PORTLAND, OR, May 30, 2019—The City of Portland today will celebrate the groundbreaking of North Williams, 61 apartment homes for families in north and northeast Portland; the program will begin at 12 noon at 2156 N. Williams Avenue. The developer is BRIDGE Housing, a nationally recognized nonprofit that creates, owns and manages affordable housing.
A mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, North Williams will serve very low- and low-income families, with priority given to displaced residents or those at risk of displacement. Reaching even deeper affordability, 40 of the 61 apartments will have Project-Based Section 8 vouchers.
Planned site features include individual stoops for ground-floor units, a large community room with adjacent outdoor gathering area, laundry facilities, a children’s play area and a variety of gathering spaces for residents.
“We’re making significant strides at the Housing Bureau. We are breaking ground on the sixth project to be developed under the N/NE Housing Strategy and bringing 61 new homes to this community,” said Mayor Ted Wheeler. “North Williams Center furthers our commitment to addressing the legacy of displacement in N/NE Portland, adding much-needed, affordable family-size homes and prioritizing displaced residents for housing opportunity through the Preference Policy.”
“We’re proud to bring this development to a neighborhood that has been so impacted by displacement and change,” said Cynthia Parker, President and CEO of BRIDGE Housing. “With deep affordability and high-quality services, the homes at North Williams will have the power to change people’s lives.”
Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury said: “We have always known that to give families and individuals the best shot at success, we need to link affordable housing to the things that everybody needs, the things that enrich both the home and the community: access to transportation, grocery stores, parks and schools. This project in this location represents that.”
“U.S. Bank is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the work we do, within the communities we serve,” said Lisa Gutierrez, Senior Vice President with the U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation. “North Williams is a perfect example of this – it’s providing an opportunity for residents who’ve been displaced from this rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, to return to the community they’ve always called home. Projects like North Williams showcase the care, community outreach efforts and financial expertise that BRIDGE Housing brings to their developments. U.S. Bank is proud to partner with BRIDGE on this project.”
Financial partners for the development are the Portland Housing Bureau; Oregon Housing and Community Services; Home Forward; Multnomah County; Barings Multifamily Capital; U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation; U.S. Bank National Association; Metro; City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services; EPA; Meyer Memorial Trust; and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The architect is Ankrom Moisan Architects, Inc.; the general contractor is COLAS Construction, Inc.
Among the expected speakers at the groundbreaking: Mayor Ted Wheeler, City of Portland; Deborah Kafoury, Chair, Multnomah County Board of Commissioners; Bob Stacey, District 6 Councilor, Metro; Leslie Goodlow, Portland Housing Bureau; Margaret Salazar, Oregon Housing and Community Services; Michael Buonocore, Home Forward; Lisa Gutierrez, U.S. Bank; Dr. Steven Holt, N/NE Oversight Committee; Andrew Colas, COLAS Construction Inc.; and Aruna Doddapaneni and Trina Whitman, BRIDGE Housing.
For more information about BRIDGE, visit www.bridgehousing.com.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: A rendering is available; please contact Lyn Hikida at lhikida@bridgehousing.com or 415.321.3552 to request.
ABOUT BRIDGE HOUSING
BRIDGE Housing Corporation, a leading nonprofit developer and owner of affordable housing, creates and manages a range of high-quality, affordable homes for working families and seniors. Since it was founded in 1983, BRIDGE has participated in the development of more than 17,000 homes. For more information, visit www.bridgehousing.com.