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The city of Portland may order a housing development feasibility study along the route of a future MAX light-rail line in the southwest metro area.

City leaders are trying to get ahead of gentrification along the proposed route with a batch of affordable housing projects. On Wednesday, the City Council is scheduled to consider additional funding for Housing Development Center (HDC), a Portland nonprofit, to carry out the feasibility study.

HDC would evaluate up to eight sites along the Interstate 5 corridor in Southwest Portland, with one near each anticipated MAX station. The city has a minimum goal of 1,000 new affordable units along the light-rail corridor, and up to 2,300 if more funding can be secured.

The city expects at least two sites to host mixed-use buildings. Two other sites could accommodate as many as 500 units each of market-rate and affordable housing.

The Housing Bureau and Bureau of Planning and Sustainability would create a joint agreement for the plan, known as the Southwest Corridor Equitable Housing Strategy. The City Council item, if approved, would add $68,419 to an existing contract HDC has with the Housing Bureau.

Planning for the affordable housing comes as Metro plans to establish a light-rail line from downtown Portland, through Tualatin and Tigard, to Bridgeport Village. Metro’s Southwest Corridor Light Rail Advisory Committee has been meeting regularly to evaluate options for the MAX line. Route options would follow Barbur Boulevard and I-5 at certain points.

鈥淭wo major goals are to prevent residential and cultural displacement before the area becomes more desirable and developed,鈥� said Ryan Curren, project manager for the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

Portland officials have studied what happened along the yellow line route in North Portland when it opened in 2004. Land prices increased and residents were displaced. Some nearby homeowners were targets of predatory lending and real-estate practices, Curren said.

鈥淭he lesson there is get it early,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here’s been a lot of displacement around the yellow line 鈥� some of it would have happened just because of the location. What we could have done is have a little earlier action to secure land (for affordable housing).鈥�

A draft environmental impact statement is being prepared to potentially answer remaining questions about the proposed routes.

A final decision on the route will be made in July, with the Portland and Tigard city councils adopting a joint plan. Metro’s council would follow.

Businesspeople near the proposed routes have begun to weigh in.

鈥淥verall, I’m optimistic about increasing the amount of available transit in the area and creating more options,鈥� said Chad Hastings, general manager of CenterCal Properties, which manages Bridgeport Village and other properties in the Portland area.

Hastings said he anticipates Bridgeport Village would have an end-of-the-line transit center similar to the one at Clackamas Town Center. Bridgeport Village already has park-and-ride facilities that could be used, he said.