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5, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
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YouthBuilders To Itäin Youth, Build Homes
City Commissioner Gretchen
Miller Kafoury, Congressman Ron
Wyden and Mayor Vera Katz recent­
ly announced receipt o f a $1 million
fe d e ra l g ra n t
for P o rtla n d
YouthBuilders.
The new non-profit organiza­
tion, working with youth in inner
north and northeast Portland, will
open its doors this fall, with 30 high-
risk young people.
It w ill provide intensive employ­
ment training, leadership develop­
ment and education while they build
affordable housing.
Participants will spend half of
their time in classroom education
preparing for their high school diplo­
ma or GED and the other h alfo f their
time on the construction site.
Initial building plans call for gut
rehabilitationsofS single-family units
able housing and the community gains
a new set o f role models.”
The grant, one o f three awarded
in Oregon and one o f 72 nationwide,
was selected from among 325 appli­
cations.
"This program is a good exam ­
ple o f how the city can meet our
critical challenge o f expanding eco­
nomic opportunities by linking new
jobs with worker skills,” said Katz.
"And it targets an area of the city that
has too long been neglected.”
The grant request, submitted by
the city's Bureau o f Housing and
Community Development on behalf
o f Portland YouthBuilders, was the
result o f almost two years o f work
and preparation by a 22 member co­
alition.
The coalition included represen­
tatives from Portland public schools.
and new construction o f a five-unit
a p a rtm e n t in p a rtn e rsh ip w ith
Franscican Enterprise, N ortheast
Community D evelopm ent Corp.,
Housing Authority o f Portland and
Portland Community Reinvestment
Initiatives.
For their involvement, partici­
pants will receive intensive skill train­
ing, a living wage stipend, a $2,300
education aw ard upon graduation and
the opportunity to participate in de­
cision-making related to the design
and operation o f this new organiza­
tion.
"This is the kind o f program that
so many people can get excited
about,” said Kafoury. “Young peo­
ple get an education, tangible skills
and an opportunity to be part of a
positive force in the community: the
city gets additional units o f afford-
Urban League o f Portland, Youth
Employment and Empowerment Pro­
gram, Portland Habitat for Humani­
ty, Northeast W orkforce Center, O r­
egon Outreach, Northwest Regional
Education Laboratory, the Private
Industry Council, Multnomah Coun­
ty Department o f Children and Fam­
ilies, Portland Development Com­
mission, Albina Ministerial Alliance,
Tri-County Youth Services Consor­
tium, Open Meadow Learning Cen­
ter, Portland Community College and
Portland House o f Umoja
Po’ Folk Construction, Inc.
V ■ -
<*> - In G O D almighty
we tru st
281-5935
Before
After
Licensed • Bonded • Insured
901 N .E . R oselaw n Portland, Oregon
Townhouses Open At RiverPlace
M ayor V era Katz, Tram m el
Crow Residential executives and oth­
ers recently celebrated the comple­
tion o f 182 townhouses at RiverPlace
downtown.
The $16 million development is
located at the com er o f Southwest
River Drive and Moody Avenue. It
offers a mix o f studio, one, two and
three-bedroom townhomes style units
for low, moderate and middle-in­
come families.
"Any vision o f our economic
future must include housing adjacent
to our jo b base,” said Katz. "W e must
locate residents near essential ser­
vices to reduce vehicle miles and
encourage the use o f mass transit.
This project and others like it move
us quickly toward that goal
The development consists o f 12
three-to-four story buildings, featur­
ing ground level stores and home
office space. The project is 67 per­
cent leased and full occupancy is
expected by the end o f the month.
To make high-density, afford­
able residential development finan­
cially feasible, the housing compo-
room townhouses with home office
space. Each townhouse includes a
one or two-car garage.
The P o rtland D evelopm ent
Commission has guided the overall
commercial, office, recreational and
residential development o f the south
W aterfront neighborhood over the
last 15 years.
“Our goal at PDC,” said PDC
Commissioner Kay Stepp, “is to work
with private partners to provide a full
range o f housing and quality rede­
velopment for Portland’s neighbor­
hoods and businesses. This project is
an excellent example o f how we are
working toward that goal.”
Currently, RiverPlace is home
to about 700 residents and 525 jobs.
With the completion o f the Pacific
Gas Transmission building in Au­
gust, an additional 250 jobs will be
located at RiverPlace.
Persons interested in leasing res­
idential or commercial space in the
new p ro je c t should call Johna
Sheperd o f Trammel Crow at 228-
1800.
nent o f the development is exempt
from property taxes for 10 years.
Under conditions o f this tax
abatement, 3 percent o f the units
must contain low-income persons,
making less than 60 percent o f the
region’s median income.
Two percent o f the units are set
aside for moderate-income persons,
those making no more than 80 per­
cent of area median income. Seventy
percent o f the units are set aside for
middle-income families. Currently
the re g io n ’s m edian incom e is
$34,150 for a two-person household.
The innovative design o f the
project com bines affordable and
high-density living while creating a
unique, pedestrian-friendly neighbor­
hood, officials said.
The buildings feature an exteri­
or facade of wood, decorative block
and stucco.
Twenty-ope o f the units are stu­
dio flats, six are one-bedroom flats,
74 are one-bedroom townhouses, 61
are two-bedroom townhouses, 18 are
two-bedroom townhouses with home
office space, and two are three-bed-
5 th Y ear A n n iv e r sa r y
Free Gifts With Any Advertised Purchase
Regularly
Sale Price
Short Sets............................. $29”.................................$19’
Double Breasted Suits.........$179” ...............................$109’
All Women’s Outfits........... $59” .................................$399
All Snakeskin Shoes............ $159°° - $129” ................. $99°°
Snakeskin Belts....................$10’°.................................$7"
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2929 NE ALBERTA, PORTLAND, OR
(503)281-7164
At First Interstate Bank,
Hearings To Address Medicaid Changes
Sen. Bob P ack w o o d , R -O re.,
chairm an o f the S en ate F inance
C om m ittee held tw o hearin g s last
w eek exam ing the M ed icaid p ro ­
gram .
M edicaid is the health in su r­
ance p ro g ram fo r lo w -in co m e
individuals w hich is funded jo in t­
ly by th e federal g o v ern m en t and
the states.
It is the th ird larg est so cial
sp en d in g program in the federal
budget. O nly S ocial S ecu rity and
M edicaid are big g er.
P a c k w o o d s a id M e d ic a id
spen d in g has e x p lo d ed o v er the
last 20 years and w ill c o n tin u e to
skyrocket.
He said fe d e ra l M e d ic a id
spen d in g has risen from $3 b il­
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Families
Escape
With Fire
Detectors
Working smoke detectors may
have saved the lives o f four adults
and 11 children when flames swept
through their northeast Portland
apartment.
Officials said the detectors
were installed about a month ago
when the fire department was dis­
patched to a first aid emergency at
the apartment at 10 N.E. Fargo St.
The crew noticed there were
no smoke detectors and installed
four o f the devices free to the fam­
ilies who were living there.
“They worked tonight and
may have saved the lives o f all the
occupants,” officials said, last
Wednesday, following the 9:45
p m fire
A faulty electrical fan cord
was blamed for starting the fire in
the 2nd floor o f an apartment. Fire
was coming out o f three windows
on th e seco n d flo o r w hen
firefighters arrived.
caused states to lose control o f their
Medicaid spending.
“ We need to take a step back
and look fo r w ays to co n tro l the
co st o f th is program and give
sta te s the a b ility to decid e how
best to m eet the p a rtic u la r health
care needs o f th e ir low -incom e
re sid e n ts,” P ackw ood said.
T he first h e a rin g s w ere held
last w eek and re c e iv e d testim ony
from several g o v e rn o rs' p e rsp e c ­
tiv es and ex am in ed the histo ry o f
the M edicaid program .
lion in 1970 to $15 b illio n in
1980 to $40 b illio n in 1990 to
alm ost $90 b illio n this year.
The C o n g re ssio n a l B udget
O ffic e e s tim a te s th a t fe d e ra l
M edicaid sp en d in g will double
again in the next seven years.
"Medicaid is also a budget mon­
ster for states,” Packwood said.
“ Medicaid is the first or second larg­
est expenditure o f every state's bud­
get. Over the last decade, Congress
had added mandate after mandate on
the states. These m andates have
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