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Redevelopment of a vacant North Portland block near Legacy Emanuel Medical Center will have to wait a bit longer.

The city of Portland is forming a work group to study redevelopment of the 1.7 acre-block in the Albina neighborhood. The move comes after members of Prosper Portland‘s own oversight committee complained they hadn’t been consulted on plans to use urban renewal dollars at the North Portland property.

It also delays bringing the block 鈥� bounded by North Williams and Vancouver avenues and Russell and Knott streets 鈥� into an urban renewal area that would trigger up to $32 million in available tax-increment financing.

Shawn Uhlman, spokesman for Prosper Portland, said the delay is necessary to make sure members of the North/Northeast Community Development Initiative Oversight Committee are comfortable with the path forward.

鈥淭he timing is less important than ensuring what the project working group needs, and what the oversight committee needs, to have their questions answered,鈥� Uhlman said.

Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office is preparing a solicitation for nominations to the work group, spokesman Michael Cox said. The solicitation is expected to be issued Friday.

鈥淭he goal of the project working group is just make sure the process is transparent, that it’s community-centered, that there’s meaningful community engagement,鈥� Cox said.

At an Aug. 9 board meeting, Prosper Portland’s board considered adding the Legacy property into the Interstate Corridor urban renewal area. It appeared ready to sail through until several members of the North/Northeast Community Development Initiative Oversight Committee testified that they weren’t consulted about spending plans.

Committee member Chonitia Smith said the African-American community and the oversight committee should be consulted. The oversight committee was formed to oversee allocation of the $32 million in tax-increment financing.

Rahsaan Stuart Muhammad, a representative of the Emanuel Displaced Persons Association, said he was opposed to anything other than housing being constructed on the property.

Since that meeting, little progress has been made.

Vicki Guinn, spokeswoman for Legacy Emanuel, said the project work group would focus on the African-American community, but not exclusively.

鈥淧art of the project is really engaging with the community to get input into what people would like to see there,鈥� Guinn said. 鈥淪o, yes, we’re gathering names and organizations that we would like to see be a part of this process.鈥�

Prosper Portland’s goal is 鈥渞eally to try to do a community-led redevelopment of the property,鈥� said Tory Campbell, entrepreneurship and community economic development manager for the city agency.

There is no set date to have the work group report back to Prosper Portland’s board, Campbell said.

鈥淚t’ll be sometime, obviously, in the next year,鈥� he said.

The property was razed around 1975 as part of urban renewal efforts that destroyed scores of black-owned businesses and homes. The Hill Block Building, a commercial hub for the black community, was demolished.

The property has since sat vacant. Last summer, Prosper Portland Executive Director Kimberly Branam discovered a 1980 deed provision that gave Legacy Health until 1990 to redevelop the property. No action had been taken in the 27 years since the deadline passed.

After realizing the oversight, Prosper Portland officials began discussing the property with Legacy Health, and the Daily Journal of Commerce submitted a public records request for information about the property. The agency denied the records request, but shortly thereafter announced a partnership with Legacy Health to move toward redevelopment of the block.