News
East Portland Economic Development Summit Showcases Progress
S
en. Jeff Merkley gave
the keynote speech at
the East Portland
Neighborhood Economic
Development Summit 2012.
Organized by the Portland
Development Commission,
and held at the Immigrant
and Refugee Coalition of
Oregon, the conference
brought together business
owners, financial specialists
and community activists to
learn about lending and
development opportunities.
Advocacy from East Port-
land neighbors encouraged
the Portland Development
Commission to create its
Specializing in *short sales
* bank owned properties
* first time home buyers
* investment properties
* residential & commercial
new neighborhood prosperi-
ty initiative, Merkley said.
Six areas in East Portland
will have funding for small
business and community
projects, designed to sup-
port growth without driving
residents out of their neigh-
borhoods.
That’s tremendous,” he
said. “And I love the
emphasis on communities
of color. I love the emphasis
on low-income families and
underserved areas.”
At the summit, panels
showcased successful busi-
nesses and the work of
small lenders, such as Micro
Enterprise Services of Ore-
gon, Craft3 and Unitas
Credit Union. Each one has
helped small business own-
ers find financial support to
expand — often providing
matching loans that double
an investment.
28 yr old
Ashawn
C: 503-381-2107
W: 503-208-3797
F: 503-536-6523
E: mrtnel@gmail.com
www.dwellrealtypdx.com
5625 NE MLK Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
PDC executive director,
Patrick Quinton explained
how the Neighborhood
Prosperity Initiative is
designed to help improve
business districts without
gentrifying existing resi-
dents out of neighborhoods.
“Because local business
associations manage these
STOP
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Tameka
Torrey Nelson
The PDC’s Neighborhood Prosperity Initiatives are
managed by community business associations
4 yr old
Nov 4, 2010
Love,
Jasmine
Page 10 The Portland Skanner October 31, 2012
districts, the work in each
district reflects community
priorities and strengthens
communities from within,”
Quinton said.
“The PDC created the
small business development
program, which has invest-
ed more than $600,000 in
community organizations
like the Asian American
Pacific Chamber, which in
turn has provided more than
3,000 hours of technical
assistance to small busi-
Panels showcased how local lenders are helping
small businesses grow
nesses.”
Nick Sauvie of Rose
Community Development
talked about the challenge
of housing families and
pointed to signs of hope.
East Portland was adding
jobs throughout the reces-
sion, he said, even as other
parts of Portland were los-
ing jobs.
A resident of East Port-
land for many years,
Merkley’s talk covered
some of the history of Port-
land’s
outer
east
nei gh bor hoods.
He described the chal-
lenges faced by low-income
families, some gentrified
out of North and Northeast
Portland;
others
new
arrivals to Portland.
In the summer, for exam-
ple, more than 50 sports and
recreation programs were
available for students, but
not everyone could afford
See EAST on page 11