September 25, 2002
Page A6
Columbia Villa Resurrection
continued
from Front
Villa will be offered a spot among
the 2,800 other public housing
units in Multnomah county. Sec
tion 8 vouchers will also be offered
as an alternative to direct reloca
tion. Surveyors went door to door
last week to ask residents which
part o f the city they would prefer to
move to, how many rooms they
would need and if they would be
interested in returning to the Villa
upon completion o f the project.
Once relocation begins, Keating
said residents will get lots o f one-
on-one attention from mobility
counselors and relocation service
coordinators. S taff will fully ex
plain all options available; help
with transportation to view other
housing sites; complete paperwork
and make sure residents know the
pros and cons o f public and subsi
dized housing. Keating said all
moving expenses will be paid for,
and if residents are physically un
able to pack their boxes, someone
will be provided to assist.
“We are really giving it a per
sonal touch,” Keating said. “We
want too know in our hearts that
these people are making a well in
formed decision, and once the
Uhaul is packed up and the kids are
in school, we plan to follow up on
their progress for the next four
years.”
WHAT’S UNDERGROUND
IS BAD
Some residents don’t under
stand the need for such an exten
sive rebuild since Columbia Villa
was recently remodeled a decade
ago. Housing units were outfitted
with weatherproof windows, fresh
siding and new metal roofs.
“ 1 don’t get it,” said Darnell
Graves, a resident for 16 years.
"They just built them all back up
nice, and now they're going to tear
them down.”
But Keating said the most re
cent renovations were less about
cosmetic updates and more about
the health and safety concerns o f
residents. The building ’s60-year-
old wood siding was painted with
lead-based paint. Many units had
asbestos problems and the older
windows were less energy efficient.
It simply w asn’t fair to let people
live like that, Keating said.
Now it seems major infrastruc
ture problem s necessitate the
demolition o f the entire Villa, he
added. Even though the Housing
Authority does everything it can
to make the units livable, residents
complain o f rats and insect infesta
tions. Because o f old sewer and
water lines, a clogged up toilet in
one home can back up the entire
mainline.
“ W e’ve had to buy our own
back-hoe,” Keating said. “ W hat’s
underground is bad. Its all these
things that you don’t see that are
in constant need o f repair.”
A GREAT VISION
N eighbors outside the V illas
are conflicted about the upcom
ing changes. Som e fear that
greater population density in
side the Villa will affect surround
ing crim e statistics and lead to
traffic problem s on already nar
row streets. O thers are opposed
to adding m ore rentals in an area
w here h alf the residents are rent
ers already.
Ionka M artin lives across the
street from the W est end o f the
Villa. She isn ’t excited about the
dem olition and d o esn ’t plan on
sta y in g in the n eig h b o rh o o d
once the construction begins.
“ I’m not going to be here once
the mess starts,” Martin said. “Af
ter everybody starts moving, I’m
leaving too.”
Loretta Taylor and son, Marcel, 10, are comfortable with the reconstruction project for the Colum
bia Villa. Taylor is considering buying a home in the Villa once the project is completed. She thinks
the plan for renovation is long overdue. “Finally, ” she said. “It took forever. "
photo by
M artin said she has alw ays
enjoyed the cultural diversity o f
C olum bia Villa. Her three ch il
dren are exposed to black, white,
A sian and Indian lifestyles each
day w hen they play in a grassy
ex p a n se ce n te re d b etw e en a
handful o f units. H er daughter
o n ce w itn essed a tra d itio n a l
physically, emotionally and eco
nom ically,” Keating said. “We
aren’t going to save the world, but
there is a great vision behind this
plan.”
The H ousing A uthority has
selected Seattle-based M ithun
Inc. and R obertson M errym an
Barnes, A rchitects, o f Portland
t r \ 1 r» o rl a
t k i r m i or» xir*»rlrl«r»r»
D avid P lechi ./T he P ortland O bserver
c ir tn
t l i a t s itili n u t
I ’m not going to be here once
the mess starts. After everybody
starts moving, I ’m leaving too.
- Ionka Martin, Columbia Villa resident
Erma Badon is apprehensive about being relocated while the Villa undergoes reconstruction but
has enjoyed her four years there. “I think it's good," she said, “ I'll probably move back."
“ She was ju st am azed,” M ar
tin said, “it’s a unique place.”
K eating w ants to em phasize
that the revitalization o f the V il
las has nothing to do w ith any
need to restructure the dem o
graphics o f the com m unity. He
thinks the residents have alw ays
had a strong sense o f unity and
with the new design, that com
m unity will be better integrated
into the surrounding Portsm outh
neighborhood.
“These people are isolated -
the plan into action. A response
from a com m unity advisory com
m ittee and feedback from resi
dent surveys w ill be used to fi
nalize the drafts. The preliminary
plans for redesign feature single-
fam ily hom es, duplex units, two
and three story tow nhouses in
term ingled am ong parkblocks.
Shelley M archesi, D irector o f
C om m unications for HAP, d e
clined to release the plans to the
p ress.
“ Its too soon to be specific,”
M archesi said. “Lets ju st say we
are really building a neighbor
h o o d .”
The central focus o f the new
design will be a town square fea
turing som e sm all retail estab
lishments, offices for com munity
service providers, a youth cen
ter and possibly a residential care
facility for the elderly. M archesi
said som e m em bers o f the com
m unity harbor a m isconception
that the tow n square may turn
into a strip mall. K eating assures
that this is not the case.
“ It’s going to be a place to get
help with hom ework and a latte at
the sam e tim e,” he said. “ R esi
dents will be able to get some
stam ps and a gallon o f m ilk but
also, w orking parents can take
ESL classes or get on a com puter
and seek help looking for better
jo b s .”
Marchesi also hopes to con
vince Tri-Met to connect a shuttle
from the Vil la to the new 1 nterstate
Max line.
As for those roads that go in
circles, they will be tom up when
the housing is tom down.
David Plechl contributed to this
article
photo by D avid P lechl /T he P ortland O bserver
Alliance Promotes Year Round Leadership Training
African A m ericans arc d
at higher rates than whites ft
smoking related diseases.
continued
fro m Front
run by Oregon Outreach, Inc., an
organization that began providing
job training and job placement to
kids in north and northeast Port
land in 1988.
•
The school is accredited through
the N orthw est A ssociation o f
Schools and Colleges. Students
who have previously dropped out
o f school, or who are not succeed
ing in a traditional school are gradu-
ating from McCoy Academy with
high school diplomas. Through a
federal grant. McCoy.provides stu
dents the opportunity to learn job
skills by engaging in job shadow
ing, internships and job placement
Every year about
45,000
African
Americans
die from
smoking related
diseases.
don't nave to
Prevention works, it's never too
late to quit. Ask your doctor about smoking
related diseases today
jf s our rjght
lAAHCl
feg y «
African American Health Coalition, Inc.
2800 N. Vancouver A venue-S uite 100
Portland, Oregon 97227
Phone: 503-413-1850
www.aahc-portland.org
Made possible by the Center« for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
At Albina Com m unity
Bank, we’re dedicated to
helping our community.
It’s why we’re in business.
And we’re always looking
for new ways to make a
difference.
T hat’s why we’ve
teamed up with VISA® to
offer the Scholastic Plastic
card. It’s designed to give
extra support to arts and
athletics programs in
Portland high schools.
W hen you use your
Scholastic Plastic VISA®
card, we’ll either donate 1 %
o f your purchases to local pro
grams in our five N orth and
VH
Northeast Portland high
schools, or to the Portland
Public Schools Foundation.
The Scholastic Plastic VISA®
card. A way for us to help you ...
help our community.
S C H O L A S T IC
P L A S T IC
A lb in a C o m m u n ity Bank
For the location nearest you;
(503) 287-7537 • www.albinabank.com
Member FDIC.
\
in local businesses. Students can
also earn high school and college
credit simultaneously by enrolling
in Portland Community College.
Students who graduate from
McCoy have been provided a well
rounded education and are pre
pared for work, as well as post
secondary education.