Portland’s Housing Bond Continues to Exceed Goals, Creating More Housing Than Expected
The Portland Housing Bureau, together with nonprofit Innovative Housing, Inc. (IHI), have revised plans for the Anna Mann House, a Housing Bond project slated for development in the Laurelhurst neighborhood, adding another 40 units of affordable housing to the proposed building design.
The Anna Mann House was one of nine projects awarded funding for construction from Portland’s Housing Bond last fall. The original plans were to rehabilitate and expand the historic Laurelhurst property at NE 33rd off Sandy Blvd to create 88 units of affordable housing for low-income families especially those from communities of color and immigrant families. The additional building with 40 new units optimizes the spacious lot and leverages existing plans to produce more homes at a lower costs per unit. The Anna Mann House project now brings a total of 128 units, including 42 deeply affordable units at 30% of Area Median Income or below, 62 family-size units, and 12 permanent supportive housing units for families experiencing homelessness.
IHI has partnered with numerous culturally-specific organizations to provide outreach and general resident services for future residents. In addition, supportive services are being provided through a partnership with community-based mental health provider, LukeDorf, Inc. and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO).
“There has never been a more important time to ensure stable, affordable housing for Portlanders who are struggling more than ever to make ends meet,” said Mayor Ted Wheeler. “While few of us could have anticipated these unprecedented challenges in 2016, voters nonetheless had the foresight to approve Portland’s Housing Bond and ensure stable, dedicated funding for affordable housing for our community. I’m proud that we have marshalled our creativity and resourcefulness to continue exceeding the promises we made to the voters back then, and to be delivering more housing for the people of Portland.”
In June, the Housing Bureau announced the addition of 30 units to building plans for another Housing Bond project in development at SE 30th and Powell. With the recent additions to both projects, there are now 1,494 units of permanently affordable housing open or in development across the city through Portland’s Housing Bond—exceeding the original production goal of 1,300 units promised to voters in 2016.
“We’re pleased to be able to continue adding more affordable housing through Portland’s Housing Bond during a time of such great need and to have the broad community-based partnerships to meet the diverse housing needs of Portlanders.” said Portland Housing Bureau Director Shannon Callahan. “The Anna Mann House will be a community asset providing families a home in one of our city’s most amenity-rich neighborhoods.”
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