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The billion-dollar redevelopment of a 32-acre area in Northwest Portland took a major stride forward this week when the developer, city officials and community activists reached agreement on a development deal and a community benefits agreement.

The sides reached a pair of deals that were approved unanimously by Prosper Portland‘s board of commissioners on Wednesday.

Approval of a disposition and development agreement with Continuum Partners, the Denver-based development adviser, means the Broadway Corridor has already advanced past the point where other projects overseen by Prosper Portland, the city’s redevelopment agency, have stalled.

And a landmark community benefits agreement being forged is no less significant. It guarantees prevailing wages, health care benefits and significant participation by minority-owned contractors in the construction of a new neighborhood bridging Old Town Chinatown and the Pearl District.

The community benefits agreement involved labor and environmental groups organized by the Healthy Communities Coalition, perhaps clearing the way for the project to proceed with minimal friction.

鈥淐ontinuum Partners has stayed at the table, and the Healthy Communities Coalition (members) have been good partners,鈥� Prosper Portland Executive Director Kimberly Branam said in an interview. 鈥淎cross the board, we have had excellent partners who have committed to the vision and who have stayed to make sure we could make it a reality.鈥�

The development deal clears the way for Continuum Partners to acquire parcels on the northern end of the Broadway Corridor site as soon as 2024. Those properties have height limits of up to 400 feet.

鈥淲e selected Continuum Partners because of their commitment to doing development in an inclusive way, and because of their experience doing major public-private partnerships at scale,鈥� Branam said.

The redeveloped area is expected to be the eventual home of approximately 720 affordable housing units, along with market-rate housing units, office space and retail space. More than $1 billion in private investment is expected. The city of Portland will provide millions of dollars in street and infrastructure improvements.

The Broadway Corridor 鈥渋s as complex of a project as I can imagine being involved in,鈥� Continuum Partners CEO Mark Falcone said Wednesday during the Prosper Portland board meeting, which was held virtually.

Prosper Portland agreed to credit $290,000 toward the purchase price of certain lots to offset prevailing wage obligations that are imposed upon the developer by the agreements. The agency will also provide up to $1 million per property toward a construction equity fund.

Vivian Satterfield, spokeswoman for the Healthy Communities Coalition, said the group insisted that prevailing wages be paid for work within the Broadway Corridor.

鈥淧revailing wage is an equity tool for providing good, living-wage jobs here,鈥� she said in an interview. 鈥淲e held fast to that.鈥�

The community benefits agreement requires 鈥渞esponsible contractors鈥� to provide full family health care to workers. The deal includes an agreement exempting minority-owned and disadvantaged contractors from that requirement if their contracts are valued at less than $1 million.

The agreement also has goals to use 100 percent renewable energy and achieve carbon neutrality. No funding for those goals was identified in the agreements.

鈥淚t’s pretty light on the environmental side, which is unfortunate because it’s a critical time for us to be able to do that,鈥� Satterfield said.

The Portland Housing Bureau has committed $14.5 million for development rights within the Broadway Corridor. The bureau will conduct outreach to Black, Japanese-American and Chinese-American groups for affordable housing. All of those groups have had significant populations within the Broadway Corridor area. The outreach commitment comes as city officials are eager to demonstrate that today’s projects are unlike the racist urban renewal projects of the 20th century that destroyed minority neighborhoods in areas such as Albina.

Residential development in the Broadway Corridor will be subject to the city’s inclusionary housing policy, requiring 10 percent of units be made available to renters at 60 percent of area median income or a fee be paid in lieu.

An oversight committee will have five members appointed by the Healthy Communities Coalition and five members by Prosper Portland. The oversight committee will have its own budget of $50,000 per year for 10 years.

The agreements will now go to the City Council for approval. The Broadway Corridor master plan was scheduled to be reviewed by the Portland Design Commission on Thursday.

Falcone credited Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty for intervening in the negotiations.

They 鈥渟tepped in at a very key moment and really helped to get that element of the project over the hump,鈥� Falcone said. It wasn’t clear if he was referring to the development agreement or the community benefits agreement.

The Broadway Corridor will be a key part of the city, Prosper Portland board member Peter Platt said.

鈥淚t’s exciting to be a part of this project because it will certainly outlive any of our tenure on the commission,鈥� he said. 鈥淏eing part of setting a foundation for what is sure to be a signature development for the city, and certainly the agency, is fun.鈥�

Platt has visited and appreciated Continuum Partners’ redevelopment of Denver’s Union Station area, he said.

鈥淚t’s fun to imagine something like that come to our city as well,鈥� he said.