Community-Wealth City: Portland, Oregon

The city of Portland, Oregon has enjoyed an economic boom that was largely supported by growth in high technology industries. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, its population as of 2003 exceeded 538,000. The city’s population is predominately white, but does have significant minority populations. Portland’s population includes 6.8% who are Latino or Latina, 6.6% who are African-American, 6.3% who are Asian American, and 1.1% who are American Indian.

Portland’s first CDC, REACH Community Development, was founded in 1982. Portland also has a wide range of other forms of community wealth-building institutions. Today, Portland's community development industry is widely seen as a model for comprehensive community-wealth-building efforts.

Community Development Corporations

Hacienda CDC
www.haciendacdc.org
Founded in 1992 in North Porland, Hacienda CDC has developed 320 units of housing serving over 1,200 residents. It also helped develop a healthcare clinic serving the uninsured. The CDC continues to pursue a wide range of programs, including financial and computer literacy training, homeownership counseling, community center development, and micro-enterprise business support.

Housing Development Center
www.hdc1.org
The Housing Development Center (HDC) is a nonprofit project development organization that provides technical assistance to community development corporations in the metro Portland region. Since incorporating in 1993, HDC has completed work on over 1500 units of affordable and special needs housing, ensuring that these projects move smoothly through the complex process of acquisition, financing, and construction management.

The Community Development Network
www.cdnportland.org
Founded in 1994, the Community Development Network is comprised by 20 nonprofits working on affordable housing and/or other community-based economic development and neighborhood revitalization activities. The network both advocates on behalf of community development corporations and supports capacity building efforts.

Reach CDC
www.reachcdc.org
Portland’s oldest CDC, REACH serves seven inner southeast neighborhoods and provides affordable housing for over 1,000 people. Among its achievements, REACH has built, renovated and preserved 836 houses and apartments for rent or home ownership, including six apartment buildings with on-site services for formerly homeless people, mentally disabled adults and the elderly; It has also provided no-cost home repairs for over 500 low-income home owners, led tenant leadership development programs and, supported local business district renovation.

Community Development Financial Institution

Albina Community Bank
www.albinabank.com
Formed in December 1995, Albina’s investors include large local nonprofit organizations as well as hundreds of individual shareholders who live throughout the city. In its first decade, the bank grew to have over $100 million in assets and four branches. Since 2001, bank lending has supported the creation of over 200 jobs and helped maintain an additional 1,300 jobs.

Community Land Trust

Portland Community Land Trust
www.pclt.org
Since it was founded in 1999, the Portland Community Land Trust has grown rapidly. As of June 2005, the land trust had grown to nearly $2 million in land assets and to provide affordable housing to over 160 families.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Miller Paint
www.millerpaint.com
Founded in 1890, Portland-based Miller Paint now operates throughout Oregon and Washington. In 1999, employees purchased the company through an employee stock ownership plan. By November 2000, the transition to 100% employee ownership by the firm’s 200-plus employee owners had been completed. The firm currently has annual sales of over $30 million.

Cooperatives

Food Front Co-op
www.foodfront.coop
Since its formation in 1972, Food Front has grown to include over 2500 members and more than 45 employees. The co-op emphasizes local, organically produced food and offer an extensive selection of organic produce, organic and natural grocery items, organic dairy products, bulk items, perishable foods, fresh deli foods, vitamins, herbs, cruelty-free body care, and aromatherapy products.

People's Food Co-op
www.peoples.coop
Founded in 1970, People’s Food completed an expansion in 2002. The store has 1,750 members, employs 20, with annual sales of roughly $2 million. As part of the 2002 expansion, People’s implemented a number of design features that aim to maximize energy efficiency and sustainability. As part of its sustainability effort, it also delivers food to customers by bicycle.

Portland Alliance of Worker Collectives
www.pawc.net
The Portland Alliance of Worker Collectives, founded in 2003, serves as a mutual benefit association for the region’s growing community of small worker run and owned businesses, including restaurants, housing co-ops, bookstores, printers, and a computer technology consulting collective, among others.

Social Enterprise

Central City Concern
www.centralcityconcern.org
Begun in the late 1970s to provide homeless support services, Central City Concern has expanded to directly provide employment, health care, and housing for the population it serves. In addition to public funding, the agency receives income from rents and business enterprises. Businesses include a janitorial service company, an interior/exterior painting service, a property maintenance company, and a second-hand furniture store. In terms of housing, the nonprofit has an ownership interest in 1,103 units of housing in eleven building, manages an additional 217 units of low income housing in eleven building, and manages 24 commercial spaces. Business income and rents provide roughly one quarter of the organization’s revenues.

Portland Habilitation Center
www.phcnw.com
Headquartered in Portland, Portland Habilitation Center trains and employs individuals with disabilities throughout Oregon and Washington. Founded in 1951, PHC operates a number of businesses, including janitorial services, a manufacturing business, and others that employ a total of 1,100 people with disabilities and provide the organization with 96% of its operating budget.

University Partnerships

Center for Academic Excellence, Portland State University
www.pdx.edu/cae/civic_engagement.html
With a motto of “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” Portland State has become a national leader in developing a model of the “engaged” urban university. More than 400 faculty and over 7,700 students a year participate in service learning courses, as well as many of the school’s other community engagement programs, including a minor program in civic leadership.

State and Local Policy Innovation

City of Portland, Office of Sustainable Development
www.sustainableportland.org
Created in 2000, the Portland Office of Sustainable Development is responsible for overseeing the City of Portland’s effort to lower carbon dioxide emission levels and oversee the City’s recycling, transit-oriented development, energy conversation, green building, and related sustainability efforts. To date, Portland has been successful at reducing carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels and aims to reduce them 10 percent below that level by 2010.

Portland Economic Opportunity Initiative
www.portlandonline.com/bhcd/index.cfm?c=31192
Founded in 2004 as a partnership between the Northwest Area Foundation and the City of Board’s Bureau of Housing and Community Development, the Portland Economic Opportunity Initiative aims to support community wealth building by providing grants to 30 community projects in the areas of workforce training, asset building (including land trusts, co-ops and individual development accounts), and business development through micro-enterprise loans and other community development venture and equity models. All programs are targeted at residents who earn 50 percent or less than the area median income.