By Kris McDowell
The Portland Housing Bureau (PHB) has announced that $2.65 million in Metro Affordable Housing Bond funds will go to Legin Commons, an affordable housing development that will sit adjacent to Portland Community College’s (PCC) SE Campus and the Jade District. Three tiers of units will be available—20 for households making up to 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), 42 for households making 50 percent of AMI and the remaining 62 for households making 60 percent of AMI. 63 of the units will have two or three bedrooms to accommodate families with children and multigenerational households. PHB estimates that 298 low-income Portlanders will be able to live there at any one time.
The site currently consists of a parking lot and grassy area with trees, spans SE 77th Ave. from SE Division St. to SE Sherman St. and was formerly occupied by a Kaiser Permanente medical clinic beginning in 1964. PCC acquired the parcel a few years before the clinic was demolished in 2015. Since then, PCC has been looking to find a more effective use for the developable commercial parcel that would benefit the community.
In 2021, PCC developed a 20-year facilities plan process and determined that affordable housing would be an appropriate use of the parcel. PCC then partnered with the non-profit, Our Just Future and Edlen & Co., a mission-driven real estate investment, development and asset management firm, to begin the development process. A proposal was submitted to PHB’s 2023 Metro Bond “Last Gap” Opportunity Solicitation, which accepts proposals for affordable multifamily projects in fall 2023 and was subsequently awarded funding. Additional funding was secured from Oregon Housing and Community Services and other public and private entities. The financial deal closed in December 2024 with a total estimated development cost for the project of $55-60 million.
Being mindful of the existing trees on the site, Our Just Future and Edlen & Co. took measures to mitigate the removal of some trees; however, 12 were confirmed by a third-party arborist to be diseased or dying. 10 mature trees outside of the parcel, along the development’s eastern edge, will remain intact, providing tree canopy. The project pursued code adjustments to preserve trees that would have otherwise been removed to accommodate the City’s setback requirements, and development partners will also be planting dozens of trees on the site, more than are currently there. The new trees will be of a wider variety than those that currently exist and will include native, flowering, edible and hardy species. An arborist will continue to be involved throughout construction to ensure that the trees are unaffected by construction.
In addition to increasing the number of trees on the site, there will be two courtyards, a playground and community garden, for a total of over 14,000 square feet of outdoor space. The large, open grassy area with additional trees between Legin Commons and PCC’s Learning Garden and Administrative Hall will remain intact.
The developers are taking environmental sustainability measures to comply with PHB’s Green Building Policy and seeking third-party sustainability certification, building to Earth Advantage Platinum standards. Platinum standards are the highest level of certification and designed for maximum performance and efficiency. There will be no natural gas used in the 100 percent electric development and built to Passive House and US Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home Program standards.
Legin Commons is optimally sited along TriMet’s Division FX2 frequent express bus line, close to frequent bus lines on 82nd Ave. and there is a MAX green line station less than a mile away. There are also a number of parks in the area, ranging from Mt. Tabor Park (half a mile away), Kelly Butte and Ed Benedict Park (a mile away) to smaller parks such as Harrison, Essex and Berrydale.
According to PHB Public Information Office Gabriel Mathews, the complex is anticipated to open in summer of 2026. For additional details about the project timeline, Mathews suggests reaching out to the Executive Director of Our Just Future, Andy Miller, at AMiller@ourjustfuture.org.