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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2013)
SERVING Burlingame • Capitol Hill • Garden Home • Glen Cullen • Hillsdale • Multnomah Village • Raleigh Hills • South Portland • Vermont Hills • West Portland INSIDE: Celebrating 20 years of continuous Southwest news coverage! Volume No. 21, Issue No. 5 www.swportlandpost.com Portland, Oregon Main Street Program gradually transforms Hillsdale town center – Page 4 Complimentary March 2013 South Waterfront finally gets affordable housing at six-story Gray’s Landing By Lee Perlman The Southwest Portland Post The original vision for the South Waterfront was that it would be a com- munity containing a mixture of income levels, including the lowest. Last year, with the completion of Gray’s Land- ing, the City achieved at least partial, and long overdue, fulfillment of this promise. The six-story structure at 0650 S.W. Lowell St. contains 206 apartments, including 30 -two-bedroom units, 102 parking spaces, and a 5,000 square foot commercial space that is still awaiting a tenant. The ground floor is also the new headquarters of REACH Community Development, the project’s principal developer. The project was originally part of the development master plan for South Waterfront, and was to be undertaken by the developers Homer Williams and Dyke Dame, the builders of many of the condominium high-rises. They had in fact gained design ap- proval and even building permits, in 2008 when Williams and Dame declared that they were unable to gain financing and walked away from the project. It was revived in 2010 by the new Portland Housing Bureau, which issued a Request For Qualifications (an open bid) for a new developer. REACH was selected, and the $50 million project went forward aided by funds from many sources, including $23 million from the Housing Bureau. To save themselves the time and ex- pense of going through another design review process, REACH adhered to most of the original design, the permit for which was still good. (“If we’d been starting from scratch, we’d have done a number of things differently,” REACH’s Laura Recko told The Post.) The biggest change involved the installation on top of the structure of an Eco-Roof, at 30,000 square feet the largest in Portland. This satisfied the City’s requirement for on-site storm water treatment and, in turn, allowed them to convert a second-floor water treatment space into an open courtyard and playground. The roof also contains solar panels. These and other features earned Gray’s Landing a LEED Platinum rating for green building, the highest possible. The housing units are reserved for individuals and families earning 60 percent or less of median area family income – about $30,000 for a single in- dividual, more for family units. There are 42 units reserved for low-income veterans. Among them is Dee Shuler, who served in the Air Force installing and repairing communications equipment. After mustering out, and undergoing some reversals of fortune, she wound up in a Single Room Occupancy (with limited personal facilities) building in (Continued on Page 6) Dee Shuler enjoys living at Gray's Landing with her dog, Abigail. (Post photo by Lee Perlman) Wait a minute! Who are you and why are you in my house? MAPLEWOOD NOTEBOOK By Jillian Daley The Southwest Portland Post Surly men selling meat door-to-door, a house break-in and the Portland po- lice’s budget were among the topics at the Maplewood Neighborhood As- sociation’s February meeting. Portland police Officer Scott Foster provided his usual update on recent crime reported in the neighborhood, and neighbors shared information on some suspicious local incidents. One neighbor inquired about the status of the police department’s bud- get. Foster said higher ranked police officials than him handle the budget, and the city’s final budget for 2013-14 is a long way off from approval. He did say police are not fully staffed, and if layoffs occur, it would affect ser- vices. Editor’s Note: Mayor Charlie Hales has asked all city bureaus to submit budgets with a 10 percent decrease from last year. Foster also mentioned a house break- in. The owner of a home in the 6800 block of Southwest 63rd Avenue re- turned home sick from work and stumbled upon a 26-year-old man in his home at about 11:45 a.m. Jan. 24. Beau Daniel Rappaport allegedly grabbed some property and fled says a police report [“Police Blotter: Police arrest burglary suspect in Maplewood neighborhood,” The Post, February 2013]. Portland police, with the aid of a K-9 unit from the Beaverton Police Department, discovered the suspect in a nearby backyard. Officers recovered the victim’s property. Rappaport, who lived a few houses away from the victim, was charged with first-degree burglary and booked into the Multnomah County jail. He was arraigned on Jan. 25. Guys selling meat door-to-door? Several neighbors told Foster that men selling meat door-to-door are be- ing hostile to neighbors. “They got arrogant if you didn’t stop to talk to them,” said Joan Frazer, neigh- borhood association secretary. Foster said police get complaints about meat salesmen every year, and most are working for legitimate meat companies. He added that many of them may simply be young workers who are unaccustomed to working with the public. The association’s Schools Committee chairwoman, Keena Hormel, joked that maybe everyone is a little grumpy right now on account of tax season. Foster said police received 40 calls on issues such as noise complaints in the Maplewood neighborhood in January compared to 200 calls in the Multnomah neighborhood. For information on crime tips, visit Portland’s Office of Neighborhood In- volvement Crime Prevention webpage at www.portlandonline.com/oni/cp. Barbur Concept Plan to be voted on by planning commission Maplewood Land Use Committee chairwoman Claire Carder announced that the Portland Planning and Sustain- ability Commission on Feb. 26 will vote on whether to recommend the proposed (Continued on Page 6) Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Call 503-244-6933 for more information. The Southwest Portland Post 4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509 Portland, OR 97206 Maplewood schools committee chair Keena Hormel discussed public safety issues dur- ing the association's meeting last month in the Maplewood Elementary School library. (Post photo by Jillian Daley)