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HOUSING
special edition
March 30, 2011
Ri vergate Commons Completed
Habitat homes
energy efficient,
affordable
The City o f Portland, Portland
General Electric and the Homebuilders
o f M etropolitan Portland are celebrat­
ing a partnership that helped usher in
the construction o f six energy-effi­
cient, all-electric row houses built by
Habitat for Hum anity through the
City ot P ortland’s Energy Efficiency
HomePilot(PEEHP).
T he affo rd ab le hom es, called
R ivergate C om m ons on N orth O lin
A venue in the St. Johns neighbor-
hood, have been built to be 15 and
30 percent m ore efficient than the
2008 O regon Energy Code.
H abitat will sell these hom es with
1 percent dow n and a 0 percent
interest m ortgage to six pre-selected,
qualified buyers earning betw een
30 and 60 percent o f the m edian
Portland incom e, or about $21,000
to $43,000 for a fam ily o f four.
“T his outcom e is a direct result
o f the contributions o f o u r private
sector partners, w ho have taken a
leadership role in bridging the gap
betw een efficiency and affordability
in residential co n stru ctio n .” said
Paul Scarlett, d irector o f P o rtlan d ’s
B ureau o f D evelopm ent Services.
Habitat for Humanity volunteers and families gather for a kick-off event for the construction of Rivergate
Commons in north Portland last summer. Photo from Blue Collar Interactive agency website.
PG E served several roles in the
creation and co n stru ctio n o f the
hom es including acting as a techni­
cal adviser in providing design re-
Helping Families Hardest Hit
Saving people money so they can live better.
prim ary reasons w hy they w ere at
risk for eviction.
s a id M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty C o m ­
H alf o f those served were in fam i­
m i s s i o n e r D e b o r a h K a f o u r y . lies w ith children, and 44 percent o f
“ S h o r t-te rm re n t a s s is ta n c e is all people served w ere children.
th e w is e s t in v e s tm e n t w e c an A lthough the Short T erm R ent A s­
m a k e fo r fa m ilie s in o u r c o m m u ­ sistance program allow s assistance
n ity w h o a re s tru g g lin g to m a k e for up to 24 m onths, the average
e n d s m e e t."
length o f assistance w as u n d er three
L ooking at results for the entire m onths.
program , 77 percent o f the fam ilies
O verall, 80 percent o f households
helped were living in houses or apart­ receiving short-term rent assistance
m ents, but w ere at im m inent risk o f w ere still in housing six m onths after
becom ing hom eless. M any cited jo b this assistance ended, officials said.
loss or reduced hours at w ork as the
"Though this stim ulus funding
c o n t i n u e d f r o m fr o n t
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has clearly helped, there is still m ore
need right now than w e have re­
sources to address. M ore than 2,500
people sleep in em erg en cy shelters
o r on o u r streets ev ery night," says
M argaret V an V liet, director, P ort­
land H ousing B ureau.
W h ile fe d e ra l fu n d in g fo r th e
p ro g r a m e n d s in J u n e , C ity o f
P o r tla n d , M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty ,
a n d H A P b u d g e t r e q u e s ts fo r
th e u p c o m in g f is c a l y e a r p r io r i­
tiz e s h o r t- te r m re n t a s s is ta n c e
in an e f f o r t to k e e p th e p ro g r a m
ru n n in g at its c u r r e n t le v e ls .
A Foundation to Flourish, Build On
c o n t i n u e d f r o m fr o n t
Ken Meyer
503.997.4120
www.porticohomeinspcction.com
km pdx@ easystreet.net
PORTICO
HOME INSPECTION LLC
OCHI »1252 Oregon CCB L b *178729
view and technology direction to the fourth P E E H P grant aw ard. Pre-
greatly increase the efficiency and vious aw ards have funded efficiency
com fort o f each hom e.
m easu res in eig h t sin g le fam ily
R ivergate C om m ons represents hom es and row houses.
professional,
thorough home inspection
reach is spread through p ay -en v e­
lope inserts, posting flyers in break-
room s, and at em ployee m eetings.
As m any as 70 em ployees o f the
m arket have learned about the ins
and outs o f hom eow nership by at­
tending the inform ation sessions.
E m p lo y e e s
le a r n
about
hom eow nership and gain access to
hom es they can afford to buy—
w ith m onthly paym ents not m uch
m ore than (and often less than) w hat
they w ere paying in rent.
T he em p lo y er gains em ployees
w ho are stable and rooted in o u r
com m unity. The com m unity experi­
ences econom ic grow th and n eig h ­
b orhood stability w hen m ore fam i­
lies ow n their ow n hom es.
“ A n im portant part o f financial
Independence is hom e ow nership.
N ew S easons M arket is very happy
w ith o u r partnership w ith P roud
G ro u n d ,” said N ew Seasons M arket
H u m an R eso u rc e D ire c to r R ick
H ow ell. “W e're thrilled that w e have
been happy to co n n ect so m any o f
o ur staff w ith Proud G round's hom e-
o w nership p ro g ram .”
H older also has great praise for
P roud G round and the support p ro ­
vided.
“It is a hand up, not a hand o u t,”
she explains. “I felt like I learned
som ething in the process. P roud
G round w as as interested in m y
success in becom ing a h o m eow ner
as I w as!” she said.
Stability and success are great,
but one o f H o ld e r’s favorite things
about being in h er hom e isn ’t inside
at all.
“I love to g ard en ,” she says. “I
like know ing I can plant a biannual
and know I w ill be around to see it
bloom .”
F o r m ore inform ation, visit the
w ebsite, p ro u d g ro u n d .o rg .