Comments

1
What, they can't just let people live in the stadium for cheap?
2
By its very nature, transferring affordable housing funding to a stadium and “promising” to make up for it elsewhere expands the scope of this decision.

Not only will Lents give up its ability to develop affordable housing, some other urban renewal area will need to program money away from other economic opportunities to make up for the shortfall of affordable housing in Lents.

No matter where you try to put it – Rose Quarter, Lents, Delta Park, etc. – the proposal for a new minor league stadium is definitely the dog in the stadium dog and pony show.

It doesn’t pencil out for economic development and it will consume funding that is better spent on small business development, transportation infrastructure, affordable housing among other things.

Mayor Adams and Commissioner Leonard need to get back to the negotiating table. Either make a redeveloped PGE Park work for soccer and baseball or cut the minor league stadium out of the deal.
3
1. Lents is not in the downtown core and is not an industrial or brownfield area that starts from a point of having zero affordable housing. There is already an amount of affordable housing in the neighborhood that matches the city's policy of equitable distribution of affordable housing in neighborhoods.

2. The market rate for housing in Lents is affordable. This may not be true for market rate, unsubsidized rentals, but the proportion of units of subsidized housing for 0-60% income already adequate, if not well stocked. Market rate in Lents is affordable workforce housing...and home ownership is affordable.

3. What the housing advocates are failing to acknowledge is that they imposed the URA by URA guidelines, and programmed them in such a way that they unduly burden the Lents neighborhood with the obligation to build additional units of rental housing, setting Lents up to be the next Portsmouth. The programming of the funds also reduced the amount available for affordable home ownership and home repair programs for low-income homeowners struggling to maintain and keep their homes. Add to that that the funding grab of 30% of the URA dollars took away the flexibility to pursue larger scale economic development programs and catalyst real estate development projects that would create jobs and generate additional tax increment to fund future projects.

If they had settled for a reasonable set-aside, between 10 and 15 percent, then we probably wouldn't be having this discussion. But, as it is, requiring that 30% of the expenditures in the URA be primarily allocated to affordable rental housing does nothing to meet the goals of urban renewal and does worse than gentrify the neighborhood...it creates a sort of "reserve" neighborhood where they can tuck away all the poor people and pretend they don't exist.
4
What the anti-affordable housing advocates fail to realize is that $850.00 per month for a 2BD rental is not affordable for a family earning $20-25,000 per year.

The private landlords in Lents would prefer that there not be safe, clean, affordable housing in the area that promotes fair housing practices. They stand to profit financially, as the rents increase in Lents.

Pick up a newspaper, look on craigslist. Many of the people crowing about the plethora of affordable rentals have not paid rent to anyone for many years.

Lents as of a few months ago, had the highest foreclosure rates in Portland. No matter how many times these private landlords say it, it doesn't negate the fact that Lents is less affordable than it was last year or 5 years ago. Much of what was affordable housing stock has been lost to foreclosure or is now owner-occupied housing.

I think it shameful that so many people have decided to starve out Lents residents who did not have to good fortune to purchase a home 5, 10, 15 20 years ago.

Today, a family earning less than $50,000 per year would have a very difficult time purchasing a lower-end home in Lents. And as a result of deciding to give a big huge subsidy to Merritt Paulson, many first home buyer programs and incentives through the PDC will be cut for people trying to buy homes in Lents.
5
Portland eats its poor.
6
This soccer thing keeps getting better and better...
7
Ahhh gotta love Portland. First the MC is some jewel of 50's archetecture and now according to folks like Mike Houck (who lives in NW Portland on 25th avenue by the way) Lents Park is second only to Washington Park.

I'm pretty fracking sick of people in this town claiming things are too special to tear down/replace/repurpose who never even use said facility.

It's pathetic.

Please wait...

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