street roots
5
April 15, 2011
DREAM, from page 4
obligation to give back to the community,”
says Baker.
The Bakers’ original dilemma to stay in
Portland or move back to rural Oregon is
part of a national predicament that CLTs are
addressing, believes Lewis. “The high cost of
living in urban cores pushes out lower-
income populations, including teachers,
firefighters and the backbone of employment
... putting the burden on transportation and
affecting the quality of life,” says Lewis. By
buying land in and around urban cores,
Lewis believes that CLTs like Proud Ground
are ensuring a diversity of homeowners in
cities.
The benefits that come with ow n in g a
Proud Ground home abound.
Homeownership workshops, mini home
repair grants, discounted Zip Car
membership and free heating system
replacements are just a few perks.
Nationwide, CLT homes have been e a r n in g
acclaim for their modern, weatherized,
LEED-certified designs, including several
Home Depot Awards of Excellence. “We do
not want people to buy fixer-upper’s,” says
Beason.
Many sources of funding fuel Proud
Ground’s mission. Community Development
Block Grants (CDBG), the Oregon General
Fund and Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
dollars make it possible to bring homes into
the land trust. Government contracts and
grants from the Portland Housing Bureau
keep the nonprofit’s doors open and the
staff employed. About 20 percent of Proud
Ground homes sit On previously tax-
foreclosed land that the County donates,
says Beason.
However, as the City of Portland faces an
enormous projected loss of revenue related
to the tax-increment finance system, Beason
is wary of uncertainty. “With a decline in
and with the Housing Bureau
reformulating its processes for allocating
funds, it means we do not know whether to
prepare to serve fewer families each year, or
to maintain capacity to serve the number of
families we serve today,” he says. But
Beason is optimistic, adding that Proud
Ground has “promised to be around forever.”
To be fair, Proud Ground isn’t for
everyone. “There’s no panacea out there,”
says Lewis. “Community land trusts don’t
want to fit a square peg in a round hole, and
if you can buy at market rate, we say go
ahead. But CLTs do have a really valuable
approach to community and they are
sustainable for generations.”
“You’re not at the whim of rent increases,
your kids can attend the same school and,
over time, it’s a type of savings plan, putting
money away over the years through a
mortgage,” says Beason.
“Not to have that fear of renting, that’s
huge for me,” says Avery. “You can’t wait
around to own a home because your life goes
by so fast.” '
PHO TO S B Y JO À N N E ZU H L
Bud Clark Commons opens doors
fo r a preview o f services to come
The Bud Clark Commons opened for a special tour on
April 7 for representatives from the City of Portland,
Multnomah County, the Housing Authority of Portland, and
Transition Projects Inc., which will be moving its offices
into the $47 million multi-use center in-June. Above,
Doreen Binder, (left foreground) executive director of
Transition Projects Inc., looks out from the gathering and
dining hall area for the shelter space.
H ie center fills half a block on the comer of NW Hoyt
Street and Broadway, near the Greyhound Bus Station and
TriMet services. And it achieves the highest government
standards of environmentally conscious engineering,
including solar hot water, green roofs, stormwater planters,
lighting sensors and greywater collection. The building has
also been designed with materials and furniture considered
bedbug proof, and has a bedbug “sauna” to kill any bugs on
material before entering the building.
In addition to the day center and 90-bed shelter, all
managed by TPI, the Commons has 130 studio housing
units, full subsidized through public housing and Section 8
vouchers for individuals with no or very little income. A
selection process is being finalized to prioritize the most
vulnerable among the homeless, including people who are
disabled, ill and injured. The housing portion of the
building will be managed by the Housing Authority of
Portland.
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