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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)
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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)