New NE Portland Affordable Housing Project Remains 70% Vacant

Nearly 3 months after the opening of the Beatrice
Morrow Cannady affordable housing development in Northeast Portland, the
building remains 70% vacant. The city received 1,500 applications from
residents eager to take advantage of the city’s plan to return people displaced
by gentrification and urban renewal back to North and Northeast Portland, but
at the time the building opened only three people had been accepted to move
into the 80-unit building. The City is partnering with Portland Community
Reinvestment Initiatives, or PCRI, on the project, but a public records request
indicates that the nonprofit has been attempting to abandon the city’s right to return
criteria. According
to Maxine Fitzpatrick, executive director of PCRI, the city’s criteria was too
strict, and created an onerous process for prospective renters. Nearby,
the Charlotte B. Rutherford Building developed by Central City Concern did not
open until early December but had filled 49 of 51 units by February. Read more.