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The Albina Vision Trust and Portland Trail Blazers have joined forces to support restorative development efforts in the Albina neighborhood.

The organizations, in a joint announcement Tuesday, called for 鈥渟ustained reinvestment in Lower Albina, including the Rose Quarter鈥� to serve as 鈥渢he centerpiece for revitalizing the district and Portland鈥檚 central city into a vibrant, transformational space.鈥�

The nonprofit and basketball team announced the creation of a new partnership called the Albina Rose Alliance. It will work on a joint development strategy for Lower Albina (including the Rose Quarter), joint storytelling and communications, legislative advocacy and community events.

Efforts to redevelop Lower Albina have gained pace in recent months. In March, the Oregon Department of Transportation received a $450 million federal grant to help pay for construction of freeway caps over Interstate 5 to help knit the neighborhood together.

The first Albina Vision Trust project, a 94-unit affordable housing building called Albina One, is under construction north of the Rose Quarter on North Broadway, between Flint and Wheeler avenues.

The Blazers-Albina Vision Trust announcement came as the Portland City Council was due to consider related action. On Wednesday, commissioners were expected to accept an $800,000 federal grant to the Portland Bureau of Transportation for planning related to the freeway covers. Commissioners were also due to consider accepting the Albina Vision Trust Community Investment Plan, essentially stating that the trust鈥檚 goals and the city鈥檚 goals are in alignment.

Reinvestment in the Rose Quarter could help catalyze the larger goals of the Albina Vision Trust, according to a Blazers executive.

鈥淭he Portland Trail Blazers have a legacy of connection with the Albina neighborhood and are committed to working in partnership with the Albina Vision Trust to be a positive force for change moving forward,鈥澛爏tated Dewayne Hankins, president of business operations for the Portland Trail Blazers and Rip City Management.聽鈥淩ip City is a part of the fabric of our community, and reinvestment in Moda Center and the Rose Quarter can be foundational to supporting community-led restorative development efforts throughout Lower Albina.鈥�

Lower Albina, the onetime center of Portland鈥檚 Black community, was subjected to a wave of urban renewal projects in the 1950s, 鈥�60s and 鈥�70s. Black-owned homes and commercial buildings were taken by eminent domain to make way for large-scale projects including Interstate 5, Legacy Emanuel Medical Center and the Rose Quarter 鈥� home of Veterans Memorial Coliseum and, later, the Moda Center.

鈥淭he Trail Blazers and Albina Vision Trust are united by the fundamental belief that, standing shoulder to shoulder, business and community can band together to solve our city鈥檚 biggest problems,鈥� Albina Vision Trust Executive Director Winta Yohannes stated.