91视频

Plans for affordable housing projects in the Portland area are advancing rapidly thanks to more than $900 million in voter-approved bond funding.

The money is a massive influx for the region’s affordable housing sector, which has long suffered from low levels of revenue driven mostly by federal vouchers.

The bonds will boost general contractors that have focused on affordable housing and have relationships with affordable housing developers and public agencies, affordable housing experts said at a panel event on Thursday.

When asked about encouraging signs in today’s market, Ross Cornelius, client services manager for Walsh Construction, had a simple answer: 鈥淪ix-hundred-and-fifty-three million dollars.鈥�

Cornelius was referring to Metro‘s $652.8 million regional affordable housing bond approved by voters in November 2018. That followed Portland’s $258.4 million bond passed in 2016.

Cornelius was a panelist for a Builder Breakfast event hosted by the Daily Journal of Commerce at the Sentinel Hotel. Joining him on the panel were Molly Rogers, deputy director of the Portland Housing Bureau; Emily Lieb, housing bond program manager for Metro; and Ben Sturtz, housing development project manager at REACH Community Development. Michael Robinson, a real estate and construction lawyer at Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt, served as moderator.

Portland’s bond is beginning to go to work. In April, the Housing Bureau announced a $77 million bond solicitation, of which $70 million was generated by the 2016 ballot measure.

The Housing Bureau is planning to allocate some of the money for 鈥渄eeply affordable鈥� apartments to house people making 30 percent of area median income or less, Rogers said. The bureau plans to build up to 600 units of new housing with the bond dollars, she said.

Suburban cities such as Milwaukie and Hillsboro are more supportive of affordable housing than they were in the past, Lieb said. The municipalities are lobbying for their shares of the Metro bond.

鈥淲e are seeing in smaller jurisdictions efforts to eliminate barriers to affordable housing,鈥� she said.

REACH Community Development, a nonprofit housing developer, was able to build a 167-unit project at Orenco Station in Hillsboro in part by forming relationships with neighbors, Sturtz said. The public has been more supportive than in the past, he said.

鈥淭he political will, not necessarily from the elected officials but from the people, has been the most encouraging thing,鈥� he said.

There’s ample opportunity for contractors to work on smaller-scale projects, including single-family homes and rehabilitations, Sturtz said.

鈥淣ot everything we build is 200 units (of) new construction,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e try to meet up builders with the scale. We have enough of a pipeline that there’s usually something for everyone.鈥�

Affordable housing projects still face resistance from residents and prejudices, racial and otherwise, Cornelius said.

鈥淲e can’t afford that anymore,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’ve got to make room for everybody.鈥�

Affordable housing is a long-term industry, the panelists said. The city is requiring units to be affordable for 99 years. The Housing Bureau is looking 30 years in the future in pro formas, Rogers said.

Developers and contractors place a special emphasis on durability in materials, so the buildings are cheaper to operate and maintain in the long term. That can be less of a concern for for-profit multifamily developers, who often look to sell soon after completion.

鈥淚f you’re going to get into affordable housing, you better plan to stay in it,鈥� Cornelius said. 鈥淚t’s a long-term play.鈥�