Banquet 2010 a Great Success!

October 11 was a fantastic evening, and our biggest ever! Oregon ON was joined by over 450 friends, partners, and members for a fun, inspiring event celebrating the community development and affordable housing industry. We raised over $5,500 in night-of donations, thanks to each of you and to Chris Duffin at LMC who issued a $1,500 one-to-one match!

Thank you so much to everyone who came and made it a success!

Thank you to Chase, our 2010 Sapphire Sponsor!

Below are links to more information both about the award nominees and awards. Check out all our our fabulous Sponsors as well. We hope you will join us next year!


Board Nominated Awards


Star Player Awards


Member Nominated Awards

Golden Hammer Nominees


Stepping Stone Nominees


Thrive and Shine Nominees


Special Achievement Awards

BOARD DESIGNATED AWARDEES

Senator Jeff Merkley, Homegrown Industry Champion Award –top

We are very honored that our very special keynote speaker, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, took time out of his extremely busy schedule to be with us at the banquet. But Senator Merkley did not primarily come representing the Senate today – he came because of his deep roots in Oregon’s community development and affordable housing industry.  Jeff was already well-known to many people at the banquet before he went to Washington D.C., but I’ll take just a minute to recap the path that took him to DC.

Jeff Merkley is a local boy, the son of a sawmill worker who spent his early years in Myrtle Creek and Roseburg. He got his political start as an intern for Oregon’s U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield.

After returning to Oregon with his wife Mary in 1991, Jeff served as executive director of Portland Habitat for Humanity, now Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East. He loved Habitat’s ‘theology of the hammer,’ and has been quoted saying, “we can disagree on many things but we can all agree to pick up a hammer and help build this house.”

After working at Habitat, Jeff took his passion for affordable housing to Human Solutions. As Director of Housing Development at Human Solutions, he worked to develop affordable housing communities and launched Oregon’s first Individual Development Account (IDA) program to help low-income families save money to buy homes, attend college, send their children to college, or start businesses.

Somewhere in the midst of all this, Jeff found time to work together with Nick Sauvie, Dee Walsh, Maxine Fitzpatrick, Will White, and others, as well as Steve Rudman and Martha McLennan when they were at BHCD, to create the Community Development Network in 1994 – CDN along with AOCDO were predecessor organizations.

In 1998, Jeff was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives to represent his east Portland district, and was appointed Speaker of the House in 2007.

In 2008, Jeff was elected to the US. In the Senate, he serves on the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Budget Committee, and, near and dear to our hearts, the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

In Washington, Jeff has continued his stellar job of representing the needs of people going through hard economic times, and looking out for hard-hit communities throughout Oregon and the country.

Because Senator Merkley’s roots in community development shine through clearly;

Because of his important role in Oregon Opportunity Network’s history;

Because of his advocacy on behalf of Oregon’s hard-working families;

Because of his thoughtful, compassionate representation of our State;

. . . the Oregon ON Board of Directors is honored to present Senator Merkley with the Homegrown Industry Champion Award.

We appreciate you and your work so much, Senator, and thank you again for joining us at the banquet.


Tom Cusack, Transparency Award–top

This award is given in recognition of the importance of public access to information. In this day and age, we are all information-saturated, often processing hundreds of emails and conversations a day. But in our industry, it is especially crucial to be well-informed. We must hold in mind multiple partners’ inputs, political stances, public releases, and deadlines. In our business, when you miss out on information, you miss out on funding opportunities, strategic decisions, and policy implications. And being out of the loop will almost definitely hurt us, and the communities we serve, somewhere down the line.

That is why the Oregon ON Board of Directors is presenting the Transparency Award to Tom Cusack, producer of the Oregon Housing Blog.

On Independence Day in 2007 Tom retired after 34 years of federal service at HUD, the last 10 as the Oregon Field Office Director in Portland. Rather than rest on his laurels or spend all his time at Carl’s Jr., Tom launched one of the most amazingly detailed, wonky sources of information I’ve ever come across – the Oregon Housing Blog. Tom reads and digests the government documents that no one else does – including the appendices. He is the vigilant reporter, government monitor, analyst, and advocate that every community development organization would love to have on staff, but most could never afford to hire.  And even if we could, finding someone with Tom’s extensive knowledge, insights, and ability to make sense of huge amounts of data would be hard to find. ‘Master of the Spreadsheet, Keeper of the Obscure-yet-Key Public Announcement,’ that’s Tom.

Thanks to his ceaseless vigilance and enormous inputs of personal time and energy, our industry is better informed, better poised to move on important issues, and less alone wading through the modern information barrage.

Tom, we are so glad to have you in our community. Thank you for all that you do, and keep it coming!

Fair Housing Council, Housing Access Award–top

The last award the Board would like to give is the Housing Access Award.

This award is in recognition of the very long way we have come in addressing housing fairness and equity in Oregon, and the very long way we still have to go.

In July, the Urban League of Portland reported in their ‘State of Black Oregon’ that Oregon’s African Americans are half as likely to own their own homes as their white counterparts —even when income is adjusted for. They also found that African American borrowers were twice as likely to receive high-cost, high-interest loans as white borrowers, and more likely to have faced foreclosure. The Communities of Color report for Multnomah County found similar inequities for Latino, Native American and other minority and ethnic communities. Clearly, we have a serious problem.

There is protective legislation to help our communities, but it is only good if the public is educated about it, and it is enforced. This year, HUD, the Justice Department, and other community groups have brought several cases to court involving violations of the Fair Housing Act: families with children, people of color, immigrants, and people with disabilities who were denied equal access to housing. But we have much further to go.

That is why today, we are awarding the Fair Housing Council of Oregon the Housing Access Award.

The Fair Housing Council of Oregon promotes equal access to housing through education and outreach, technical assistance, and enforcement opportunities of fair housing laws. Their work is wide-reaching, impacting the entire Oregon housing market, both affordable and market-rate housing alike

They also give an excellent Historic Bus Tour of Housing Discrimination and that through their generous support, Oregon ON voting and affiliate members will have the opportunity of taking the tour on November 4th at no cost! Look for more registration information soon.

To honor the crucial struggle to give all Oregonians equal access to housing, tonight we would like to give the Housing Access Award to the Fair Housing Council of Oregon.

STAR PLAYER AWARDS

Star Players are the very important staff and board members nominated by their organizations for their amazing contributions. They are those who have demonstrated leadership and commitment, provided positive community outcomes, and been invaluable members of their teams. Your program contains just a nugget of praise provided by their organization.


✰      Jorge Alvarado, Hacienda CDC–top

Jorge runs our tamale vendor micro-enterprise program. He literally does everything for the program, including opening the commercial kitchen at all hours on weekends and evenings, negotiating with farmers markets and training the participants.




✰      Araceli Avila, Salem-Keizer CDC–top

Araceli is the “face and heart” of SKCDC. This past year she provided outstanding resident services including a summer program where the kids travelled to OMSI by train. She also took the lead on our new free tax filing project and managed our IDA program.



✰      Linn Brillman, CPAH–top

Linn arrived at CPAH 3 years ago, and has inspired us all by multitasking thru the day–planning, budgeting, marketing, reporting, inspecting, renovating & coordinating her way to excellence. Our hat is off to the woman who wears so many different hats for CPAH every day!




✰      Claudia Cantu, CASA of Oregon–top

Claudia Cantu is our Star Player. Over the past year she has diligently worked with the Boardman community to assess the housing needs of farmworkers and their families. Her tireless efforts to explain the need and proposed project in this small rural community resulted in the submission of over 20 support letter from government officials, local businesses and the school district. This support and Claudia’s can do attitude will insure the success of this project.

✰      Olympia Church, Umpqua CDC–top

Olympia brings a calming and stable presence to Umpqua CDC.  She is extremely detailed, holding together data for our micro-enterprise and foreclosure prevention programs and navigating our employees through the NMLS process.   Olympia’s strength of character and dedication to our Mission and clients is exemplary.



✰      Mary Davis, ROSE Community Development–top

Mary is a dedicated neighborhood activist in Brentwood-Darlington. She led an effort to pave streets and build a park in her neighborhood, was the director of its community center and is currently a member of Trillium Artisans, where she makes crafts from recycled materials.


✰      Garrick Harmel, Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services–top

Critical function, complex work, multiple projects, new father: he does it all and is fun to work with too!







✰      Geneva Hollis, St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County–top

Geneva has been an outstanding Resident Services Coordinator, working first with tenants at the Aurora Building, a 54 unit mid-rise in Eugene and now working at the Aster Apartments, a 202 project. Geneva as created an outstanding Resident Services Program to engage tenants with activities that include the development of a Community Garden, Wii fitness tournaments, and consumer protection classes.  Geneva also helps each resident develop individual case plans to insure all of their needs are met.

✰      Sarai Johnson, NEDCO–top

Sarai is widely respected because of the incredible knowledge of her field. She is adored by her peers because she is fun loving, supportive and kind.  She is a treasured asset to NEDCO: no one can connect the dots like she can.



✰      Lois Patterson, Central City Concern–top

Lois Patterson demonstrates a can-do attitude and unyielding commitment to the work of Central City Concern. In the past 12 months, Lois has almost single-handedly maintained superior occupancy across the CCC housing portfolio, while the attention of most of the department has been focused on a double-lease-up, changes in staff, and other organizational issues. Lois’ ability to navigate the complex regulatory demands of CCC’s housing portfolio, her compassionate yet effective interaction with our clients, and indomitable spirit stand as benchmarks for her co-workers and as testimony to the mission of Central City Concern.

✰      Travis Phillips, Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives –top

Gifted in many ways and painstakingly proficient are words that describe Travis Phillips precisely.  In just one short year, he implemented PCRI’s long term goal and managed the construction of PCRI’s best new construction project ever.

As the project manager for PCRI’s first homes built for home ownership, Travis delivered like a true professional; there were no disappointments and many, many deserving accolades.

Travis is versatile, flexible and committed to creating homes for PCRI’s housing programs that are energy efficient, sustainable and healthy, affordable and attractive – adjectives that are not always said in combination with affordable housing.

He believes in giving back, he believes in human dignity and he came to PCRI at a time when we needed him most.  We love and respect Travis.  When PCRI residents move into their new homes – they will appreciate the value added because of him.  We feel blessed beyond measure to have Travis as a member of our team and family. Congratulations Travis and thank you for all you do.
–Your PCRI Team

✰      Martin Rebhahn, REACH Community Development–top

Martin has been instrumental in formulating REACH’s aggressive efforts to de-bug buildings, educate employees and residents, and assist other organizations.  Thank you, Martin, for your incredible people skills, willingness to tackle any issue, and dogged pursuit of knowledge in new areas. You are our star.


✰     Angela Trimble, Northwest Housing Alternatives–top

Angela leads her team providing services to people experiencing homelessness in Clackamas County by providing shelter and transitional housing.  This past year she’s expanded our services to include eviction prevention and rapid re-housing; increasing the number served by more than five times.  Great job Angela!


✰      Susie Vischer, Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East–top

Susie Vischer is an outstanding board member who is committed to Habitat’s mission. She serves on two committees that are building homes; one of which she is an adult mentor. Susie constantly shares her passion for the organization and is always willing to help.


✰      Bruce Whiting, Housing Development Center–top

Housing Development Center loves its Board Chair! Bruce has served on HDC’s Board for the past six years, and it is clear that HDC would not be where it is today without his commitment to affordable housing and counsel to HDC.




MEMBER NOMINATED AWARDS


These awards acknowledge Oregon ON nonprofit member organizations’ incredible work – both projects and programs. They have been extremely busy this year, even in this economy. Just looking over the Oregon ON newsletters for the past year, you will see dozens of groundbreakings, ribbon-cuttings, program launches, and awards they have won.  What you will see here is economic development in action.

The Board’s award committee was awed by the caliber of the 19 projects nominated – frankly they are all award winners and they represent the breadth of what Oregon ON’s members do.

They also represent the amazing partnerships we have here in Oregon that make these projects happen – many individuals and organization partners are in this room ––elected officials, public agencies, funders, investors, banks, contractors, architects, lenders, lawyers, CPAs, social service partners – you know who you are – so bask in the glory with the nominees!

This year we asked Oregon ON members to nominate award winners in three areas, the Golden Hammer Award, the Stepping Stone Award, and the Thrive and Shine Award. The Oregon ON Board was also moved by the many wonderful projects to create a new category of award, the Special Achievement Award , for two unique projects that merit their own category.


GOLDEN HAMMER AWARD NOMINATIONS

The Golden Hammer Award is presented to honor a project (rental or homeownership, rehab or new construction) completed within the past two years that best demonstrates the ideals of affordability, quality of design, asset management, livability, community revitalization or service integration.

CPAH: The Watershed @ Hillsdale, Portland-top

The Watershed @ Hillsdale is a stunning mixed-use project in the heart of the Hillsdale Town Center. The project includes ground floor commercial space with three floors of housing above. This high quality, transit-oriented development was built on a formerly contaminated (brown field) site and was designed to reduce its impact on the environment and to contribute to the strong identity and economic vitality of this Town Center.  Forty of the 51 residential units have project-based rental assistance and serve very low residents. Eight were set-aside for homeless veterans. Service partners at the Veterans Administration, Northwest Pilot Project and Neighborhood House provide a variety of services both on and off-site. The project truly serves the residents, CPAH, and the community in equal measure. The units are flooded with daylight and highly energy efficient, the building offers ample space for residents and community hold meetings and cultural events of all sizes, the landmark tower adds pride of place, and all partners are pleased with its fiscal and physical performance. The neighborhood and business associations have embraced and endorsed the project from the original planning charrette, through a variety of funding and planning applications, and even invested over $20,000 to ensure that features they valued were included. The Watershed exemplifies what a community motivated to work together can accomplish, and staff at CPAH are proud to call it, “Home, Green Home.”

Farmworker Housing Development Corp: Nuevo Amanecer Phase I & II Rehab, Woodburn -top
On August of 2009 FHDC completed the rehabilitation of Nuevo Amanecer Phase I & II (Phase I & II). Phase I was FHDC’s first project, and when completed in 1994, was the first farmworker, Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) project in the United State. Phase I serves 50 farmworker families that are under 50% AMI. Phase II was completed in 1998 and serves 40 farmworker families that are under 40% AMI. Nearly 50% of the residents from Nuevo Amanecer are children. Nuevo Amanecer is critical to these families, for, without this housing, many of them would be unlikely to fin safe, vacant and affordable housing anywhere else in Marion County.

The rehab began in the beginning of 2008 and was completed in the summer of 2009.The aim of the rehab was to address serious degradation concerns due to  contractors’ use of inferior materials, architectural design defects, and poorly designed landscaping. The most critical concerns addressed was failed siding on all the buildings, exacerbated by poor site grading and failed irrigation systems that contributed significant moister damage to the siding and unit interiors.

The rehab of Nuevo Amanecer was accomplished utilizing Green Communities Standards. After the completion of the project Enterprise Community Partners conducted a Green Communities Assessment to determine sustainable methods that were applied to the project work. Some of the findings Enterprise highlighted in their report included:

· Residents were vocal stakeholders in the planning charrette, and their needs appear to have been carried through in the planning documents (Green Development Plan) and later in implementation on site.

· Nuevo Amanecer excelled in the Green Communities criteria having to do with durability and moisture management.

· The effort that went into proper site control, landscaping, building envelope construction, and ventilation strategies will be instrumental in the site’s longevity.

· Lighting and irrigation controls were implemented; solar water heating was integrated into one of the site’s community laundry facilities; care was taken in ensuring residents had safe and easy access to transportation;  construction waste was managed well; and a Green Home Guide was created for residents

Overall according to Enterprise, the rehab of Nuevo Amanecer was one of the most successful green rehabilitation projects in their national portfolio.

Housing Works: NSP/Homequest Ground Lease, Redmond-top
Over the last year, Kelly Fisher (Housing Works-Homeownership Manager), has been able to assist in the revitalization of Redmond neighborhoods through the use of Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding.

< Before/after

Through extensive rehabilitation work completed by agency partners, these properties have been converted from community eyesores into highly desirable homes. In order to maintain long term affordability for low-income Oregonians, each home has been placed into the Housing Works Homequest ground lease program. Homequest ensures that the property will remain affordable for many years to come. To date, Housing Works has spent approximately $600,000 in NSP funds, rehabbed four homes, placed two families into homeownership and currently has two homes available on the open market. The homeowners that have been placed into the NSP properties have made great use of available homeownership and financial education along with the use of IDA saving accounts.


Northwest Housing Alternatives: Roselyn Apartments, 424 NW 21st Ave., Portland-top

The Roselyn Apartments is a 30-unit preservation project serving seniors and people with disabilities in NW Portland.  NHA began working on the property in 2007, and after two years of pulling together financing, rehabilitation of the Roselyn began in July 2009.   And then just a few weeks later, on the hottest day of the year, a fire broke out in the attic space, causing an evacuation of the building and a whole new scope of work.  Residents now needed to be off site for the full period of rehab (rather than for just a few weeks), and the building needed a new roof, drywall, flooring, and other major repairs.  The rehab budget, with insurance proceeds, grew from $900,000 to $1,600,000.  The whole project team got to work with emergency relocations, revising the project scope, bidding the changes, modifying the building permit, securing insurance funding and accelerating the pace of construction.  The project was completed in January 2010, just a few weeks later than originally planned.  And it is beautiful!


Polk CDC: Jen’s Place, Dallas, Oregon-top

Jen’s Place is a five unit development of town homes with a secure courtyard and play area for single parents in recovery and their children.  The environment is drug and alcohol free, supportive transitional housing.  Jen’s Place is the first of its kind in Polk County.  Polk CDC has partnered with Polk County Mental Health & Addictions, Drug Court, Adult and Family Services and others to bring to these families in recovery additional opportunities to be reunited, to learn healthy life skills, to learn financial management and rebuild their credit, to learn and practice good parenting skills, to further their education, and to improve their employment options.  Many of the parents and children who will transition through Jen’s Place have experienced domestic violence and trauma  as well as their addictions.  An on-site coach and mentor who is long term in recovery will be available to work with these families.  This new development upgrades an area of residential and commercial at the entry of the City of Dallas.


PCRI: Exeter Fessenden Green, 9435 N Exeter/5107 N Fessenden, Portland-top

The Exeter and Fessenden Green Plexes consists of 4 new construction homeownership opportunities for households at or below 80% of area median income (AMI).  These 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom homes are built to achieve LEED green building certification.  We feel they meet the high standards that the Oregon ON! Golden Hammer Award has established.

Affordability

These homes are set aside for households at or below 80% of area median income.  The 2010 income limit for a household of 4 at 80% of AMI is $56,950.  In addition to the affordability level, the homebuyer will receive a 10 year limited property tax exemption (LTE).

Quality of Design

The design concept for these homes was to provide affordable housing based on three principals:

  • Energy-efficiency
  • Healthy indoor air quality
  • Durable, high-quality finishes

The energy-efficiency measures taken in these homes include:

  • Installing Energy-Star appliances
  • Spray-foam and fiberglass wall insulation
  • Floor insulation
  • Attic insulation
  • Heat pump
  • Installing heat recovery ventilators
  • Double-paned windows

The healthy indoor air-quality measures taken in these homes include:

  • Building with formaldehyde-free lumber
  • Low- and no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints
  • Environmentally preferable drywall
  • High-level air filtration
  • Fresh air ventilation

The durable finishes installed in these homes include:

  • Solid wood/bamboo cabinets
  • Plank siding
  • Cork wood flooring
  • Ceramic and porcelain tile

Asset Management

The homebuyers will be purchasing the home and the 50’x50’ lot the home sits on.  With the assistance of PDC/PHB, a down-payment assistance loan (DPAL) product exists which is used as a mortgage buy-down, making each home affordable to households below 80% of AMI.  After 15 years of living in the property, the DPAL expires.

Livability

These sites were chosen as the first new construction homeownership development for PCRI largely due to their location.  In-fill develops like these maximize the density of the area and reduces urban sprawl.  Both sites are located on Tri-met’s Frequent Service bus line #4 which has direct access to downtown, the Rose Quarter, Historic Mississippi Street, Hawthorne Blvd., and all MAX lines.

There are City parks within 2 blocks of both sites.  McCoy Park provides basketball courts, a water fountain and a community garden.  Northgate Park provides a baseball field, soccer field and a playground.

Surrounding each of these homes is over 1,000 sq. ft. of yard space.  Fences and yards are included to provide private outdoor space for the families to enjoy.  These outdoor areas allow for children to play, backyard BBQs, or just relaxing on a hot day.  Native and drought-resistant plants are used to minimize maintenance and reduce the water needs of the house.

Inside the homes, you will find high quality fixtures and appliances.  The goal was to create a higher quality ownership opportunity for the price than the market can provide.  In showing the homes to people for the first time the natural light, modern kitchens (with islands), open floor plans, and large bedrooms stand out immediately.  To quote a few people involved with the project:

  • “These homes will be better built and have more sustainable features than most $1 million homes” – Erin Marshall, Designer
  • These homes “will be the largest homes being targeted for affordable home ownership that Portland Development Commission and Portland Housing Bureau has funded to date,” said John Marshall, PHB  “They will be incredible improvements to the neighborhood.”

Community Revitalization

Prior to building these homes, the previous homes on these sites were beyond rehabilitating.  Because these homes are corner lots on Fessenden St. they are highly visible examples of reinvestment into these North Portland blocks.  The PCRI has removed homes that were a nuisance to the community and replaced them with showcase homes.  Combined with the fact that these are set aside for low-income first time homebuyers, these homes not only improve the aesthetic of the neighborhood, but act as a catalyst bringing new ownership and ownership-pride to the community.

Service Integration

Through our Homeownership Program, PCRI provides financial fitness education, researches and aligns down-payment assistance, Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and other programs that each enrolled households can qualify for as part of our pre-purchase services.  During the purchase process, our staff works closely with the homebuyer, their lender and their real estate broker.  Once a resident has moved into a home of their own, PCRI provides post-purchase assistance into perpetuity to ensure they continue to have an avenue to get answers to their questions and access to any needed assistance.


Proud Ground and CityHouse Builders LLC: Pardee Commons, SE 122nd & SE Pardee-top


“… Of all the housing projects that have happened in the Lents Town Center Urban Renewal Area, so far, Pardee Commons is at the top of my list for being attractive and well designed. I hope we get to see more similar projects throughout the URA.”
-   Cora Potter, Chair, Lents Urban Renewal Advisory Committee.

Pardee Commons is a 10-unit partnership project of Proud Ground and Cityhouse Builders LLC. Pardee Commons meets Oregon Department of Energy’s High Performance Home standard, is an Earth Advantage Platinum home project, and is a finalist for the 2010 Home Depot Foundation’s Awards of Excellence. With an average sales price of $142,000, all of the units are dedicated for sale to income qualified households below 80% AMI; the affordability of the units is ensured and maintained through Proud Ground’s use of  shared-appreciation, subsidy retention upon resale

A unique combination of attached 2 bedroom row houses and detached 3 bedroom single family residences, the units are arranged around a shared courtyard that provides hard surface play area, green space, and tree plantings, while minimizing the impact of on-site parking. The homes were carefully designed to minimize the homeowners’ continuing cost of ownership through high efficiency envelope and HVAC systems, along with solar hot water. Durability is maximized through the use of carefully chosen materials and systems; indoor air quality was addressed through non- and low-toxic materials and heat recovery ventilators.

The project is within 500′ of bus stops serving both north/south and east/west corridors, and one of the routes connects directly to a light rail stop that serves the Portland Metropolitan area. Many services including schools, shopping and religious activities are within a quarter mile. A major shopping hub is within a half mile, and a neighborhood park is within one block. Some local jobs can be found within a half mile, however most are within a close commute by major arterials. The project de-emphasizes cars through the use of an on-site loop road and parking pads of permeable pavers that can be flexibly utilized as play or event space. A large and well appointed park is within a block of the development allowing bicycle or pedestrian transit along a quiet residential street to a large open space for exercise and play. Homes with covered porches and basements, or row houses with storage garages, provide significant bulk storage for bicycles. On-site bike racks provide additional bicycle guest parking.

Proud Ground has a unique relationship with its homes and homeowners due to its permanent stewardship of the homes in its portfolio–a key component of Proud Ground’s program is permanent affordability. When the architecture is understood to be part of a perpetually-affordable and community-supported portfolio of homes, investment in quality and durability becomes the highest priority.

Financing for this project provided by the Portland Housing Bureau and Albina Bank.

REACH Community Development: Walnut Park Apartments, 5272 NE 6th Portland, OR-top

Originally developed in 1981, Walnut Park Apartments is a project-based Section 8 building for seniors in a neighborhood where the traditional residents, particularly seniors living on fixed incomes, are being displaced by gentrification. In 2008, Walnut Park was at high risk of being sold and losing its affordability.  REACH purchased Walnut Park to preserve it by renovating the building and renewing the Section 8 contract for at least 20 years.  The renovation was completed in May 2010.

Upon purchasing Walnut Park REACH worked with Carleton Hart Architecture, LMC Construction and the Housing Development Center to plan renovation that would  help us make great strides in improving quality of life for our residents.  In addition to replacing siding and windows with energy-efficient alternatives, the team completely renovated the units and the common areas, added a computer room and resident services office, and created two beautiful outdoor spaces for resident use.  Carleton Hart and LMC even went as far as donating time, labor and materials to transform the grounds into raised community garden beds for the residents.  The new gardens have been life-changing for many of the residents and the on-site manager has noted a positive change in how residents are getting along.  One resident, Mazell Rudder, said it best, “This new building has brought so much joy and peace within me to see the project come together, and the change in the atmosphere.”


Umpqua CDC: Hotel North Bend, North Bend-top


The historic renovation of the Hotel North Bend created 33 units of affordable workforce housing and two commercial spaces in downtown North Bend. Due to shifts in the economy right before the start of construction, additional seismic requirements by the tax credit investor increased the scope of work $1.5 million. Although this requirement was added just before the start of construction, and therefore difficult to fund, it ultimately provides greater safety to our tenants and extends the longevity of the structure. With additional support from many sources, we were able to close the funding gap and complete the project on schedule.

The outcomes of completion of the Hotel North Bend are three‐fold in regard to the economy, community and residents.

a. Economic: with changes in the national economy there were impacts on the financial structure of the Hotel North Bend rehab. The tax credit equity market particularly changed and underwriting became far more difficult. This slowed down closing of the partnership. However it did close, on July 10th 2008 and construction started. On the positive side, we started a 15 month major construction project just as the economy was collapsing. This project employed over 100 people for the duration of the recession in a community that was otherwise hard hit. We believe this was an economic lifesaver for the City of North Bend and environs. It certainly helped many contractors and subcontractors by pouring nearly $6 million into the local economy.

b. We have received numerous kudos for the completion of the rehab because of the impact on the local community. The building is beautiful and is now an attractive element of the downtown core. Not only were we able to preserve this historically significant asset, but nearby building owners are now improving their storefronts in response, new businesses have moved into downtown, and there should be an ongoing economic and community benefit because of the improvements.

c. 33 low income people now have homes; many of our new tenants are low income seniors, there are single parents and small family units, and working individuals. The project leased‐up very quickly in just under one month. A community has formed and the residents are starting to get together to give input on the operations of the building, thus developing leadership skills.

It took many partners for UCDC to complete this meaningful and successful project. We would not have been able to achieve such a great level of success had it not have been for our project Architect and Contractor who both took on more work flawlessly and worked with incredible demands to meet project timelines and budgets. The City of North Bend has been a fantastic community partner, working on issues such as parking and historic elements of the project. Further, several community members have worked hard to help us list the building on the National Register of Historic Places; assisting with research of the social significance, researching old photographs and newspaper articles. Some members of the community even testified in Salem for the State Historic Preservation Office.


AND THE GOLDEN HAMMER AWARD GOES TO . . . -top

There are actually 2 winners in this category:

  • The first goes to FHDC for Nuevo Amanecer – a rehabilitation project that beautifully preserved and improved the first farmworker housing LIHTC project in the country – housing for 90 farmworker families. Preservation of existing affordable housing for vulnerable populations is an industry priority.
  • And the second goes to Polk CDC for Jen’s Place – a small project with a big impact  in a rural community – safe and supportive alcohol and drug free transitional housing for single parents and their kids– this kind of project it tough to do anywhere – but it’s the first in Polk County.


STEPPING STONE AWARD NOMINATIONS

The Stepping Stone Award is presented to honor an organization that improves the long-term situation of its residents or community members through various outstanding asset building programs such as providing employment or skills training, increasing income or assets, or offering homeownership opportunities.

Central City Concern: Employment Access, Portland-top

The Employment Access Center (EAC) provides employment services to more than 7,000 homeless and very low income individuals each year through 45,000 visits.  It includes programming for homeless veterans, individuals exiting prisons, and a Supported Employment Program utilizing evidence-based practice individual placement and support.  The Supported Employment Program was studied by the Regional Institute for Human Services from 2007-2009.  During that time 70% of the program participants had felony convictions, 97% had struggled with drug and/or alcohol addictions, and 28% met the HUD definition for chronic homelessness. Despite these barriers to employment, outcomes in this study were favorable and included 71% of all participants achieving employment, with 53% achieving full time employment.

Families Forward: Personal Asset Building, Central Oregon-top

Over the past 5 years, Housing Works and Families Forward have successfully placed over 50 low-income families into homeownership through the use of Personal Asset Building programs. These programs consist of homeownership education, financial literacy training, IDA saving accounts and HUD Family Self-Sufficiency programs. Housing Works and Families Forward place special emphasis on assisting their clients in becoming financially self-sufficient. Despite the downturn in the Central Oregon economy, the goal of homeownership has become a reality for our hard working residents. Attached are a few of our more recent success stories. These stories line our halls on what is titled the “Wall of Fame”. The Wall of Fame is our internal way of acknowledging the hard work of both clients and staff.


Hacienda CDC: Plaza Comunitaria Adult Education Program, Portland-top

Through the assistance of the Mexican consulate in Portland and funding from Oregon Community Foundation and Dept of Labor, Hacienda CDC has developed the Spanish-language Adult Education program known as “Plaza Comunitaria.” This program allows Spanish-speaking residents to study and formally complete primary and secondary education using a curriculum developed by the Mexican government (the program is open to participants of any nationality). In less than a year and a half, the program has graduated over 30 participants who have completed their secondary education, and now have new skills for life and work and a sense of accomplishment. These adults are also setting an example for their children that education is important. We have linked the program to PCC’s Spanish GED program, and recently enrolled 7 participants in the adult GED program. We have currently over adult 50 participants enrolled in the program.

Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives: Home Ownership Program, Portland-top




PCRI’s Homeownership Program has been helping our low-income rental population gain the tools they need on a case-by-case basis to move into homeownership.  Through the homeownership program PCRI is providing asset-building and wealth creating vessels that these families can use to start their own business, send their children to college, and to simply have a home of their own.  We feel this program personifies the high standards that the Oregon ON! Stepping Stone Award has established.

The Homeownership Program is available to all PCRI residents and past residents whether they are ready to buy a home today, or beginning a multi-year path to homeownership.  Families receive HUD-certified homebuyer education, one-on-one counseling sessions with our homeownership coordinator, and access to assistance programs such as down-payment assistance and individual development accounts (IDAs).  The HUD-certified class is nationally recognized by lenders and allows for our buyers to receive reduced mortgage rate, making ownership more affordable.  The one-on-one counseling sessions include financial fitness exercises, mortgage qualification assessments, as well as personal attention and opportunities to ask questions and get answers from a community-trusted source.  Finally, from VA loans, to closing costs grants, PCRI scours and researches to find all assistance that is available based on the household situation.  The results have produced over 30 homebuyers in the last 2 years, and that number continues to grow every month.

Through our rental housing, PCRI already provides families the opportunity to live in a single-family home.  But through our homeownership program, we are able to help our renting population move into the American dream: homeownership.

AND THE STEPPING STONE AWARD GOES TO . . . -top

It goes to Central City Concern for their Employment Access Center –which serves and supports some of the most challenging populations we serve:

o   7000 people per year are served

o   Almost 60% are experiencing homelessness

o   Over 60% are ex-offenders and/or are in recovery

o   23% are Veterans

o   38% are people of color

o   Almost 3 out of 4 find employment, about ½ in full-time employment.

THRIVE AND SHINE AWARD NOMINATIONS

The Thrive and Shine Award is presented to honor an outstanding program that effectively addresses the needs of low income families or individuals through stabilizing housing, supporting innovative solutions to family or neighborhood problems, developing programs for children and youth, reaching un- or under- served populations, or implementing creative solutions to other community needs.

CASA of Oregon: Manufactured Housing Program, Newberg -top









One of the most effective ways of preserving manufactured housing, as well as to promote secure tenure and encourage wealth-building and asset appreciation via manufactured home ownership, is to facilitate a resident purchase of a park. A resident-owned community (ROC) is an entity created by manufactured housing park residents to purchase and control the park and manage infrastructure, operations and common areas.

In 2006, CASA of Oregon expanded its programs to include the preservation of manufactured housing parks through the creation of resident-owned communities.  Using a multi-faceted approach, CASA of Oregon’s program focuses on policy issues, as well as on-the-ground technical assistance, in order to make resident ownership a viable option.  In the past year and a half, CASA of Oregon has converted two manufactured housing parks to resident ownership:

  • Victor Manor Mobile Home Park – McMinnville, OR: 30-space MHP converted in October 2008.  Major infrastructure improvements completed in October 2009.
  • · Green Pastures Mobile Home Park – Redmond, OR:  51-space MHP converted in October 2009.

CASA of Oregon’s Manufactured Housing Program (MHP) deserves the Thrive and Shine Award because it’s a program that addresses the needs of low income families and individuals living in manufactured housing parks, one of the largest housing stocks affordable to low-income Oregonians.

Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Inc. (CPAH): Summer Youth Program, Tigard and Beaverton-top

CPAH has conducted an 11-week Summer Youth Program in Tigard for the past 12 years, involving youth from three properties and a rigorous but fun curriculum of educational, recreational and artistic trips and activities.  In addition, CPAH has provided a Summer Lunch Program at another property for the past two years.  This summer, resident services staff were faced with a need to provide summer activities and lunch at an additional 129-unit property in Beaverton CPAH is in process of acquiring, without an increase in staff.  A formidable challenge, resident services staff quickly developed relationships with staff at the Beaverton School District, Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District, and onsite managers at the property to link with existing resources.  Through this collaborative work, the Beaverton School District provided lunches which resident volunteers distributed to nearly 80 children each day, Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation provided onsite recreational activities two days a week during the summer, and the School District also provided a five-week preschool program onsite at the Beaverton property aimed at early literacy.

CPAH staff directly provided activities three days a week for five weeks and teen activities twice a month at the Beaverton property, as well as a four days per week, five week program in Tigard.  Continuing to partner with community groups to increase their efficiency, CPAH resident services staff reached out to LOVE, Inc. to provide backpacks to resident youth in grades 6-12, and secured donations and volunteers to put together backpacks for resident children in grades K-5 so children could begin the school year on strong footing.   Backpacks were distributed at an End of Summer Community Barbecue where resident volunteers helped prepare and serve food, and Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue participated with their Fire Safety House that enhanced residents’ knowledge of fire prevention and safety.  CPAH’s resident services work brought these disparate community groups together to double the number of youth benefited by CPAH’s summer program, serving over 175 youth with summer activities and distributing 300 backpacks with just two resident services staff.  These summer activities provided a safe, fun alternative to risky behaviors, prevented summer learning loss and fostered healthy relationships among a very culturally diverse population.

Families Forward: Opportunities for Kids, Central Oregon-top

Families Forward’s Opportunities for Kids program has played a critical role in ensuring that the youth in Housing Works owned properties are afforded the same opportunities as other children in the community. Families Forward’s program manager, Christine Lewis, has worked hard to make sure that programs such as Boys and Girls Clubs and Campfire USA are made available to our residents. Not only are these programs made available but they are held on-site at many Housing Works owned properties at little to no cost. These programs are important to our residents as they provide much needed jchildcare during working hours while also assisting children with homework, character development and providing a safe atmosphere for socialization.

Northwest Housing Alternatives: The Charleston, Wilsonville-top





The Charleston, located in Wilsonville’s Villebois neighborhood, was developed as an innovative mixed-finance and mixed-population property. Because Villebois is built on the site of the former Dammasch State Hospital, housing for mental health consumers is woven into the fabric of the new community and the Charleston is the first building to fully embrace this concept. At the Charleston, 36 of the apartments are financed through LIHTC and are available to anyone with a qualifying low income. The balance of 15 apartments are reserved for consumers with on-going rental subsidy through HUD’s 811 program.

NHA’s Resident Services enhance housing stability and make sure residents have access to community services. Special needs tenants are also connected to services provided through local mental health care provider agencies.

Creating an intentionally inclusive community comes with extra challenges and the Resident Services staff have carefully coordinated the roles and responsibilities of different players.  They have helped overcome biases to create a cohesive community. At the one-year anniversary BBQ 75% of the residents joined in for good food and good company, demonstrating that an integrated community makes for friendly neighbors.   NHA’s Resident Services team has made sure the Charleston is a place where people can truly thrive and shine!

Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives: Thriving Families-top

PCRI’s newest and most comprehensive program, Thriving Families, uses an innovative approach to help residents help themselves, their families, and their community. The Thriving Families Program incorporates several PCRI programs, providing an effective vehicle to help families identify their needs and aspirations and put them into the framework of a strategic plan. We feel this program delivers real results that match the ideals of the Oregon ON! Thrive and Shine Award.

Thriving Families empowers parents and their children to reach outcomes they have not achieved in the past or hadn’t dreamed of. Working together, Thriving Families participants contribute and benefit mutually by making a plan, figuring out the resources needed to implement their plan, taking action, evaluating outcomes, learning from challenges, and—most importantly—celebrating success.

Components of the Thriving Families Program include:

  • Teambuilding, planning, resource mapping, selection of wealth creation vehicles, and effective communication concepts.
  • Application of Thriving Family skills to develop and implement effective strategies to obtain higher paying jobs, achieve homeownership, enroll in higher education, achieve increased savings, and/or to start micro-businesses.
  • Financial literacy education and establishment of Individual Development Accounts.
  • Financial and non financial incentives will be awarded as families meet established performance thresholds. These incentives can then be applied to an IDA or toward meeting other goals.
  • The families will be involved in an Economic Opportunities focus group that will plan and implement a community service or advocacy project.

Salem-Keizer CDC: Families First Summer Youth Program-top

SKCDC’s summer program provides an opportunity for youth in our community to learn, play and have fun during their summer break from school. Located at SKCDC affordable housing project sites, the summer program hosts children of residents as well as those living in the surrounding community for seven weeks of activities focusing on maintaining reading skills, health, safety, exercise, sports, crafts, family, and community. In addition to the weekly curriculum the participants have access to a USDA approved lunch, and an educational field trip is offered each week. This year, the youth and families held car wash and garage sale fundraisers to help fund the field trip by train to OMSI. SKCDC this program primarily serves low-income working families, providing a safe and enriching environment. The program completed its 7th year in 2010 and continues to be a valuable resource for families to “thrive and shine” during the months that children are not attending school.

AND THE THRIVE AND SHINE AWARD GOES TO . . .-top

It goes to PCRI for Thriving Families. The award committee especially liked the holistic approach to working with the whole family – parents and children – to develop a family strategic plan with performance goals, and to provide layers of support from PCRI programs.

AND THE SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS GO TO . . .-top

The Oregon ON Board was moved by the many wonderful projects to create a new category of award, the Special Achievement Award, for two unique projects that merit their own category. These Awards go to:

  • Umpqua CDC for Hotel North Bend – A mainstreet historic revitalization project in North Bend that created jobs and affordable housing in a small town economy that needed this boost.