The developer behind one of the biggest revitalization projects planned for Salem in recent years is proposing a Prosper Portland-style model to spur economic development in the city and bring in $13 million to $34 million in revenue over the next five years.

Aaron Stickney, a co-founder and managing member of SilverSphere Capital, said his proposed plan could also bring in more than $100 million in private investment and up to 2,600 new jobs.

It could “really turn Salem around,” he said. “We’re at the point economically that Salem could be the next emerging market.”

His company is banking on it. SilverSphere Capital stepped up in early 2026 to helm the $150 million transformation of the former home of Truitt Bros. Cannery north of downtown Salem after the revitalization stalled under a previous developer. A total of almost 800 apartments, a grocery store, an automatic parking garage, a wine bar and restaurants are planned at the site.

Stickney recently crafted a white paper titled “Economic Development & Growth Plan” for Salem City Council and City Manager Krishna Namburi. In the in-depth analysis that detailed Salem’s economic challenges and provided solutions, he proposed that to address the structural challenge of service costs outpacing revenues faced by many midsize Oregon cities, Salem should draw from a Prosper Portland model to generate revenue instead of relying on increased taxes or service cuts.

The plan also proposes:

• creating tax increment financing (TIF) districts in places like downtown and the Willamette waterfront to use rising property tax values to fund redevelopment;
• monetizing city-owned assets by raising parking rates, shifting from selling land to executing long-term leases;
• using private capital to build a riverfront hotel and mixed-use buildings over parking lots;
• creating a revolving loan fund for small businesses; and
• creating a Salem Science & Innovation Anchor District, similar to Portland’s master-planned OMSI District, to link the A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village, Willamette University, Salem Health and Chemeketa Community College.

Stickney said his proposal has been well received by city leaders, who previously voiced struggles with a looming structural deficit.

It provides a viable solution to the city’s revenue challenges and will free up more resources to address top issues like homelessness and public safety, he said.

“The conclusion is straightforward: Salem can generate an estimated $6 million to $12 million in new annual revenue by 2030 from assets it already controls,” he said. “No bond measure. No new taxes. No condemnations. The barriers are policy decisions, not capital constraints.”

Stickney urged residents to look at his plan, encourage city leaders to take action and hold them accountable.

“There’s an actual path forward to generate more revenue and make the city better,” he said.

Through a spokesman, Namburi, Mayor Julie Hoy and Mayor-elect Vanessa Nordyke confirmed city leaders are in close and productive conversations with Stickney about the proposal.

“We are excited about several new ideas being proposed, which present intriguing opportunities for exploration,” city leaders said. “The city of Salem encourages and seeks out conversations with our community, engaging residents and business owners to better understand how we can serve them effectively and explore new ideas, proposals and diverse perspectives.”

City spokesman Rob Layne said leaders and council are examining the city’s economic development programming through multiple initiatives, including the recently announced Downtown Vision Framework. Leaders said some of the items outlined in the report, like Block 50 and Block 45, are already in progress or under development.

“There are also some properties in the report that fall outside the city’s ownership or jurisdiction, such as the suggestions for Capital Mall lots,” Layne said. “We look forward to continuing our dialogue with the author and their team to further define and develop these concepts, including the Cannery project.”

Prosper Portland is the Rose City’s decades-old economic and urban development agency designed to create jobs and support small businesses. Salem can learn from Prosper Portland’s success and missteps, according to Stickney.

“The most impactful structural change Salem can make is creating a dedicated, semi-independent economic development agency — a ‘Prosper Salem’ — with its own board, budget authority, and mandate to generate revenue through strategic investments,” Stickney stated in the report.

The proposed Salem Economic Development Agency would include five to seven members appointed by the mayor and city council. Its executive director would operate independently to make investment decisions, enter contracts and manage a real estate portfolio on behalf of the city.

Initial funding would include $2 million to $3 million from the General Fund as well as federal Community Development Block Grant funds, Business Oregon partnerships and Enterprise Zone administrative fees, Stickney proposed.

To avoid equity pitfalls historically experienced by Prosper Portland, the agency should require an equity impact analysis for investments over $250,000, set targets for underrepresented, minority and women-owned business support, mandate community engagement, and publish annual scorecards on job creation, wages and displacement risk, Stickney stated.

Creating TIF districts would allow the city to fund development without drawing on the General Fund, Stickney noted. The districts have the potential to bring in tens of millions of dollars over the next two decades, he added.

Salem can use Prosper Portland’s framework to designate districts in which property tax growth above a frozen baseline is redirected into a dedicated fund for reinvestment within that district, Stickney stated.

First would be a Downtown Core district for revitalization of commercial blocks between Liberty and High streets. Districts at the Willamette Riverfront, south Salem Commercial Street corridor and West Salem could follow in the next three to four years.

The agency’s first-year priority would be an audit of city-owned properties to see which could be used for revenue generation as development catalysts or be held for future growth.

This could eventually yield up to $22 million a year in unrealized revenue, Stickney stated.

His ideas include increasing parking fees to match market rates, adding paid programming, concessions and sponsorships at Riverfront Park, and developing mixed-use public-private partnerships above surface parking lots in downtown.

“Riverfront Park is Salem’s most underleveraged asset,” Stickney said. “The 26-acre riverfront park with amphitheater, carousel, dock, and Gilbert’s Discovery Village generates almost no earned revenue.”

But with paid events, concessions and sponsorship, the park could bring in $500,000 to $1.5 million per year.

Stickney also proposed adding a small business hub and a revolving loan fund to target underserved businesses. Over time, the group could lend up to $5 million annually.

The hub would be a central point for Salem entrepreneurs and help them with business licensing, permits and access to loans. It should also include multilingual services for Salem’s large Spanish-speaking business community, he stated.

Salem has several brownfields — former industrial and commercial sites — that are contaminated or underutilized. Spots include former industrial parcels along the Willamette River, old gas stations and dry-cleaning spaces on Commercial Street, and industrial sites in West Salem.

Stickney suggested the agency leverage state and federal programs to turn these sites into productive commercial, industrial and mixed-use developments.

He also honed in on the importance of actively reaching out to recruit businesses and anchor tenants into Salem. He looked to the success Detroit, Michigan, had in turning around economic blight. The city drew Rocket Mortgage into its downtown in 2010 and added 8,000 new jobs by making itself attractive to businesses, he said.

Salem should work on recruiting government contractors, agricultural and food processors, healthcare, life sciences, clean energy and construction, Stickney said.

“You can’t wait for anchor tenants to come to you; you have to go out and reach out to them,” he said. “Bring in one or two, and that’s a game changer.”

He also emphasized the importance of private-public partnerships in bringing development into Salem. This would involve the city retaining ownership of land while leasing long term to private businesses. In execution, this could look like a hotel built along the Willamette River with a public promenade.

If the public and private sectors don’t work together, “nothing’s going to change,” Stickney said.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in The Statesman Journal and then was distributed on the USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

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