANO is asking regulators to consider a 鈥渞oad diet鈥� to narrow Division Street and slow traffic along a portion of it. The group has also suggested installing a crosswalk at 87th Avenue and Division Street, adding street lighting in the corridor and posting culturally responsive street signage as well as performing neighborhood outreach.

Some of the pedestrian crossings, particularly across 82nd Avenue, rank among the city’s most dangerous, Struble said. The area is also deficient in parks and other public spaces, so children often end up navigating the streets.

鈥淲e’re essentially asking youths to (use) some of the most dangerous crossings in the city of Portland,鈥� he said. 鈥淚nfrastructure improvements are things our residents have regularly asked for.鈥�

Local groups are trying to help Jade District businesses in other ways. APANO and the Portland Community College Small Business Development Center recently held a restaurant training program in Cantonese; the focus was how to pass a Multnomah County health inspection. At times, cultural misunderstandings have cropped up between inspectors and restaurant owners in the neighborhood, Fleck-Rosete said.

APANO also organizes the Jade District’s annual Night Market each August. The event, featuring food and retail vendors, attracts approximately 20,000 people to the neighborhood.

鈥淚t’s been a great way to draw folks to the district,鈥� Fleck-Rosete said.

The city is simultaneously supporting programs in the Jade District and Old Town Chinatown. Aided by its central location, Old Town Chinatown has seen several major redevelopment proposals come forward recently. Guardian Real Estate Services, for example, recently proposed a 10-story, full-block mixed-use project on Block 33 at 125 N.W. Fourth Ave.

The two neighborhoods have a complicated relationship. Some Chinatown residents moved to the Jade District in recent years as the community grew and the price to live in close-in Portland increased.

The Jade District and Old Town Chinatown have their own distinct identities, Fleck-Rosete said.

鈥淭he Jade District doesn’t want to take away from the history and the culture of Chinatown,鈥� she said.