Februaiy II. 2009
Page A 8
B lack H istory
L eg en d s
in A m e ric a
“America I AM Legends: Rare
Moments and Inspiring W ords,”
edited by SmileyBooks with a
foreword by Tavis Smiley, is the
first of a series o f companion
volumes that capture the dyna­
mism o f 78 renowned African
American individuals and insti­
tutions, highlighting the indel­
ible imprint each has made on the
United States and on the world.
“N othing is m ore inspiring
than individual stories o f those
who struggled head-on against
the problem s o f the 20th cen ­
tury—and succeeded,” w rites
Sm iley in the foreword. “It is
im possible to think o f how we
N O W D E L IV E R IN G
Y o u r fa v o r ite n e ig h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s to r e n o w d e liv e r s
g r o c e r ie s r ig h t to y o u r h o m e o r o ffic e .
could have accom plished so
much, in such a short am ount of
time, without the abilities, sacri­
fices, an d b rillian ce o f the
groundbreakers, the visionar­
ies, and the leaders portrayed in
this volum e.”
Each legend reminds us that
America would be unrecogniz­
able without its rem arkable A f­
rican A m erican imprint.
w w w .n e w s e a s o n s m a r k e t.c o m
you click, we deliver, (or pull up for pick up)
photo by J ake T homas /T he P ortland O bserver
Jesse Shumway is the manager o f the Patton Park Apart­
ments, the first major housing complex built for affordable
living along the Max light rail Yellow Line on North Inter­
state Avenue.
AW
i *• s
Housing Full at Opening
o f a swanky hotel, with sleek
black and brown couches. They
unveiled the 5-story Patton Park include a community room, with
apartm ent com plex in hopes o f a kids' room full of toys and a
play house.
addressing this issue.
A com puter room with free
" It m arks a new era for Inter­
sta te A v en u e," said L au rel in te rn et for ten an ts is also
Lyon, the organization's spokes­ present. You can see the W est
Hills from an apartm ent on the
person.
Lyon said that there may be west side o f the building, and
affordable for-profit housing in you can catch a glim pse o f Mt.
the area, but rents could easily Hood w hen the clouds give way
rise as property values shift. from an apartm ent on the east
Patton Park will remain an o p ­ side o f the building.
"It m akes it feel like ju st that
tion for those o f more m odest
much better o f a place,” said
m eans, she said.
T here are 54 units in the Shum w ay o f the attention given
com plex. The price ranges from to the design and decor o f the
$450 a m onth for a studio to building.
The complex is still being fine
$650 for a tw o bedroom . T here
are 12 three bedroom a p a rt­ tuned by construction workers
m ents that are set aside for who steadily stream in and out
fam ilies using S ection 8 h o u s­ wearing clunky boots and tat­
ing v ouchers. E ach room is a tered jeans while lugging tools
few hundred dollars below the in and out. A grinding noise fills
U .S. D ep artm en t o f H ousing the air outside as w orkers finish
and U rban D evelopm ent fair up the parking lot.
Lyon points out that the build­
m arket rates for apartm ents for
ing has many green features,
the region.
The apartm ent is geared to­ which help keep costs down.
ward low er-incom e individuals They include energy efficient
who are at or below 50 percent of lighting and appliances, and all
m edian income for the area. For the rain w ater is filtered so that
a family o f four that’s $33,950. chem icals aren't washed in the
w atershed.
For an individual it’s$14,25O.
The building cost over $12
"We try to m ake them as low
as we can," said Lyon o f the m illio n to e re ct. A lth o u g h
REACH Com m unity Develop­
rents.
However, people w anting to ment keeps afloat financially
get in will likely have to wait, as from revenues from its 12,(XX)
the there is currently a waiting units o f affordable housing lo­
list of about 4(X) people. Lyon cated throughout the city, it had
said that as long as someone help on this project from a num ­
m eets the incom e guidelines ber o f com m unity partners.
The land was most recently
they can stay at the apartment,
ow
ned by TriM et, w hich put
so she isn’t sure how long the
out
a call for proposals to build
w ait will be.
Jesse Shumway, the manager an affordable housing structure.
o f the apartment complex, points R E A C H ’S pitch was accepted
to the hallw ays leading to apart­ and TriM et sold them the land
m ents, w hich has wall panels on the cheap, said Lyon who
alternating betw een white and a isn’t sure what the exact value
bright hue o f red that could be is.
REACH then got a loan from
out o f a Mark Rothko painting.
“They could have left that all Bank of America, and Enterprise
R ent-A -Car invested money in
white," he said.
The air in the new building is the project.
The Portland Development
pungent with the smell o f saw ­
dust and building materials. The Com m ission also contributed
lobby looks like it could be that money to project.
continued ^ ^ f r o m Front
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