Portland has approved two new affordable housing developments totaling 106 units, one carved out of a former county parking lot in Hazelwood and the other rising on the site of a century-old tuberculosis school in Mt. Tabor. The Portland Housing Bureau signed off on both projects on Thursday, with Cornerstone at Gateway adding 82 homes prioritized for low-income older adults and Mt. Tabor Annex Townhomes offering 24 units for purchase near SE 60th Avenue.
According to KOIN, the Portland Housing Bureau already owned both parcels, which eliminated a major cost hurdle for the projects. Quisha Light, the bureau's interim director, said holding the two parcels for affordable housing development removed a significant cost barrier for the projects, per the outlet's report. Light was named interim director of the Portland Housing Bureau effective May 18, succeeding Michael Buonocore after previously leading the Public Works Customer Service Division and serving as interim director of the Portland Water Bureau, according to Portland.gov.
A Former Tuberculosis School Becomes Homeownership Housing
The Mt. Tabor Annex site at 511 SE 60th Ave. has a long and layered history. Built in 1919 as the Mills Open Air School for children with tuberculosis, the building later served as an elementary school annex and then a YMCA daycare that closed in 2019, leaving it vacant, according to Willamette Week. The 24 new units will be offered as townhomes for purchase rather than rentals, per the station's report, funded through Metro's affordable housing bond.
Those bond dollars are stretching further than originally planned. Bond-funded units across Portland will total 2,177, exceeding the city's original goal by 48%, per the housing department's account relayed by the same outlet. Regionally, Metro's 2018 voter-approved $652.8 million housing bond is on track to deliver roughly 5,600 income-restricted units across Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties, surpassing its original target of 3,900 homes, as Hoodline previously reported on the city's housing bond. The Mt. Tabor Annex project uses a community land trust to ensure permanent affordability; Portland.gov describes legal structures meant to keep the units accessible to future buyers rather than flipping to market rate.
Gateway Project Targets Fastest-Growing Homeless Population
Across town, the Cornerstone at Gateway project will bring 82 newly built homes to 10226 E. Burnside St. in Northeast Portland, with construction funded through Gateway TIF funds and a focus on low-income older adults. The housing bureau said low-income older adults are the fastest-growing group experiencing homelessness, per the department's account cited by KOIN. That framing lines up with regional discussion of older adults as a growing homeless population, according to OPB.
The Cornerstone site previously held a parking lot leased to Multnomah County for the adjacent Gateway Center, per Portland's request-for-qualifications documentation. The Gateway TIF District that is funding the project was established in 2001 to support East Portland infrastructure and town-center development; public investments have included Gateway Discovery Park, per that same city documentation. City policy dating to 2006 and expanded in 2015 requires that 45% of tax increment financing revenues generated within urban renewal areas be set aside specifically for affordable housing, as reported by Montavilla News.
Neighborhood Momentum and What Remains Unknown
The Mt. Tabor project isn't happening in isolation. Tabor Heights United Methodist Church is involved in an affordable-housing partnership that remains in predevelopment. Together, the two efforts point to a broader push to add housing supply within the Mt. Tabor neighborhood.
The scale of need behind both projects remains stark. The Portland Housing Bureau estimates the city faces an overall deficit of roughly 59,000 affordable rental units, with most local renters classified as cost-burdened by spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent, Hoodline has previously reported. For now, the housing bureau has not announced a completion date for either the Hazelwood or Mt. Tabor projects, according to KOIN's report.
