P age A4 S eptember 2 5 , 1996 • T he P ortland O bserver (Tip ortlanh bseruer Housing Authority of Portland receives award of excellence W hat started as a dream about creating a nature trail through a back­ yard and into the w oods for children to learn more about the environm ent has ended up a national award w in ­ ner. T he H ousing A uthority o f P ort­ land (H A P) has received word that its Fairview O aks/W oods Interpre­ tive Nature Trail has been selected as one o f six National A gency A w ards o f E xcellence in Project Design. The A w ard was judged by the N ational A ssociation o f H ousing and R ede­ velopm ent O fficials (N A H R O ) at its sum m er conference held this July in N ew O rleans. The award will presented officially at the N A H R O N ational Conference to be held in O rlando, Fla. in O cto­ ber. Tw o R eynolds High School students, Joseph C hung and Jon Fritz, will travel to Florida to join HAP A sset M anager A n n ie V illarreal T rullinger in accepting the national aw ard during a special presentation at the conference. C hung and Fritz each donated over 50 hours and a large part o f their sum m er to help design and develop the nature trail. T he Fairview O aks/W oods Inter­ pretive N ature Trail is located in a 12-acre w oods/w etland area that is part o f the 28-acre cam pus o f the 328-unit housing developm ent in T routdale. The 3,000 foot trail fea- turesdetailed signage, a viewing blind and is handicapped accessible. In N ovem ber 1995, the Fairview O ak s/W o o d 's natural area and N a­ ture Trail were officially com pleted and becam e part o f the com m unity. At the tim e, H A P donated a three- acre portion o f the 12 acre w oods/ w etlands area to the City o f Fairview for citizen access to the N ature Trail The residents o f Fairview O aks/ W oods have volunteered for long­ term stew ardship o f the w oods, w et­ lands and trail, a portion o f which was donated to the City o f Fairview as a City Park. Som e o f the m em bers o f th e F a ir v ie w a p a r tm e n t co m m u n ity 's “ K ids K lub” have been m ade ho n o rary T rail K eepers in charge o f keeping the trail clean for everyone to enjoy. The interpretive signs, panels and a brochure are d e ­ signed to give residents o f all ages a sense o f ow nnership with the hope o f decreasing vandalism in the com m u ­ nity. T his project provided an o p p o rtu ­ nity to illustrate to the com m unity how to m eet our reg io n ’s grow ing affordable housing needs, w hile at the same tim e preserving the natural areas that m ake our urban region so unique. The 204-unit Fairview O aks was constructed in 1992 through a co n ­ tract with H A P and the W inkler D e­ velopm ent C orporation. H A P owns Creating the Nature Trail The trail took form when the Green C ity D ata Project, an afterschool environm ental education program of Saturday A cadem y, was approached by developer Jim W inkler to form a team o f high school students to cre­ ate a nature/interpretive trail adja­ cent to the H ousing A uthority of P o rtla n d ’s Fairview O ak s/W o o d ’s developm ent. Students from nearby Reynolds H igh School environm ental science classes w ere recruited. Technical an d co n stru c tio n assista n ce w as brought in from the USDA Forest Service, M ichael Carlson o f C o m ­ m unity Stew ards, and an A meriCorps V olunteer team from the Northwest Service Academ y. The R eynolds students designed the 3,000-foot trail through the woods and also developed an interpretive plan, w hich resulted in signs and a brochure that com m unity m em bers can use to learn about the w oods and w etlands in their backyard. A fter six m onths of public-private collaboration, fam ilies and wildlife in the City of Fairview received the gift o f an outdoor classroom and a haven for both w ildlife and people. the com plexes and m anages them through the contracted services of Norris, Beggs and Sim pson. NAHRO Awards Program The national aw ards, which honor outstanding acheivem ent in housing and com m unity developm ent pro­ gram s, spotlight those that are m ak­ ing a difference in the lives o f the people served by NAHRO. The com ­ petition was created to give national recognition tocreative initiatives and also provide a valuable clearinghouse o f program s, services, and ideas that can be adapted by other agencies to meet their local needs. O ne o f 18 selected from a total of 360 entries subm itted from housing authorities and developm ent agen­ cies throughout the United States, the Fairview O aks/W oods Interpre­ tive Nature Trail A w ard o f E xcel­ lence is one o f six out o f 50 subm itted in the category o f Project Design. The National Association of Hous­ ing and R edevelopm ent O fficials is a 63 year-old professional nationw ide m em bership organization. Its 9,000 m em bers have long participated in the creation and fine-tuning o f na­ tional housing and com m unity d e­ velopm ent policies and program s. F or m ore inform ation, contact Joleen C olom bo, H A P Public A f­ fairs C oordinator a, 273-4521. Value Range Marketing redefines the listing process Portland, S eptem ber 16th, 1996 - Portland M etropolitan residents will be able to sell their hom es faster with a new program launched by the P ru­ d ential L utz S nyder C o., R E A L ­ T O R S and the Prudential P erfor­ m ance G roup, w hich has 2 1 offices in the greater P ortland M etropolitan area. The program is offered through T he Prudential Real E state A ffili­ ates, Inc. (PR EA ) throughout the U S. and C anada and has already begin to redefine the real estate listing pro­ cess, benefiting both hom e buyers and sellers. The new approach, called V alue Range M arketing (V R M ), re­ places the fixed asking price with a predeterm ined range. Pilot program s in o th ercities have dem onstrated that the concept reduces the average time a hom e is on the m arket up to 75 percent. “W e have seen the results o f V alue Range M arketing ”, said Lee Dunn, G eneral M anager for the O regon Prudential Lutz S nyder C o., R E A L ­ T O R S and the P rudential Perfor- m ance G roup. “W e are confident that we be able to generate the same results here in the greater Portland M etropolitan area.” VRM , w hich originated in A us­ tralia, has been adapted for the North A m erican residential real estate m ar­ ket by PREA. T he PREA netw ork of com panies is the first to introduce the concept throughout North A m erica, beginning in San D iego and other select m arkets and gradually expand­ ing the program to its 1,250 offices and 33,400 sales agents. V RM is d esigned to increase ex ­ posure o f listings and reduce the am ount o f tim e they are on the m ar­ ket. W hen a seller lists their hom e w ith a fixed asking price, it tends to be higher than the true m arket value. Sellers go under the assum ption there will be a negotiation process that will bring the price o f the house dow n, so they inflate the initial list­ ing price. T his hurts the seller because it lim its the exposure o f their hom e and im m ediately excludes a num ber o f qualified buyers from potential transaction. Buyers autom atically rule out their hom es that are listed above their price range, w ithout even seeing them. For exam ple, if a hom e is listed at $135,00, buyers w ho are lo o k in g in the $ 1 2 5 ,0 0 0 m arket w ould not even consider it. W ith VRM , this sam e house will be listed . in the $ 1 2 0 ,0 0 0 -$ 14 0 ,0 0 0 range, broadening the m arket and the pool o f potential buyers significantly. In addition, V RM prevents sellers from having to d riv e dow n the listing price o f a home, w hich can be d am ­ aging to the image o f the property and discourages potential buyers. A price reduction is included in the VRM range as the lowest acceptable bid, so that it is not necessary to low er the listing price. S tatistics from other tests m ar­ kets confirm the p ro g ra m 's value. F orexam ple, V RM listings sell three to five tim es faster than the m arket average. In addition, approxim ately 65 percent o f VRM listings are sold for more than the ow ner had ex- W H ER E D OES THE TO UR STA R T? On the day o f the tour, trade in your tickets at The Northwest Ser­ vice Center, 1819 NW Everett, be­ tween noon and six, for your guide booklet with directions for the tour. PARKING: Free overflow parking at Legacy Good Samaritan parking structure, level 3, on NW Marshall between 21st and 22nd Aves. Tickets? From Northwest Service Center, D urst's Thriftway, Zupan’s, the Historic Preservation League and Fastixx Outlets. Price $8 seniors; $ 10 adults. Children 6 and under not en­ couraged. Lecture tickets are $7.50. This benefit is dedicated to the maintenance and restoration fund of the Northwest Service Center, a non­ profit origination owned by the citi­ zens o f the northwest neighborhood. Do you rent to low-income tenants? The Portland Housing Center would like to make your jo b easier W e are offering a workshop for la n d lo r d s w h o rent to low-income tenants in M ult­ nomah County We hope you’ll at­ tend! Fair Housing: What are “Protected Classes", how Fair Housing laws are enforced, and advertising thatcompl ies with the laws. Section 8: Rule changes effective January 1996, how these changes affect land­ lords and tenants, and ways to make the program work for you as a land­ lord. Each workshop attendee will be provided with a manual outlining the course, including sample forms and checklists. DATE: Saturday October 19,1996or Saturday November 16, 1996, TIME: 9am to 4pm (Registration begins at 8:30am), WHERE: Central City Con­ cern 2 NW 2nd Street (Comer of 2nd and Burnside in Downtown Portland),COST: $5 per workshop attendee If you're interested in the workshop but unavailable for the dates listed, please fill out the form and return it to us. We will send you a notice o f the workshop. If you're planning to dress up the home landscape this fall by adding a hedge planting to your yard, you’ II be pleased to know that there are several varieties of ornamentals that make good hedges, and they com e in all sizes. Here are a few examples. In the 18-inch high range, true dw arf common box is recommended, said Ray McNeilan, home horticul­ turist with the Oregon State Univer­ sity Extension Service. This plant is a slow-growing broadleaf evergreen often used in edging borders around the landscape. It grows to a width of three feet and can be clipped to height of six inches if desired. Helleri Japanese holl v is suggested for hedges no more than three feet in height. This plant has a round and dense growth habit and is tolerant of low temperatures. In the three- to five-feet high cat­ egory, McNeilan recommends red leaf Japanese barberry or bu I lata Japa­ nese holly. The barberry is a spiny, deciduous shrub with brilliant scarlet and yellow fall color, and red berries. The holly is an excel lent foliage plant, Ten Free Redbud Trees Ten free American Redbud trees will be given to each person who joins the National Arbor Day Foun­ dation during Septem ber 1996. "A m erican Redbuds are out­ standing flowering trees which will add graceful beauty to your home and neighborhood," John Rosenow, the Foundation’s president, said. "Redbuds have clusters o f rosy pink flowers in spring, and dark green summer leaves which turn to yel­ low in the fall.” To become a member o f the Foundation and to receive the free trees, send a $ 10.(X) contribution to TEN FREE REDBUDS, National Arbor Day Foundation, 100 A rbor Avenue, N ebraskaCity, N E 6 8 4 10, by September 30, 1996. according to McNeilan, and tolerant o f low temperatures. Berckman oriental arborvitae is another candidate in the five feet high range. It is a slow growing conifer with golden colored foliage. If a large hedge, five to eight feet high, is needed, Wintergreen barberry and sasanqua camel I ia are recommended. The barberry is a broadleaf evergreen and makes a dense, spiny hedge. The camellia is a broadleafevergreen that is available in many varieties. For eastern Oregon in the eight feet range. McNeilan suggests winged euonymus, a deciduous shrub with horizontally spreading branches and crimsonscarlet fall color. Another hedge planting hardy enough for the climate east of the Cascades is com ­ mon snowball viburnum. It is a d e­ ciduous plant with red fall color and red berries. For hedges over eight feet height, European privet and pyramidal eastern arborvitae are good possibilities. The privet grows 12 to 15 feet high and is an evergreen shrub. The arborvitae is a slendcrconifer useful asanarrow hedge. It grows as high as 20 to 30 feet. Dad’s Service Speedy Service Friendly Call For Quote VISA heating oils Best Cash Prices 104 NE Russel Portland, OR 97212 282-5111 RENT YOUR NEXT WASHER & DRYER FROM THE HOME LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT SPECIALISTS Northwest neighborhood Tour of Homes The Northwest Service C enter’s benefit fundraiser, the N orthw est Neighborhood Tour o f Homes, Sun­ day, September 29, 1996, from noon to six p.m. This is a self guided tour o f histone homes and buildings o f the northwest neighborhood. Everyone collects something to fill their lovingly restored home. This is a rare opportu­ nity to get an intimate peek into the architecture o f the turn o f the century and into the treasured homes o f yester­ year, treasured today. This tour is proceeded by two lec­ tures about the historic structures on the tour by distinguished Portland ar­ chitects, T hom as H acker, A lfred Staehli and W illiam Hawkins. The talks, with slides, are on Saturday, 14 September and Saturday, 21 Septem ­ ber, 7-9 p.m. pected. There are also advantages in using VRM for buyers. A ccording to Dunn, "V RM opens up a b uyer’s options. They get to see a greater num ber o f hom es, so they have a far better idea o f w h at’s available, what sim ilar hom es are worth, and how much they should offer on the home they eventually choose.” "PREA saw the incredible suc­ cess that agents were having with VRM in A ustralia,” says Buz M ayer, vice president. A ffiliate and O rgani­ zational D evelopm ent at PREA. “We knew that this was a unique concept that would benefit our custom ers and im prove upon the traditional real estate transaction.” The PREA network is one o f the fastest-growing in the industry with 1995 sales o f $52.4 billion. Founded in May 1987, PREA awarded its first Affiliation a year later. It is subsidiary of The Prudential Insurance Company of America. The prudential w ebsite is located at http://www.prudential.com or http://pru-nw.com . Hedges in variety of sizes Blazers Boys & Girls Clubs Brick Sales W ith o p tio n to buy. This C o u p o n G o o d F o r M o n th $40 P^r For The Set 5250 NE MLK I PURCHASER S NAME: jADDRESS: i I I I DAYTIME PHONE #: PRINT IN BLOCK LETTERS the name as you wish it to appear on ■ lyour brick: I ______ _______ I You have room for 24 characters includingspaces. I | PLEASE PLACE MY ORDER FOR BRICKS AT $50 EACH. | I «METHOD OF PAYMENT: ■ n □ Check enclosed, . payable to: ’ Boys & Girts Clubs ’ I Charge my: □ VISA □M astercard ■ o __i Ki__ i___ ■ Card Number: Exp. Date:_ _ _ Name on Card: - - of Portland In Please bill me. SIGNATURE: I MAIL TO: Bricks, 7119 SE Milwaukie Ave. Portland, OR 97202 I U — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 231*7413 $10 Off DELIVERY AND INSTALLATION FEE rental Co, w ash er 1657 S. E. TACOMA ST. Let's Talk Trash. We'll be talking recycling, too,with the Public Utilities Review Board (PURB). Plan to attend a public meeting to review the City of Portland's residential garbage and recycling collection franchise system. Come and tell us what you think! Wednesday, September 25,1996 at 7:00 pm State Office Building, Room 140 800 Northeast Oregon Street, Portland (503) 283-9437 H O IRS M onday thru friday 9am ti 6pm Saturday 9am to 4pm If you can't make it to the meeting, w e'd still like to hear from you. Send your written comments to: PURB 1120 SW 5th Ave., Rm 1250 Portland, OR 97204-1972 or sound off and leave us a message at 823-1340.