91视频

One of Portland’s most prominent developers painted a dark picture Thursday of an entire generation of retiring baby boomers with no savings who will rely on shelters or a nomadic lifestyle in RVs as high costs shut them out of the housing market.

Homer Williams, a partner in Williams & Dame Development, has become in recent years a vocal critic of Portland’s homelessness crisis. City officials, business leaders and ordinary Portland residents must do much more to aid the homeless, Williams said, speaking at a Bisnow panel discussion with other developers and real-estate professionals.

鈥淲e’re going to see shelters in every neighborhood,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淲e’re not going to have a choice.鈥�

Williams founded Oregon Harbor of Hope, a nonprofit organization that works to address homelessness. It now offers services such as mobile laundry to homeless camps.

鈥淲e have to recognize this is our problem,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭his is everybody’s problem. We have to be willing as neighborhoods or businesses. What I tell people is do something or shut up, because it’s going to take doing something, not talking about it.鈥�

City officials and developers may have to reconsider housing types such as single-room units they have traditionally frowned upon, Williams said.

鈥淲e’re going to have to redefine what acceptable housing is,鈥� he said. 鈥淪heltered is a better word.鈥�

Williams’ blunt comments struck an odd tone amid a wider discussion of topics such as prevailing capitalization rates and Portland’s inclusionary housing policies. The panel was hosted by Bisnow at The Nines, a downtown luxury hotel.

Despite some overbuilding in the luxury rental market, the city continues to attract capital, panelists said.

鈥淧ortland is still on everybody’s horizon,鈥� said Joe Nydahl, a CBRE broker who focuses on multifamily investments. 鈥淣ational firms that don’t have anything here, they’re still looking to get in.鈥�

Nydahl said he recently sold land for future multifamily development. Portland’s inclusionary housing rules, which require multifamily developers to include rent-restricted affordable units or pay a fee, are not scaring off investors, he said.

鈥淲e’re still seeing deals start,鈥� he said.

Mark Desbrow, principal of Green Light Development, said his firm has shifted away from multifamily development since Portland’s inclusionary housing rules took effect on Feb. 1, 2017. 鈥淚 see the multifamily space as extremely competitive and hard to make a buck,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we’re trying to innovate.鈥�

Green Light’s latest project is adaptive reuse of a former three-story apartment building near the Burnside bridgehead. The firm is planning an Icelandic hostel and gastropub.

Since inclusionary housing took effect, apartment projects have popped up on Portland’s periphery, but not in close-in areas.

鈥淭here’s not going to be much developed in the core without incentives,鈥� Desbrow said.

Desbrow said he’s seeing more projects with 30-80 units and no parking in Portland neighborhoods. Another multifamily developer has pursued that business model, he added.

鈥淒ennis Sackhoff has been really successful keeping his price point down,鈥� Desbrow said. 鈥淚 think that’s where we’re headed.鈥�

Jeff Ballaine, vice president of Hunt Mortgage Group in Seattle, said he expects to see more services such as day care offered in apartment complexes.

鈥淢aybe the people who are providing the day care service are getting subsidized rent so they can live near where they work,鈥� he said.