A nonprofit’s latest affordable housing project is redevelopment of a former motel property in Southwest Portland. Jamii Court will be a 96-unit complex at 10450 S.W. Barbur Blvd., in the West Portland Park neighborhood.

Metro purchased the Portland Value Inn in 2021, and it was leased by Multnomah County as a homeless shelter until mid-2025. The motel was demolished this past fall.

Construction of Jamii Court started in November. Project completion is anticipated in late 2027.

The five-story, 95,833-square-foot building is being developed by Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH). The project team also includes LRS Architects, civil engineer Janet Turner Engineering of Lake Oswego, structural engineer Stonewood Structural Engineers, landscape architect Marianne Zarkin Landscape Architects, and general contractor O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders.

The total project cost is approximately $43.4 million, with most of that covered by Metro and the Portland Housing Bureau.

The building will be on the 1.1-acre property’s south side and face Barbur Boulevard; the parking lot will be on the north side, CPAH spokesperson Cara Jack stated in an email. There will be three interconnected masses: the Barbur‑facing volume, the east–west bar, and the knuckle that links them. The Barbur mass will align with the street, while the bar mass will follow the site’s east–west axis.

“The Barbur façade is intentionally pulled back from the roadway to create a welcoming entry along this civic corridor and to establish a meaningful frontage,” LRS Architects associate principal Calista Fitzgerald stated in an email. “Together, these massing elements create several distinct placemaking spaces across the site: the Barbur‑facing stoop, the north plaza at the connecting knuckle, and the south courtyard, which is tucked between building volumes and protected from Barbur Boulevard traffic.”

The design incorporates three Islamic elements: jali, the qibla, and specific colors.

Jali is traditionally a perforated stone or lattice screen featuring geometric patterns. A triangular motif was applied selectively to key vertical circulation elements that mark entrances and exits, Fitzgerald stated.

Window bays are angled in alignment with the qibla — the direction Muslims face when praying. This subtle orientation adds depth and meaning to the facade while reinforcing cultural resonance, Fitzgerald stated.

Traditional colors of Islam — green, white, blue and gold — will be incorporated throughout the complex. Window bays will be framed with two shades of green, and the graphic pattern on the angled “woof” wall (both a wall and a roof), will be outlined in gold. These colors will also appear in the interior design.

“Blue creates a continuous thread from the waiting area and drive aisle through the plaza, into the lobby, and ultimately to the water feature” in the south courtyard, Fitzgerald stated.

Building materials were selected with a 50‑year building life in mind to minimize long‑term life‑cycle costs while supporting sustainability (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum) and resiliency goals for the project. Exterior materials will include phenolic panels, fiber‑cement siding with a ceramic coating, European-style vinyl windows and aluminum storefront glazing.

Interior materials were selected for sustainability, durability, and reduced maintenance: low‑VOC paints, carpet tile, a walk‑off carpet, and rubber flooring. Gypsum board, including abuse‑resistant panels in corridors and other high‑traffic areas, will help minimize long‑term wall repair needs, Fitzgerald stated.

CPAH partnered with social services organization HAKI to engage the Islamic community in Southwest Portland in development of the project.

“Their input directly influenced the selection of the building name — Jamii Court, with ‘Jamii’ meaning ‘community’ in Swahili,” Fitzgerald stated.

Also, community members’ feedback shaped the designs of the community spaces and influenced the decision to include larger units, ensuring the building will support multigenerational living, Fitzgerald added.

The building will include 25 studios, 24 one-bedroom units, 29 two-bedroom units, nine three-bedroom units, and nine four-bedroom units.

The apartments will be available to households earning a wide range of lower incomes, including 49 units for people earning up to 30 percent of the area median income (AMI), 22 units for up to 40 percent of AMI, 15 units for up to 50 percent of AMI, and 10 units for up to 60 percent of AMI. Also, 39 units will come with rental assistance. CPAH will provide resident services.

Urban League of Portland will provide services — including case management and health care referrals — for occupants of the 15 permanent supportive housing units.

The building will include two community rooms: a larger one with a kitchen connected to an outdoor plaza (south courtyard), and a smaller one with a lending library and computer stations. The outdoor plaza will include grilling equipment, seating and a water feature. There will also be bike parking, dedicated service space, loading spaces, on-site laundry space, a parcel locker, on-site property management, and controlled building access. There will be 32 parking spaces, 17 of which will be ready for electric vehicles.

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A cluster of 50 new townhomes will offer affordable homeownership opportunities for 190 people who have been displaced or are at risk of displacement in the University Park neighborhood of North Portland.

Portland City Council on Wednesday authorized a land transfer of a three-acre property to Habitat for Humanity Portland Region for construction of the True North project. The Portland Housing Bureau issued a Notice of Funding Availability and subsequently chose True North in 2022. The total project cost estimate is $29.1 million, according to the bureau’s website.

Previously known as Carey Boulevard, the property is adjacent to 6631 N. Syracuse St. The site was formerly the home of the Belmont Goats and then a Safe Rest Village until last year.

OnPoint Community Credit Union will offer affordable 30-year fixed-rate loans and Proud Ground will provide permanent affordability and lower purchase prices through the Community Land Trust model.

Councilor Mitch Green said the project is an example of the impact of land banking.

“The result of that is we were able to build a number of … family-sized units at a cost that pencils out for these families,” he said.

MWA Architects designed the project for Habitat for Humanity, which is serving as both the developer and general contractor.

True North will include 20 two-bedroom units, 19 three-bedroom units, and 11 four-bedroom units.

Homes will be regulated to maintain affordability for 60 years. At initial sales, 25 units will be for households earning up to 60 percent of median family income (MFI) and the other 25 for those earning up to 80 percent of MFI. After initial sales, all 50 units will be for people earning up to 80 percent of MFI.

All units will be subject to the city’s North/Northeast Preference Policy, in which preference is given to applicants who are current or former residents of North or Northeast Portland or who have been displaced or are at risk of displacement from the area.

“Right now, with Portland being in a housing crisis, we need more pathways,” Councilor Candace Avalos said, “not just into housing but into stable affordable homeownership for Oregon families.”

Five common areas will be developed with playgrounds, community gardens, picnic or gathering areas, as well as three access points to the Peninsula Crossing Trail. The homes will also have energy efficiency features and be Earth Advantage Net-Zero Energy Ready certified.

The Portland Housing Bureau plans to close on financing with partners on May 28, said Kara Hamilton, housing portfolio finance coordinator for the bureau. Habitat for Humanity plans to begin site development shortly thereafter.

Construction is scheduled to start in June and finish in 2029. Home sales will begin in 2028.

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The Portland Housing Bureau is gaining a new interim director, the city announced Wednesday. Quisha Light will start on May 18 after the current interim director, Michael Buonocore, steps down to become executive director of Home Forward.

Light, currently the city’s Public Works customer service division manager, oversees citywide customer service strategy, service delivery systems, affordability programs, and customer experience modernization. She joined the city team in 2022 as the Portland Water Bureau‘s director of customer service and led major technology modernization efforts as well as strengthened end-to-end customer operations. She later served as the bureau’s interim director.

“I am grateful to Quisha for her willingness to step up and lead this bureau and ensure there is no lapse in leadership as the city makes challenging budget decisions to address the ongoing housing and budgetary crises,” Donnie Oliveira, deputy city administrator for community and economic development, stated in a city press release. “She brings a customer-focused lens to the work, and when we are talking about providing housing to Portlanders, that service can be life-saving.”

Before entering public service, Light spent over a decade at Portland General Electric working in legal, strategy, integrated resource planning and product development roles, the press release states. She launched innovative clean energy and demand response initiatives. Prior to joining PGE, she practiced law in Tennessee.

The city’s Community and Economic Development service area and the Portland Housing Bureau plan to open a recruitment process for a permanent director early this summer. The bureau expects Light to serve in the interim until the permanent director assumes the role, Portland Housing Bureau spokesperson Gabriel Mathews stated in an email, adding that there is not a firm timeframe for when that transition will take place.

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The Portland City Council on Wednesday evening voted to approve an ordinance that will allocate $55.9 million to the Portland Housing Bureau‘s budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Unbudgeted bureau funds total more than $106 million.

Appropriations will be made to three Portland Housing Bureau funds: $40.4 million to the Housing Investment Fund, $4.8 million to the Tax Increment Fund, and $10.7 million to the Inclusionary Housing Fund. Separately, $4 million will go to the city’s general fund.

“Each of these tranches, we would develop programs for that,” said Donnie Oliveira, deputy city administrator for community and economic development. “In some cases, we would develop best practices.”

Options also include issuing a request for proposals from organizations to help allocate the funds, looking to see if the city has the capacity to disperse these dollars directly, or potentially partnering with Multnomah County.

“Each one of these would require us to contemplate the best way to get the dollars out as fast as possible, and as efficiently as possible,” Oliveira said.

Councilor Loretta Smith suggested the funds be dispersed directly from the city, rather than via programs. Creating programs would slow the process and the funds may not go out until September, she said.

The funds will not be allocated until July 1 at the earliest, according to Oliveira.

Unspent housing funds total around $137 million, Smith said. However, $106 million was the original amount identified, Chief Financial Officer Jonas Biery said.

“An additional amount of around $24 million was reflected in the city administrator’s memo a month or so ago, which were funds that were unbudgeted to be spent in this year, different from the original $106 million, which was sort of unbudgeted in future expenditures,” Biery said.

Some of the unbudgeted funds have already been allocated to the Housing Investment Fund, Biery said.

A proposed amendment by Smith to allocate $2.5 million for homeownership development opportunities to Self Enhancement Inc. and Williams & Russell failed.

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The Portland City Council on Wednesday approved three amendments to a proposed ordinance that would add nearly $56 million to the Portland Housing Bureau‘s budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The proposal’s aims are to address the homelessness crisis and low-income tenants facing eviction.

The Portland Housing and Permitting Committee on Tuesday voted unanimously to adopt the proposed ordinance and send it to the council. A final vote will take place on April 15.

Appropriations would be made to the following Portland Housing Bureau funds: $40.4 million to the Housing Investment Fund, $4.8 million to the Tax Increment Fund, and $10.7 million to the Inclusionary Housing Fund. Separately, $4 million would go to the city’s general fund.

A November 2022 internal review process had identified $20.7 million in unspent funds within the Portland Housing Bureau’s Residential Rental Registration Program. These funds are used to provide landlords and tenants with services, support, technical assistance, and public information about rental housing units in Portland.

Earlier this year, city staff identified an unbudgeted balance of $35.2 million in specified sub-funds within the Housing Investment Fund. Over the past few months, the City Council has discussed how to use the funds to address homelessness.

“There is no single solution to our housing crisis,” Councilor Candace Avalos (chair of the Housing and Permitting Committee) said during Tuesday’s committee meeting.

One amendment includes $9 million for rent assistance, $1.9 million for eviction defense services, $8.8 million in affordable, non-market housing portfolio stabilization debt buy-downs that enable targeted rent reductions, $200,000 in expanded funding to provide support for landlords implementing tenant protections, $800,000 to offer down payment assistance to tenants in a position to purchase a home, and $8.6 million in the general fund.

Another amendment funds the Broadway Corridor‘s Parcel 6, with $4.8 million from the TIF River District and $800,000 from the Portland Housing Bureau.

A third amendment allocates $3.5 million in gap financing for Hacienda CDC‘s Monarcha project (previously named Minnesota Places II). Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney said the project site currently holds a shell building; however, with additional funding to complete the work, the development would provide 57 affordable family-size units. The amendment also includes allocating $18.3 million for the creation of a fund dedicated to loans for long-term housing construction, affordable housing preservation, and acquisition of properties for social housing and permanent public ownership.

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An affordable housing project in Portland is on pause while a new design is being created to reduce costs.

Hacienda CDC and Gorman & Company are redeveloping Villa de Clara Vista, which is in the Cully neighborhood, at 5300 N.E. Cully Blvd. The 100-unit garden-style apartment complex, built in the 1960s, has reached the end of its useful life, according to the Portland Housing Bureau. Currently, the plan is to demolish the existing 12 buildings and construct three four-story buildings with a total of 108 units.

“Due to age of the buildings and their original construction quality, renovation is not a feasible option,” Hacienda CDC spokesperson Isaac Montes stated in an email. “Hacienda has been working for many years to plan and implement a strategy that brings new, modern housing to the community that replaces … the current units.”

The project team also includes design architect Salazar Architect, architect of record Hooker DeJong of Grand Rapids, Michigan; civil engineer BKF Engineers, structural engineer Aman Structural Engineering, landscape architect PLACE, general contractor LMC Construction.

The current design calls for including mass timber sourced from local sources. Other amenities would include laundry rooms, open space and sustainable features such as rooftop solar arrays, stormwater retention features, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and highly efficient windows, lighting and mechanical systems.

“The goal is to bring those savings in electricity and power down to the tenants,” Hacienda CDC CEO Ernesto Fonseca said.

The units are to be affordable for people earning 30 to 60 percent of area median income.

The total project cost is approximately $75 million. Funding partners include Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), Metro, Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) and Raza Development Fund — a national Latino-focused nonprofit. But with the full scope of complexities clarified, the project team is facing a funding shortfall of $5 million.

Meanwhile, after securing a reservation with OHCS in 2023 for $10 million in funding, the project team surrendered that with the intention of reapplying later.

“About a year and a half ago, we were supposed to start the project, but cost escalation and uncertainty in the market didn’t allow us to do that,” Fonseca said.

A new design is expected to help bridge the funding gap. One possibility is that the buildings would be only three stories instead of four, allowing the elimination of costly elevators. In that scenario, the number of units would remain 108.

“We are going to be focused on finding savings first,” Fonseca said of the design changes.

Previous plans were to build on a small portion of the site and preserve the rest of it for related use — possibly more affordable housing. But if buildings were to end up three stories, they would become wider and consume more of the site. That would leave only half an acre.

“It’s going to be big enough for us to build a community space right at the corner of Cully (Boulevard) and Emerson (Street),” Fonseca said, noting that the space would become a mini plaza for the entire neighborhood.

Four to six months are expected to be devoted to the redesign effort. Then the team will reapply to OHCS through the Oregon Centralized Application (ORCA) process and seek additional resources such as a Community Development Block Grant, Metro funds, and donations.

If Hacienda CDC were unable to secure sufficient funding for the project, the nonprofit could choose to sell some of its bankable land, Fonseca said. The organization owns 20 acres between Salem and Portland.

When the redesign is complete, the team will create a master schedule and resubmit an application for city permits. Construction is expected to begin in late 2027 or early 2028.

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Vertical construction will begin later this week at the Williams & Russell project site, in North Portland. It’s a milestone for the Hill Block development intended to restore a cultural and economic center of the city’s Black community.

Housing will come first. Twenty townhomes with an additional four ground-level units will rise on the north side of the 1.7-acre block bounded by North Williams and Vancouver avenues and Russell and Knott streets — in the Eliot neighborhood.

Crucially, the townhomes will be offered for purchase to residents selected according to the city’s North/Northeast Preference Policy, administered by the Portland Housing Center. The policy aims to restore justice to residents whose homes were razed as part of the 1960s Emanuel Hospital Urban Renewal Project.

The Portland Housing Bureau will provide down-payment assistance to eligible homebuyers. More than 1,200 people initially applied via the North/Northeast Preference Policy, said Dana Fuller Shephard, executive director of the Portland Housing Center.

“We have more people than we have units,” Shephard said.

Homeowners will be able to earn equity over time, and if they choose, eventually sell the homes.

“The homeownership component was something that people really, really wanted to see in the project,” said Bryson Davis, president of Williams & Russell Community Development Corp., the nonprofit group leading the project.

The trade-off between keeping the homes affordable and enabling homeowners to build equity was a keenly debated issue in planning.

“That tension was a key component of a lot of our discussions,” Davis said. “Through the hospital expansion, the community lost a lot of wealth. We leaned towards — and for this project we are doing — the homeowner gets the benefit of their equity.”

However, project team members said they expect most homeowners at Williams & Russell will hold onto the homes long-term. North/Northeast Portland remains the center of the city’s Black community, but homebuying has become difficult amid prices spiraling upward, said Ta’Neshia Renae, chief operations officer of Williams & Russell CDC.

“Really, we’re looking at folks that have historical ties to the community and want to be a part of that,” said Anyeley Hallová, founder and CEO of Portland-based developer Adre.

A second phase will involve the construction of 85 units of subsidized rental housing in family-size configurations. Finally, a 26,000-square-foot business hub, built from cross-laminated timber, will include a mix of affordable office, retail and collaborative space.

The CDC was also able to acquire from Legacy Health a half-block north of the Hill Block that brings the project site to 2.99 acres. In total, the project is expected to cost $16.4 million.

Each project component was designed after an extensive public engagement process. Homeownership, with backyards and parking spaces, was important to Albina residents, and so was affordable rental housing in multibedroom units. Market-rate development has brought a steady supply of studios and one-bedroom apartments, but few larger units.

“The market doesn’t naturally produce the larger-sized units,” Hallová said. “So, the ability to produce those larger units at an affordable price is definitely a desire for the community.”

Vertical construction can begin only now after an extensive environmental remediation process. Legacy Health, which formerly owned the block, provided $10 million for environmental remediation. The Portland Housing Bureau and Prosper Portland also contributed some funding for remediation.

Crews ended up removing 41,000 tons of dirt from the site, Davis said. When the buildings on the Hill Block were demolished in the 1970s, debris from the demolition was used to fill 12-foot-tall basements.

“As you can imagine for buildings that were built in the early 1900s, there were elevated levels of heavy metals and all sorts of other contaminants all around the block,” Davis said.

Also, a gas station once occupied the southwest corner of the block. Decades-old fuel tanks had to be unearthed and removed.

“Despite all of that, it went pretty well,” Davis said.

Project team members are keenly aware that the site in the heart of the former city of Albina has sat vacant for decades, and know how important it is for Portland’s Black community to get it right.

“As a real estate developer and as part of Black community, I knew about the significance of the site to the community, the historical significance, and then also the fact that nothing had transpired on the site for fifty years after it was taken from the community,” Hallová said.

They’ve had plenty of time to think about it: The project team came together in 2021 in response to a request for proposals from the project working group that later transformed into the CDC.

The project is being designed by LEVER Architecture and Hood Design Studio. Colas Construction, Portland’s largest Black-owned contractor, is serving as general contractor.

The project will add housing at a time when state and local leaders say more options are desperately needed. But Williams & Russell means more to its backers than square footage, timber and drywall.

“What we’re bringing back is more than just buildings,” Renae said. “We’re bringing back people and their descendants. We’re bringing back culture.”

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The Portland City Council on Wednesday voted to postpone voting on allocation of approximately $20.7 million in unspent Rental Services Office funds.

The money would be appropriated within the Portland Housing Bureau across the 2025-2026, 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 fiscal years. The resolution would urge the mayor to make allocations to create or expand prevention programs that would be administered by the Rental Services Office. These include several rent assistance programs, eviction prevention services, emergency housing vouchers, landlord/tenant education for tenant protections, affordable housing stabilization, and down payment assistance.

Wednesday’s meeting was the third to discuss the unspent funds. Councilors were divided: some wanted more information before voting, while others believed they had sufficient information.

“We were given a memo, and it told us the exact uses of the dollars,” Councilor Loretta Smith said. “I don’t know what more they can actually brief me on.”

Several councilors expressed uneasiness about voting after changes in the amount of available funds. While they began discussing $20.7 million, that amount has since grown to $120 million, Councilor Candace Avalos noted. Smith suggested allocating the $20.7 million now and then discussing the additional funds later.

“It’s not an easy decision to say that we need to step back, but we cannot keep being in a situation where we get new information and we haven’t had time to discuss it as a body,” Councilor Angelita Morillo said.

Councilors voted 8-4 to postpone the vote on the resolution; Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Sameer Kanal, Eric Zimmerman and Smith voted no.

The council also postponed a vote on two ordinances that would adopt a supplemental budget for the Portland Housing Bureau. The ordinance would amend the appropriation schedule for the 2025-26 fiscal year and make one-time funds available to the bureau for housing, homelessness intervention, and real estate activity.

The vote to postpone the passed by an 8-4 margin, with councilors Olivia Clark, Smith, Pirtle-Guiney and Zimmerman voting no. The vote to postpone the also passed by an 8-4 margin, with Dan Ryan, Smith, Pirtle-Guiney and Zimmerman voting no.

Because the council postponed the vote, no testimony was given during Wednesday’s meeting; however, opportunity to speak will be presented during a future council meeting ahead of the vote. More than two dozen people were signed up to testify on Wednesday, Pirtle-Guiney said.

A work session set for March 5 calls for discussion of options for using the money as well as confirmation that the amendments as currently written in the draft resolution would pass city code, Councilor Jamie Dunphy said. The council has previously discussed potentially using the funds for rental assistance, rent buy-downs, legal assistance or gap funding for affordable housing, he said. Or money could be returned to the general fund to help cover a looming budget gap of at least $67 million, he added.

The vote could take place at the next council meeting after the work session, Dunphy said. According to the schedule, that is March 11.

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The city of Portland is continuing to find unallocated money within the Housing Bureau, and the latest discovery brings the total to more than $106 million.

Currently, the Portland City Council is considering how to handle the discovery last summer of a $20.7 million surplus within the Housing Bureau. On Wednesday, the council voted 8-4 for the city administrator to release public records tied to the surplus by Feb. 20 and schedule an oversight hearing for no later than March 6.

But the passage of follows the council being informed Feb. 1 of an additional surplus of $24.9 million unbudgeted in sub-funds within the Housing Investment Fund. Then on Friday, the city administrator announced another discovery of $62.1 million unbudgeted in four other PHB funds.

The $20.7 million is from the Portland Housing Bureau‘s Rental Services Office. Money accrued over the past several years as fees were paid by landlords as part of the city’s Residential Rental Registration program. The PHB discovered the money in August 2025 and then notified the council in November.

The City Council is considering what to do with the funds, but initial targets included several rent assistance programs, eviction prevention services, emergency housing vouchers, landlord/tenant education for tenant protections, affordable housing stabilization, and down payment assistance.

On Feb. 18, the City Council will vote on a full resolution addressing the $20.7 million. Previously, on Jan. 28, the council voted 8-4 to approve an amendment that removed emergency housing vouchers from consideration. Instead, $5.6 million would be appropriated for the Broadway Corridor affordable housing project, $1 million for the Williams & Russell project, and $1.5 million for Self Enhancement Inc.‘s Northeast 13th Avenue affordable homeownership project.

The most recent discovered surpluses – the $24.9 million and the $62.1 million – are not being addressed in .

Several councilors on Wednesday voiced support for the city administrator and Mayor Keith Wilson to hire an outside investigator. Council President Jamie Dunphy said the best option is to hire an outside investigator, but it would be expensive and the investigation would require one or two months to accomplish.

“I think this is entirely backward looking,” Councilor Steve Novick said. “What I want to know is what steps the administration is taking to ensure that we know, and they know, what money is available in various pots.”

Councilor Loretta Smith said the oversight hearing needs to focus on the full unaccounted funding ($106 million) and not just the $20.7 million. Councilor Mitch Green noted that the resolution would not prevent the council from discussing the full amount.

PHB interim director Michael Buonocore said the bureau’s finance team, which submits financial details to the city’s budget office annually, has eight or nine people. Smith said they should provide testimony during the hearing.

Following an initial oversight hearing some time before March 6, others could follow.

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Seven projects have been awarded a total of $23 million for preservation efforts to keep affordable housing accessible in the city of Portland.

The Portland Housing Bureau (PHB) last week announced the awardees of the Spring 2025 Preservation Request for Proposals (RFP) and the preservation of 484 affordable units within the seven projects across eight sites.

Capital improvements will extend the useful lifetimes of these buildings and increase energy efficiency and address livability and safety concerns for tenants. The RFP made available approximately $23 million in HOME, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) dollars, according to a PHB news release.

PHB regulates more than 17,000 affordable housing units in more than 400 buildings, with other projects in Portland regulated by Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) and federal rental assistance agreements. Like any capital asset, over time, these buildings require reinvestment to continue providing safe, affordable housing, a PHB news release states.

Following a competitive solicitation process, the bureau will fund seven proposals and preserve at least 484 affordable units and 11 commercial units, with new regulated affordability periods of 60 years or more. The projects include health and life safety repairs, as well as improvements to modernize the buildings and increase livability for residents.

Four of the seven projects will incorporate energy-efficiency and renewable-energy improvements, made possible through funding from PCEF. These awards support the city of Portland’s Climate Investment Plan goal of reducing carbon emissions and help protect low-income communities from the impacts of the climate, according to the city.

Funded proposals are in the early stages of predevelopment. Projects include:

• 333 Oak Street — 333 Oak Street is a building with 90 affordable units. Built in 1909, it primarily serves seniors and people with disabilities with incomes up to 30 percent Area Median Income (AMI), with all units receiving project-based rental assistance. The project team includes developer Northwest Housing Alternatives, architect KASA Architects, general contractor Walsh Construction Co., and construction manager Whitman Development LLC. Work will involve elevator modernization, new windows, new LED lighting, a sprinkler upgrade, full plumbing repair and replacement of unit heating/cooling with heat pumps. The $15.9 million estimated project is scheduled to start construction in 2026;
• the Group 8 Project — Ruth Haefner Plaza and Holgate House Apartments, also known as the Group 8 Project, are two buildings built in 1971 and 1983, respectively, with 153 units combined. It will undergo a Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversion. Both buildings serve primarily seniors and people with disabilities at or below 30 percent AMI, and all units will have project-based vouchers. The project team includes developer Home Forward, architect Holst Architecture and general contractor Walsh Construction Co. The project team is applying for a 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) as public housing to LIHTC conversion/recapitalization, Portland Housing Bureau spokesperson Gabriel Mathews shared in an email.
• Building A (Ruth Haefner) will involve seismic reinforcement, a plumbing system replacement, elevator modernizations, structural masonry repairs with new sealing and insulation, HVAC installation in common areas and new windows. In unit kitchens and bathrooms will be remodeled, and there will be upgrades to ADA units.
• Building B (Holgate House) will involve a roof replacement, ADA upgrades, seismic upgrades, security/access upgrades and sprinkler upgrades. It will also involve replacing windows and replacing heating in common areas and units, as well as solar panels. The approximately $80.6 million project is slated to start construction in 2026.
• Taggart Manor — Taggart Manor is a 23-unit project built in 1960 and serves families in recovery with up to 50 percent AMI. The project is being led by Central City Concern. An architect and general contractor have not been selected. Work in the units will include new kitchen and bathroom appliances, water heater replacements, a lighting replacement and adding mini splits to the bedrooms. It will also involve a full-system electrical replacement, solar install and two EV charging spaces. The $2.2 million project is scheduled to begin in 2026.
• The Whitmarsh Building — The Whitmarsh Building is a 60-unit project built in 1912 serving lower-income, single-adult households, with units regulated at 50 and 60 percent AMI. The project team includes developer Innovative Housing Inc., architect LRS Architects and general contractor Bremik Construction. Work will involve sidewalk vault repair and sidewalk replacement, roof replacement, upgraded insulation and seismic bracing, as well as replacement of the rooftop HVAC, rooftop solar array and lightwell windows. The $5.2 million project is scheduled to start in 2026.
• McCuller Crossing — McCuller Crossing is a 40-unit project built in 2001 that serves low-income families and single adult households with units regulated at 60 percent AMI. The project team includes developer REACH CDC, general contractor Walsh Construction Co., and construction management by Housing Development Center. An architect has not been selected. The work will involve roof replacement, gutter replacement, siding/envelope replacement, window replacement, paint/flooring replacement in common areas and on the exterior and LED lighting in common areas. In-unit work will involve installing heat pumps and LED lighting. The $11 million project will start in 2026.
• Albina Corner — Albina Corner is a 48-unit project built in 1996 that serves low-income families and single-adult households with units regulated at 60 percent AMI. The project team includes developer REACH CDC, general contractor Walsh Construction Co. and construction management by Housing Development Center. An architect has not been selected. Work on the project will involve column repair or replacement, stair repair and water management, siding and window replacement, sealing of exterior masonry, adding a new trash enclosure, repairing the parking lot and replacing the common area lighting. In-unit work will involve adding new Energy Star refrigerators and finish/fixture upgrades. The $17.9 million project will begin construction in 2026.
• Villa de Mariposas — Villa de Mariposas is a 70-unit project built in 2004 and serves low-income families, with units regulated at 30 and 60 percent AMI. Hacienda CDC is leading the project. The design will be in-house. A general contractor has not been selected. Work will involve an exterior refresh, window replacement and mold remediation. The $4.25 million project will begin later this year or in 2026.

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