December 9, 2009

Walnut Park, a 38-unit affordable senior apartment project at NE 6th and MLK, has considerable value as a market-rate rental property; when the building was put up for sale last year, it was nearly lost as affordable housing.

One of Nick's top priorities is the preservation of affordable housing. Along with the Portland Housing Bureau, he worked to provide a loan of over $1.5 million to the REACH Community Development Corporation to purchase the property. REACH will renew Walnut Park's Section 8 contract next December, ensuring that the building remains affordable for the next twenty years.

Many of Walnut Park’s residents have lived in the neighborhood for decades, depending on social security and very modest pensions. The apartments are subsidized to help keep the rents affordable for seniors on fixed incomes.

This is a significant victory in Nick's work on the "11 by 13" campaign, an effort to preserve Portland's 11 affordable housing properties that have Section 8 contracts expiring by 2013. The properties are the backbone of our affordable housing stock, a critical piece of Nick's work to make sure everyone in Portland has a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home.