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Housing
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Portland’s Plan To Spur Housing Development by Relaxing Regulations Has Political Implications

The code change discussions underscored key differences amongst Portland City Council members— some of whom are competing for the mayoral seat this year.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

There’s no one magic bullet that will solve Portland’s housing crisis. But city leaders and developers think strict regulations are part of the reason local housing construction has slumped.  Housing construction across Oregon, and in the Portland metro area in particular, has fallen behind. Addressing Oregon’s housing shortage has been Governor Tina Kotek’s primary goal […]

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With the HollywoodHUB project, TriMet Embraces a New Vision for Public Transportation

The project— a collaboration with BRIDGE Housing and Hacienda CDC— will add hundreds of affordable housing units to Portland’s Hollywood neighborhood.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

One of Portland’s most notable transit hubs is getting a big makeover. The Hollywood Transit Center, located just south of Northeast Halsey Street between NE 41st and 42nd Avenues in Portland’s Hollywood neighborhood, is a major Northeast Portland transportation hub. The transit center serves several of TriMet’s bus and light rail lines, and thanks to […]

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Churches as Housing Developers: A North Portland Church Is Using Its Property For Affordable Housing

Portsmouth Commons offers 20 low-income units for veterans—on the same property as Portsmouth Union Church.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Are churches the new housing developers? Leaders at a North Portland church property, now home to an affordable housing complex for formerly homeless veterans, say they can be part of the solution to Portland’s housing crisis. Last Wednesday morning, North Portland’s Portsmouth Union Church (PUC) was abuzz with people celebrating the opening of a new […]

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A Low-Income Housing Complex Was Lauded as a Model for Pulling People Out of Homelessness. Three Years Later, Tenants Are Fleeing.

Residents at Argyle Gardens in Portland’s Kenton neighborhood report neglect, rampant theft, and habitability issues. Some are now back in shelters.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a response from Transition Projects Inc. In 2020, the Argyle Gardens apartment complex was lauded as a model for transitional housing. The 72-unit building in Portland’s Kenton neighborhood, opened by Transition Projects Inc. (TPI), contains a mix of efficiency studios and single-room occupancy (SRO) units, all […]

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CAT in Crisis: Financial Trouble Threatens Future of Portland’s Community Alliance of Tenants

The nearly three-decade old nonprofit plans to lay off most staffers until it secures more resources. Employees say the problem goes even deeper, alleging mismanagement and union-busting.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

In a time when many Oregonians are experiencing financial precarity and can barely afford to pay rent, a Portland-based tenant aid organization is on the brink of financial collapse.  The Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT) has served as a tenant advocacy group for people across Oregon since its formation in 1996, offering resources like a […]

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Tenant Advocates Urge Oregon Legislature to Strengthen Rent Control After Record Inflation

Landlords argue that stronger rent increase limits would stifle housing development.
Avatar photo Isabella Garcia

If Robbin McMain gets another rent increase, she’s worried she’ll become homeless.  McMain lives in a 55-and-older mobile home park in Brookings, Oregon, where she—like many  other such residents—owns her mobile home while renting the lot it sits on. This year, McMain and her neighbors all received a 14.6 percent rental increase—the maximum allowed under […]

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Portland City Council Approves Incentives for Office-to-Apartment Building Conversions

Developers say that the tricky redevelopments may still be too cost prohibitive.
Avatar photo Isabella Garcia

Facing a housing crisis and a sluggish downtown economy, Portland City Council is aiming to incentivize developers to convert vacant office buildings into residential apartment complexes by waiving up to $3 million in fees and relaxing seismic requirements. On Wednesday, City Council unanimously passed two of what they say is just the beginning of an […]

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Multnomah County Announces Plan to House at Least 300 Homeless Residents in Vacant Apartments

The county has not identified any landlord partners or available rentals at this time.
Avatar photo Isabella Garcia

Multnomah County and the City of Portland will aim to eliminate unsheltered homelessness in Portland’s central city over the next four months by incentivizing landlords to rent to unhoused residents, county chair Jessica Vega Pederson announced Friday. While no rentals or landlords are currently signed onto the effort, the county aims to house 300 people […]

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City Unveils Plan to “Reset” Central Eastside By Picking Up Trash, Increasing Police Presence, and Removing Homeless Portlanders

Wheeler acknowledged that the sweeps aren’t a solution to homelessness in Portland.
Avatar photo Isabella Garcia

Following outcry from businesses in Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District, city leaders have partnered with neighborhood representatives to develop a 90-day plan to improve perceptions of public safety in the district. The plan, unveiled during a press conference Thursday, aims to increase police presence in the district, improve lighting, remove graffiti, clean up trash, and […]

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Multnomah County Board Approves Budget Proposal to Fund Rental Assistance, Defying Wheeler’s Demand

Avatar photo Alex Zielinski

The Multnomah County Commission voted unanimously Thursday to direct $28 million in excess funds toward an array of rental assistance programs, dodging a request from Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office to spend some of those dollars on the city’s mass homeless encampment plan. Due to an unpredicted influx in revenue collected through the regional homeless services […]

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Black Portlanders File Civil Rights Lawsuit Against City and Legacy Emanuel Hospital Over 1970s Displacement

The plaintiffs allege the city and hospital conspired against their families due to the color of their skin.
Avatar photo Alex Zielinski

It’s been more than 50 years since hundreds of Black families were forcibly evicted from their North Portland homes to make space for Emanuel Hospital, now Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, under the guise of “urban renewal.” Now, those Portlanders and their descendants are seeking restitution from the city for undermining their families’ chance at creating […]

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Exit Interview With Outgoing JOHS Director Shannon Singleton

Singleton addresses the inner workings of the region’s largest homelessness agency and the public’s misgivings about its output.
Avatar photo Alex Zielinski

Shannon Singleton, the interim director of the Joint Office of Homeless Services (which will be referred to as both JOHS and the Joint Office in this story), announced earlier this month that she would be stepping down from her temporary role to join Espousal Strategies, a public affairs firm that consults government agencies, organizations, and […]

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