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When people live and work in the same neighborhood or city, it’s much easier for them to build connections and become invested in the community. That, in a nutshell, is one of the main drivers behind Andersen Construction‘s recent Neighborhood Revitalization Block Party in North Portland.

Volunteers from throughout the firm teamed up with staffers from REACH Community Development and SOLVE last week to renovate homes along either side of North Blandena Street between Vancouver and Williams avenues.

鈥淚’m a lifelong Portlander,鈥� said Andersen Construction President Joel Andersen, who participated in the event along with administrators, project managers, engineers and tradespeople. 鈥淢y kids go down the street to (Harriet) Tubman (Middle School) for school. This is our ‘hood and these are our people and it’s our responsibility to do something.鈥�

Work on Friday centered on a trio of homes, each over 100 years old. A total of roughly 200 volunteers worked in morning and afternoon shifts, painting two of the houses, fixing porches, building fences and performing other minor repairs that can be difficult for people on a fixed income to finance.

鈥淭hey put a new fixture in my bathroom and they brought me a new doorbell, which we’ll install after the painting is done here,鈥� said Susan Burke, who has lived in the two-story home at the corner of Vancouver Avenue and Blandena Street for 30 years. 鈥淭hey built this beautiful sidewalk and pathway up to my stairs, and they’re rebuilding the stairs. They did a beautiful job.鈥�

The block party was organized by the , which was formed in the wake of the Great Recession as a way to organize the company’s community service efforts.

鈥淧eople were asking me during (the) recession 鈥� there was this huge need, and I thought, just giving money, I felt disconnected, like you’re trying to make it go away,鈥� Joel Andersen said. 鈥淪o we made a proposal to do a one-for-one: we win a project, we do one in the community. And we’ve been very blessed and very fortunate as an organization in trying to manage and match that, as it was just becoming overwhelming.鈥�

Numerous Andersen Construction employees took the day off to join the block party. Some needed a bit of prodding.

鈥淚 shamed (my co-workers) into it,鈥� Andersen Construction senior superintendent Dan Bott said with a laugh as he swung a pickax into the hard ground of a sidewalk planter strip.

REACH is a nonprofit property development and management group dedicated to affordable housing. Also, its Community Builders program aims to help seniors and people with disabilities in Portland age safely in their homes. It does this by offering free minor home repairs such as replacing a light fixture or a door lock.

鈥淲e really address safety and accessibility needs, plumbing, electrical, carpentry,鈥� said Thalia Martinez, home repair coordinator and project manager for REACH. 鈥淏ut homes need so much more, so every once in a while we get to partner with organizations like Andersen on a larger project that is outside the means of the program and outside the means of the homeowner.鈥�

Two years ago, REACH helped Blandena Street resident Nancy Altermatt repaint her 1909 bungalow. On Friday, Altermatt contributed to construction and installation of a series of wooden planters.

When Maddy Stolowitz, Andersen Construction’s director of philanthropy, approached Martinez about an unrelated topic, things clicked. The company’s desire to carry out charitable projects in the local community overlapped with the needs of REACH clients.

鈥淚t sort of organically started happening,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淲e were like, we have three homeowners on one street and they have way more things that need to be addressed than we can do, what are the chances we can think about that? It was a crazy idea, but now, two homes are being repainted, a failing fence is being completed, steps are being redone, a failing porch, some new flower beds, all of the parking strips up and down this street. So everyone on this street is going to get an upgrade thanks to Andersen.鈥�

Finally, a brightly colored mural was painted in the middle of the roadway, providing a unique streetscape enhancement with a long-lasting reminder of volunteers’ efforts.

鈥淯ltimately, we hope it will help bring attention to this beautiful street,鈥� Martinez said.
Down the street, Joel Andersen confessed he had received a reassignment.

鈥淚 have very few skills to offer,鈥� he said with a laugh. 鈥淪o, I was on a digging crew for a brief moment this morning and the shovel was taken from me; it turns out that isn’t one of my stronger suits. But now I’m on the planting crew, so I think I won’t mess this one up too bad. I’m so proud of our people, though; they have a genuine passion.鈥�