Page 4
September 25, 2019
A Dream Achieved
C ontinued from p age 3
way that could create the kind of
space and the kind of assets that
this community has wanted and
needed,” Miller said.
The goal, he said, was to build
affordable homes so that “in-
come would never be a barrier to
a family looking out at this gor-
geous park and saying, ‘That’s
my backyard.’ “
The new Human Solutions
headquarters, which Miller said
is sorely needed, will replace
what he calls the agency’s “hum-
ble” offices at Southeast Powell
Boulevard and 122nd Avenue.
“We all are so looking for-
ward to the day when our visi-
tors, our clients, residents, vol-
unteers, board and staff can walk
through the door and see a beau-
tiful space that will echo form its
walls, soon to rise here,” he said.
The building will also have
11,000 square feet of retail space
on the ground floor which will
be owned and managed by Pros-
per Portland, the city’s economic
development agency.
Human Solutions partnered
with developer Gerding Edlen to
develop the project, which was
designed by Holst Architecture
with LMC Construction as gen-
eral contractor. Others closely
involved with development in-
clude Gateway neighborhood
stakeholders, Prosper Portland,
Portland Housing Bureau and
Portland Parks & Recreation.
Representatives of all those
groups, plus Mayor Ted Wheeler
and City Councilwoman Jo Ann
Hardesty, were on hand for the
groundbreaking to enthusiasti-
cally celebrate the launch of the
project
About a dozen people gave
brief speeches including Wheel-
er, who said Human Solutions
has served the community well
in its 31 years of existence.
“Gateway Discovery Park is
one of the most amazing new
parks in the entire city of Port-
land and to create this mixed use
project right here in this park
to include families with kids, I
think this speaks to the future.”
As former state treasurer,
Wheeler said he’s not been a fan
in the past of “creative financ-
ing.”
“But in this case, that creativ-
ity and that innovation and that
willingness to think differently
about how to bring this project
together has paid off mightily
for the community,” he said.
Hardesty, a long-time Gate-
way resident, said she has been
on the Human Solutions board
for the past nine years, said how
the project would come together
was a mystery to her at first.
“When we first started imag-
An artist’s rendering of the Halsey 106 project courtesy of Holst Architects. The six-story building
will rise next to the new Gateway Discovery Park and include affordable as well as market rate
apartments. An adjoining two-story building will house the nonprofit Human Solutions on the
second floor and retail businesses on the first floor.
ining this, we were like, is this
even possible?” she said. “This
park is special because it’s an
all ability park and no kid is left
out on the sidelines. And now
for housing that will be truly af-
fordable for some families who
today don’t have housing they
can afford to live in. And what I
also love is there will be market
rate housing.”
No one will be able to tell
the difference between the mar-
ket rate units and the affordable
apartments, Wheeler said.
The housing will include
one-bedroom, two-bedroom and
studios, according to Holst’s
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website, and the design sepa-
rates the residential and com-
mercial space, with a six-story
building housing the apartments,
separated by a one-story podi-
um that connects a two-story
office facing Halsey Street with
Human Solutions on the second
floor with ground floor retail.
The exterior of the building
will be “a pattern of silver met-
al panels and shimmering dark
brick,” with wood accents. For
residential tenants, a ground
floor lounge with kitchenette
will provide space for both for-
mal and informal gatherings, as
well as for classes sponsored by
Human Solutions.
Halsey 106 will be highly
energy efficient with an energy
system that delivers fresh air to
each unit. Other features include
an airtight building envelope,
extensive green roof, and other
energy-saving features.
Kimberly Branam, executive
director of Prosper Portland, said
when her agency bought the land
back in 2008, they had a glimpse
of what was possible, and the
recent completion of the Halsey-
Weidler Streetscape project will
ensure more economic growth
and better safety for access to the
park and the new buildings.