50 years vacant neighborhood on verge of development
A block left fallow about 50 years in Portland is now scheduled to be developed with 20 townhomes and 85 affordable apartments and room for businesses.
The Albina neighborhood in North Portland, which was about 74 percent Black, was seized and razed almost a half-century ago to allow for Legacy Emanuel Hospital’s expansion. At that time, the blocks around the hospital were condemned by the city of Portland and about 171 families were displaced. Two of the blocks have remained empty ever since.
The neighborhood is to be returned to the African American community almost five decades later by the nonprofit spearheading the project, William and Russel CDC. The nonprofit’s president and board chair, Bryson Davis, described the event this way to KGW:
The block that Williams & Russel plan to develop is that bordered by North Russell, North Williams, Vancouver Avenue and Knott Street. When the one, two and three -bedroom apartments are completed their cost will be fixed to accommodate those with an income ranging from 30 to 60 percent of median for the area. For a single-person household that would be approximately $25,000 to $49,600.
Developers typically turn to printing services to help them advertise rental units prior to a project being finished.
Construction is planned for three phases, beginning in spring 2025 with the townhomes.
The Albina neighborhood in North Portland, which was about 74 percent Black, was seized and razed almost a half-century ago to allow for Legacy Emanuel Hospital’s expansion. At that time, the blocks around the hospital were condemned by the city of Portland and about 171 families were displaced. Two of the blocks have remained empty ever since.
The neighborhood is to be returned to the African American community almost five decades later by the nonprofit spearheading the project, William and Russel CDC. The nonprofit’s president and board chair, Bryson Davis, described the event this way to KGW:
"They came in and they demolished everything with the idea that this would be developed, and it just sat vacant for five decades."
The block that Williams & Russel plan to develop is that bordered by North Russell, North Williams, Vancouver Avenue and Knott Street. When the one, two and three -bedroom apartments are completed their cost will be fixed to accommodate those with an income ranging from 30 to 60 percent of median for the area. For a single-person household that would be approximately $25,000 to $49,600.
Developers typically turn to printing services to help them advertise rental units prior to a project being finished.
Construction is planned for three phases, beginning in spring 2025 with the townhomes.