This from Richard Harris, State of Oregon Director of Mental Health and Addictions, and former Housing Director of Central City Concern (CCC), speaking about one of the organization's 23 buildings that provides multi-services for low-income people in need.  The Richard L. Harris Building, named after Harris for his visionary leadership with CCC, is located in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon.  This unique area has received international recognition as a shining example of innovative city planning and what can be done to transform an area of industrial decay, crime, addiction and homelessness, into a vibrant, highly desirable, up-scale, mixed-use urban space.  The district, adjacent to the Portland downtown core, has undergone a decade long renaissance and its popularity is reflected in the steep cost and high demand for housing in the neighbourhood. 

The Pearl District's successful ongoing transformation involves efforts to make the area inclusive for everyone, and not just affordable for the wealthy.  One of the priorities for its development was creating affordable housing and achieving equity of income ranges representative of the city as a whole.  Another priority was to ensure those living in the neighbourhood before its dramatic transformation weren't displaced, but had access to housing and services to support them toward self-sufficiency.

These innovative ideas were spearheaded by some dedicated individuals as well as CCC, a private, service-oriented, non-profit organization.  Currently, they operate 1500 units of housing serving approximately 15,000-20,000 people.  Formed in 1979 (originally known as the Burnside Consortium), CCC provides alcohol and drug treatment, mental health treatment, primary health care, and supportive housing services.  Its supportive housing model incorporates a combination of services including an employment program, as well as a number of businesses that employ homeless people. Special attention is given to fostering positive peer relationships and outlooks on life, as well as offering people the means, tools – and perhaps most importantly – the opportunity to change their lives for the better.

“Housing is the key to making all the services work,” Harris says.  “Housing alone is never enough when you are focused on a population with homelessness and addiction problems.  So the services are really designed around helping people become self-sufficient.  The idea is that while they are getting services they have a safe place to live.”  People can choose to live in the CCC residences for as long as they want, although the intention is to provide a safe place to live until people are self-sufficient enough to move out on their own.  

Affordable housing is classified by looking at household incomes measured against median family income (MFI) levels. As a general rule affordable housing expenditures represent no more than 1/3 of household income.

“In Portland an individual at 100% median family income is making $49,000 a year.  A family of four is making $70,000 a year together as a household,” explains Ben Gates, Architect and Development Manager with Central City Concern.  “As soon as we get into housing that’s below 80% median family income, we start to get into typically more subsidized housing programs.  This building [Richard L. Harris Building] for instance, serves 30-50% medium family income.

In the United States there are several financing programs available to help with affordable housing programs.  The most significant one is the Federal Loan Housing Tax Credit which covered approximately 22% of the costs to build the Richard L. Harris Building.

“This building was about $18 million dollars in total cost, and I think $4 million dollars of that is Loan Housing Tax Credits that provides equity once those tax credits are sold to investors, so that’s one of the ways we can bring about a building like this,” Gates says.

There are presently 11 designated urban renewal areas (URA) within Portland, of which the Pearl District is one (referred to as the River District Urban Renewal).  “What Portland did is they said “Okay, we want to see some more investment happen in these neighbourhoods.”  And what they did is they bonded against future tax revenues and then brought that forward into an upfront cash kitty called the Urban Renewal Fund to pay for several investments in the URAs,” Gates adds.  “Our Portland streetcar got funded that way, street improvements got funded, parks got funded, storefront improvements happened, as well as affordable housing.  In fact, in all of our urban renewal areas, 30% of that money needs to be spent on affordable housing.”

The Pearl District has been the most successful so far of the URAs in achieving the affordable housing targets.  This district renewal was started in 1998 and the Urban Renewal Fund will expire in 2021. Thus far it has helped build and maintain 7500 new housing units, and of that, 3000 are affordable for those who earn less than 80% of the median family income. 

Central City Concern has been successful with such programs and buildings.

“This building works,” Harris says.  “We have studies that show that people that are in alcohol and drug-free housing, when they get treatment, get access to health care and the like…88% of them are clean and sober at the end of 6 months, have a job, and are living in safe and sanitary housing.  So we know that this kind of peer supported housing works.”

The success of the Pearl District is now evident on the tree-lined streets day and night, with busy sidewalks, cafes, and restaurants.  There’s significant foot traffic throughout the district, and a blend of mixed-use new and old buildings comprised of lofts, apartments, warehouses and art galleries.  There are many green spaces to be found, even including a small re-created wetland called Tanner Springs Park.

More information about Central City Concern can found on their website:

http://www.centralcityconcern.org/

<Many thanks to Tracey Mason for editing>