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Albina Vision Trust will work with Edlen & Co. to develop in Lower Albina a seven-story building with 120 affordable housing units as well as an adjacent theater.

The residential building will serve families earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of area median income. The theater will serve artists and youths, and connect the North Portland neighborhood to its rich cultural heritage, Albina Vision Trust stated.

Albina Vision Trust, a community nonprofit, will own the building. Edlen & Co. 鈥� the recently rebranded successor to Gerding Edlen 鈥� will serve as developer.

Colas Construction, Lever Architecture and Kidder Mathews are project team members as well.

The property is located between North Flint and Wheeler avenues north of the Moda Center. It is owned by Betsy and Rich Reese, who have committed to the project’s mission and goals, Albina Vision Trust stated.

鈥淭he Albina Vision team is determined to lead the redevelopment of Lower Albina and the re-rooting of Black people, families and culture there,鈥� stated Rukaiyah Adams, chairwoman of the trust’s board. 鈥淭hat work includes making sure that we are reflected in the built environment and that we participate in the wealth generated by our presence as owners of our homes and business. We aim to thrive, not just survive 鈥� and it begins with this project.鈥�

Albina Vision Trust was founded to reverse the 20th-century displacement of Black families in the area for projects such as Interstate 5, the Rose Quarter and the expansion of Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

鈥淩ecovery from the present-day consequences of forced displacement, the theft of Black wealth and the pandemic-induced economic downturn will require us to lead with our values,鈥� stated Winta Yohannes, managing director of Albina Vision Trust. 鈥淭his modest but significant action to prioritize the arts, create affordable housing and ensure community ownership is how we move from talking about equity to seeing it in action.鈥�

Mark Edlen, co-founder of Edlen & Co., said the firm was approached by the property owners about two years ago; they sought a project with affordable housing and transit. The firm wants to be part of helping right past wrongs alongside Albina Vision Trust, Edlen said.

鈥淲e share that belief and that’s why we’re partnering with AVT,鈥� he said.

The proposed project addresses two realities, Yohannes wrote in an email.

鈥淭here is no longer a single neighborhood in Portland considered affordable for the average African-American family and 鈥� creative organizations and artists also continue to be priced out of the city despite their importance to the fabric of our civic and economic identity,鈥� she stated. 鈥淔or these reasons, it was important that we anchor our first project and Lower Albina’s rebirth with housing and a theater, which recognizes both the rich cultural heritage of the district and our aspirations for its future as a thriving arts district.鈥�