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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Politics Breaking Ground on Affordable Housing

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 4:53 PM

This morning, Commissioner Nick Fish and a bunch of other politicians, developers, and nonprofit leaders ceremoniously donned hard hats and broke ground on the first affordable housing project in South Waterfront.

When the city and Portland Development Commission inked the deal to turn an industrial neighborhood into South Waterfront's urban renewal area back in 2003, a major part of the agreement was to make South Waterfront a "diverse, inclusive" neighborhood that included 780 units of affordable housing. Today, after having built a tram and streetcar and over 1,000 luxury homes, South Waterfront is an enclave for the rich with exactly zero units of affordable housing. I detailed exactly what went wrong last year, but this morning, only five and half years behind schedule, the city was finally able to celebrate an affordable housing groundbreaking in SoWa. The Block 49 project will have 209 affordable units, including 42 reserved for low-income veterans (side note: Does anyone else think it seems crazy that an average market-rate studio in Portland apparently costs $626?). You can read more about Block 49 here.

The real cost of delayed or nonexistant affordable housing is human. Here's a photo of a guy who wants to live in Block 49, his name is John Bancroft:

IMG_1215.JPG

Bancroft, 65, was one of the first people to put his name into the hat to try and score an apartment in Block 49. He and his wife are currently squeezing their son’s 800 square-foot St. Johns house while he receives expensive treatment at OHSU for cancer caused by his heavy exposure to Agent Orange during two tours in Vietnam.

Bancroft would love to move to South Waterfont, close to downtown, the hospital, and the river, but can’t afford to pay more than $600 a month in rent. If affordable housing had been built at the rate it was supposed to based on the city and PDC's promises in 2003, he could potentially have a place of his own already.

But he’s willing to hold out for 15 months for the chance to move into one of the Block 49’s affordable units.
“I think a lot of us are in the same boat,” says Bancroft. “You get what you can get and you’re grateful for it.”

 

Comments (12) RSS

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1
When I first moved here in 2005, I paid $700 for a studio in downtown. ...Yep, I feel pretty dumb about that.
Posted by ScrumYummy on April 26, 2011 at 6:07 PM · Report
2
Sarah, when you say that $626 seems crazy for a studio, do you mean crazy good? Crazy bad? Or...?
Posted by Never Alone on April 26, 2011 at 6:19 PM · Report
3
Yeah I'm with No Longer Alone, considering Portland is insanely cheap compared to every other major city on the west coast I'm inclined to think that is crazy good... I have a feeling that's not what you mean but I've paid a lot more than that for worse elsewhere, so... eh.
Posted by BruceWang on April 27, 2011 at 1:08 AM · Report
4
Some moustache-twirling villain is thinking "POOR PEOPLE! Where can I put a Plaid Pantry?"

Maybe right next to the New Seasons that'll probably be built for the rich people...
Posted by Todd Mecklem on April 27, 2011 at 6:51 AM · Report
5
@Todd - I don't have a mustache, but enough people have complained on here about there being no grocery store down there that I've been meaning to at least drive the neighborhood looking for opportunities...

Maybe a Take-n-Bake pizza franchise? All those condo-dwellers who don't like to cook? If it's in walking distance....? And those places can take food stamps....
Posted by Reymont on April 27, 2011 at 9:36 AM · Report
6
I know that Portland is cheap for a major city, and I am very grateful for that, but once upon a time I payed $275 for a two bedroom apartment. Granted it was in a ghetto with drug dealers and a minimum of one shooting per week, but hey, TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS.

Anyway, now, I pay $400 for my share of a very large/nice house in close-in NE. I feel pretty good about that.
Posted by ScrumYummy on April 27, 2011 at 11:10 AM · Report
7
Once upon a time you paid 95 cents for a gallon of gas. Guess what happened...
Posted by TimePassed!!! on April 27, 2011 at 11:48 AM · Report
8
Some kind of store will go in eventually, Reymont (a Peterson's, perhaps?), but for now those rich condo dwellers won't starve! They can eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory five every night if they like, and, don't forget, a short tram-ride away the Marquam OHSU Cafe is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (Oh, but the tram shuts down for eight hours every night...HOW PODUNK IS THAT!)
Posted by Todd Mecklem on April 27, 2011 at 12:42 PM · Report
9
@No Longer Alone - I mean crazy bad! I guess most people I know live in shared houses on the eastside and pay somewhere from $300-500 for really nice rooms. But even my friends who live alone in studio apartments in the central eastside don't pay more than $600. Does that seem high to you or low?
Posted by s.mirk on April 27, 2011 at 1:52 PM · Report
10
I guess I see different sides to it.. I am very lucky that for the last 5 years I've been renting a 2500 sq ft house in Irvington for $850 a month. (My neighbor has about the same amount space and she pays more than twice that much!)

However, compared to what friends who live in other cities pay, renting a studio for 6-700 bucks seems pretty damn sweet, and hey, no annoying roommates when you live in a studio (just neighbors).
Posted by Never Alone on April 27, 2011 at 4:02 PM · Report
11
@Time Passed: You would be right, except that it was only six years ago. That's not a whole lotta time to be passin'.
Posted by ScrumYummy on April 27, 2011 at 9:28 PM · Report
12
In 2005, I shared a 1000 sq ft 2 bdrm house in the Belmont neighborhood with one other person. We paid $550 total. Granted, it was a bit on the run-down side, but still. Considering the glut of vacant houses for sale in Portland right now, and our recent history of low rent prices, rents seem pretty steep these days.
Posted by Sisya on April 27, 2011 at 10:15 PM · Report

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