HOPE VI Executive Summary

Welcome to
New Columbia

135 SW Ash Street Portland, OR. 97204

HOPE VI
at Columbia Villa

Excerpts from the Grant Application Executive Summary

America has an irrepressible talent for learning from its mistakes, then taking action. That talent was once again defined and demonstrated in The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs' trailblazing study that laid the foundations of New Urbanism in 1961. In the stunningly dramatic words of the title she declared that our cities, neighborhoods, streets, shops, offices and homes are ultimately about life, hope and opportunity. That is what HOPE VI is all about. And that is what New Columbia, the Housing Authority of Portland's HOPE VI proposal, will create; it is an unapologetic, full-blooded incarnation of New Urbanism - the Urban Village - a place where people can live life to the full, and succeed. Everyone has heard the African proverb: "It takes a village to raise a child." This proposal seeks HOPE VI funding to help raise that village.

What will New Columbia look like? The 478 units (mostly built as temporary wartime housing in 1942) contained in its 69 acres with wandering streets and lonely dead-ends will be deconstructed, the aging sewers and infrastructure demolished. In their place, a denser community of 850 homes on short city blocks will be built around a true "Village Square", where residents from the entire neighborhood will come to shop, recreate, study, train for jobs, and use a wide array of civic services. Children and seniors will especially enjoy the sweeping 100-foot wide boulevard - "the Park Blocks" - that runs like a river through its center. Instead of undiluted public housing, New Columbia will contain a mix of public housing for 340 families, singles and elderly/disabled; 30 senior co-housing units; 250 LIHTC homes for working singles and families earning up to 60% AMI; and 230 units of unrestricted market rate rental and for-sale housing. (Ninety-two very low-income units will also be replaced off site, without HOPE VI funds.) With poverty dispersed, density increased and amenities improved, New Columbia will at last fit in with the neighborhoods, climate, landscape and architecture of Portland, standing proud at the heart of a newborn community.

Spending taxpayers' money is an awesome responsibility. This proposal would not have been submitted if we could not meet our own standards, as well as HUD's justifiably stringent requirements. HAP's benchmarks were:

The needs and wishes of the community: In July 2000, following a HUD Resident Training in Kansas City, the President of Columbia Villa Resident Association came to HAP and asked: "What can HOPE VI do for us?" Since that day, the residents of Columbia Villa have been our inspiration. Together, we have taken our message to the surrounding Portsmouth Neighborhood, and on to community leaders in the city, county and state. Everyone agrees that the Columbia Villa campus offers a rare opportunity for redevelopment. There is consensus: Columbia Villa must be replaced by a new, diverse, mixed income, multi-functional community that will serve as the center of the entire neighborhood.

A deep commitment to partnership: Wanting change was not enough. HAP demanded community buy-in - meaning money, services and partnerships. We bring $128 million in Physical Development leverage - a ratio of 1 to 4.18. Our principal non-public housing financing sources are: LIHTC equity proceeds ($44,792,656); home sales revenue ($25,175,027); tax-exempt debt ($20,500,000); the City of Portland ($20,000,000); HAP earned developer fee ($11,876,736); the Federal Home Loan Bank ($2,500,000); land lease revenue ($1,526,721); Albina Community Bank ($450,000); and HAP's own contribution ($1,710,512). With over $20 million (a ratio of 1 to 4.75) in CSS Plan leverage, including commitments for a newly expanded regional Community Recreation Center, Library Services, Health Services, two Computer Learning Centers, $575,000 from the "I Have A Dream" Foundation, and numerous social services, we know our community is committed.

The opportunity to change lives and make a true return on the investment: Since 1995, HAP's self-sufficiency program has helped 85 families buy their own homes; since 1999, 111 households have quadrupled their income. We know how to "do" self-sufficiency. At New Columbia, we will offer trades apprenticeship, computer technology, job search and homeownership programs, and we will employ our own residents. In addition, every resident will have access to digital technology through a $1.1 million leverage from One Economy Corporation. HOPE VI will allow citizens to advance towards self-sufficiency and homeownership right there, in New Columbia.

The ability to revitalize the entire neighborhood: Amazingly, HOPE VI has already been a catalyst for wider neighborhood revitalization! Local community leaders, seizing on its potential, persuaded the City to extend an adjacent Urban Renewal Area into the Portsmouth neighborhood. Long dormant plans to revive Lombard Street, the main commercial thoroughfare, sprung to life in response to conversations generated by HAP's HOPE VI Development Team. HOPE VI will bring value, jobs and investment to one of this city's often neglected neighborhoods.

An opportunity to demonstrate that through HOPE VI, PHAs can model business efficiency and provide opportunity for their customers and community: For ten years, HAP has explored new business opportunities and methodologies, producing a portfolio of 3,405 units of locally owned Affordable Housing. In 1999, HUD approved HAP as a "Moving To Work" site, with one of the country's three most ambitious proposals to reduce costs and increase resident self-sufficiency with no reduction in very low-income housing. If asked, "What will we learn from HOPE VI in Portland?" we would reply, "We will prove that a PHA can match the private sector as a Redeveloper and Manager of mixed-income housing, while creating opportunities for low-income Americans to own their own homes."

Plain excellence: HOPE VI has to be about transformation, impact and money very well spent. HAP has invested 50 staff, $243,000 and 10 months on this application. This plan has been rigorously tested by residents, partners and independent consultants. Its design rests firmly on the principles of New Urbanism. The proposed income mix is supported by market studies, as well as HAP's commitment to providing a graduated continuum of housing for low-income people. HAP's Development Team contains some of Oregon's most experienced housing finance, redevelopment, planning and design experts. Our Relocation Plan ensures that every resident will receive counseling, tracking, supportive services and the opportunity to return. The CSS Team includes over 30 partner agencies, all dedicated to supporting New Columbia's citizens in their quest for self-sufficiency. For over ten years HAP has built its capacity to develop, redevelop and manage an ever-widening portfolio of housing, and to promote self-sufficiency. We have never failed to come in on time and on budget. We have worked hard to learn our trade. Our residents want this. We will not disappoint.

To view the PDF files on HAP's website, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. It can be downloaded for free by clicking the "Get Acrobat Reader" logo. For information about translating PDF files into text to assist visually-impaired users, visit Access.Adobe.com.

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