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Cathedral Village AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Cathedral Village will be an affordable housing development housing 110 family apartments ranging in size from studios to 3 bedroom units. Thirty nine on-site parking spaces will be provided. The project is being developed by Related Northwest and Catholic Charities. Anticipated construction start will be beginning of 2021.

Thank you for joining the virtual neighborhood meeting. Below are the meeting minutes:

Cathedral Village, Meeting Minutes

Presentation on Cathedral Village development via GoToMeeting - April 14, 2020 – 7 to 8 p.m.

Presenting: Stef Kondor from Related NW, Travis Philips and Rose Bak from Catholic Charities, Bill Lanning & Diana Moosman from MWA Architects, and Laura Streib from Vibe PDX

Welcome & Meeting Operations

Stef opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and thanking member of the team for their work arranging this meeting in a brand new format – online due to social distancing restrictions in the City of Portland. She thanked the Cathedral Park Neighborhood Association and the North Portland Neighborhood Services for helping us get the word out about the meeting.

Stef described some housekeeping measures for the meeting. Presenters planned to present all content and then open for questions which would be moderated by our meeting administrator. Stef asked all attendees to “sign in” by entering their name & contact information into the Chat box that would be seen only by meeting administrators. Some people signed in previously by sending their information to use using the project email account; that can continued to be used for sign-in and for questions ongoing – Info.CathedralVillage@gmail.com. We are required to provide the city with a sign-in sheet and information will be used to share meeting minutes. Contact information won’t be used in any other way; it’s merely for reporting purposes.

She informed the group that questions would also be handled via the chat function; meeting administrator will read the question and direct an appropriate person to answer the question.

Stef introduced speakers for the evening according to the agenda; also introduced Vibe PDX, an after-school music provider that will be located in the building.

Related NW – Stef Kondor

Related is a national company with 40 years of experience and with a reputation for excellence and community engagement. On the West coast, Related has 15,000 units of affordable housing that they have developed and/or acquired. Stef shared that she had previously been a housing developer for Central City Concern, a nonprofit organization in Portland. She stated that she opened the Related NW office about 1-1/2 years ago. Related currently has 300 units in Oregon in various phases of development.

Stef shared that Related seeks out different partnerships on each particular project to curate the right custom housing for the neighborhood and city’s needs. For example, due to St. Johns and Cathedral Park’s music history with the Jazz Festival, a music partner was desired for the Cathedral Park project.

This project is 110 units of affordable housing in Cathedral Park off of Crawford and Salem close to Cathedral Park. It is comprised of studios, 1, 2, and 3-bedrooms apartments, a multi-purpose room, music tech room, teen room and services.

Resident services and case management will be provided by Catholic Charities. Vibe PDX will provide enriched music program for after school activities.

Public partnership include: Portland Housing Bureau, Oregon Housing Community Services and Portland Public Schools. Related has connected with PPS to ensure good coordination with the Title 1 coordinator and to make the district aware of this housing. We strive to connect with local schools - we hear that families have are being pushed out of this neighborhood and we’re working with the district to prevent that.

Catholic Charities – Travis Phillips & Rose Bak

Travis identified himself as Director of Community Development and Housing for Catholic Charities (CC). CC partners with the most vulnerable people in our community regardless of faith to achieve lasting solutions to poverty & injustice. Services are available to all regardless of religious background. Recently, and in response to Covid-19, CC is expanding food distribution and outreach efforts to connect to current residents and address needs.

CC owns/operates 800 units – mostly in PDX metro area – from Sandy to Hillsboro, Wilsonville and a few apartments in southern Oregon. CC of Oregon is part of a national initiative to address needs related to health and homelessness. It works independently as an agency and is part of Catholic Charities USA. CC of Oregon represents Portland in Catholic Charities’ USA’s Health Housing initiative to reduce homelessness. Locally, CC has a goal of adding 300 units of housing in the Portland metro for people who are experiencing homelessness and who also have health needs. CC is the manager and service provider for Kenton Women’s Village. Kenton involvement is Important to note because Kenton is an example of work CC does every day. Kenton serves a short-term measure for a roof and locking door, as well as long-term measures of supportive services. As with Kenton Village, CC has committed funding for supportive services anticipated at Cathedral Village to ensure these services are available for residents who need them.

CC also provides refugee and immigration services and has experience working with those communities. Pope Francis Center is CC’s hub for volunteerism and community engagement. CC also provides financial wellness, pregnancy and parenting counseling as well as general counseling.

CC will be the service provider for the Cathedral Village apartments. Rose Bak identified herself as Chief Program Officer for housing. She oversees resident services staff who work on four major areas: 1) housing stability (good renters, neighbors), 2) income stability (employment, budgeting etc), 3) social connections (fostering positive connections in the community itself) and 4) health (on site counseling at CC office; mental health counseling in properties). Properties also use health resources in broader community. Some residents will have more intensive case management as needed to help them maintain stable residency. CC also provides food and clothing assistance, immigration and refugee services and trauma informed life counseling.

MWA Architects - Diana Moosman with Bill Lanning

Diana thanks all attendees for joining what is MWA’s first digital neighborhood meeting.

The site for Cathedral Village is 2 blocks southeast of Cathedral Park and very dynamic. MWA is excited about the potential of the site: it has beautiful views of the bridge and hills, great sun exposure for units, is close to the park and downtown St Johns. Overall, it’s a great location for families.

Diana shared some photos of other buildings in the area, traditionally industrial buildings but noting new housing across the street and up the hill. There is a significant amount of new housing in St. Johns area.

On the site plan of the project, the main street for Cathedral Park is Crawford (Burlington and Salem run alongside). The site slopes to the river and the railroad runs along the south side of the site. Design team has been working extensively with an acoustic consultant to mitigate noise challenges presented by the railroad.

The design took advantage of the sloping features of the site. Entry is on the high side of the site at corner of Salem & Crawford, as well as the management offices, teen rooms and music studio. There is an inset courtyard at the entry that slices through the building to the back plaza and connects you to the hills when you enter the building. There will be a nice size plaza and play area enclosed within the C-shaped plan at the back of the building. There are 39 off-street parking spots that will be entered from a driveway off of N. Salem Ave. In addition, there are approximately 19 on street parking spaces on all three street frontages. The parking lot is 4-5 feet lower than the plaza so residents won’t be looking directly into the parking lot.

We will do half street improvements on Salem to create a cul-de-sac at the end as required by Portland.

(NOTE: Diana misspoke about parking and Bill Lanning later corrected it during the call to clarify and confirm that there are 39 on-site parking spots and 19 spaces on the street frontage.)

There will be 110 units, and as a family focused building, 50% of units are two and three- bedroom units. Management offices, resident services office, teen room, music studio and large community room also in the building. There will be a bike room with sufficient storage for 100 bikes in the basement and another 21 racks located inside units.

Diana shared sample floor plans of units and noted that they are 100% affordable at 30-60% AMI. (# of units and rents shown on the slide were: Studios (18) $369-739; one-bedrooms (36) $426-853; two-bedrooms (45) $476-952; three-bedrooms (11) $525-1,051.

The building is four stories high (45’) and follows the City of Portland Community Design Standards. For acoustic mitigation, we are using brick on exterior as it provides sound dampening and looks attractive. It is of high quality and durable and gives a sense of permanence to the building.

The brick is used in a more modern way with panels off-set in a staggered, more dancing motion inspired by musical impact in the neighborhood as Stef Kondor referenced. The two wings of the building are a dark brick and a lighter gray/sand colored brick. Metal cornices at the top; Metal bay windows. 4 tall vertical bay windows are along Crawford adding upright permanence and dignity to the building. Near the entry at the ground floor is a colored glazed brick that is used sparingly as an accent. It’ll also be used in community room. Concrete planters are located along Crawford as well as on Burlington to soften the pedestrian experience. There is a small reading nook in corridor indoors that creates a break along Burlington. Units have large windows and ample daylight.

Diana shared a photo of a bird’s-eye view of the building with the bridge in the background. At the back end of the building is a plaza courtyard and parking lot access. The plaza is surrounded by trees and landscaping to soften look. Play area as well in the back and intended for younger children as nearby parks have good play areas for older children.

The plan is to submit for permits at the end of July and start construction in December 2020 with completion set for March 2022.

Q&As

Stef directed how questions could be submitted by typing them into the chat function. Bill Lanning will read the question/comment and ask specific individuals to answer them. She also reiterated that people can now input their name and contact information into the chat function as it wasn’t immediately operational at the beginning of the meeting. Contact info can also be emailed or mailed to Related NW, 208 SW Fist Ave., Ste 240, Portland OR 97209.

Q: Jon Smart – Will Salem be a half street? A from Bill Lanning: Portland requires that this project do half-street improvement on Salem to support vehicle traffic into the property. The balance of the street serves another building. Q: Ona Golonka – how were 19 spots analyzed for on street parking? I am across the street and don’t see that feasibility. Can you increase the # of parking spot up from 39? A from Bill Lanning: on street parking was based on civil engineer’s layout and city requirements of 24 foot length and 8 ft width. A from Stef Kondor: Under present zoning, the City required 0 parking spots. We wanted to put as many as possible on site and simultaneously deliver as much housing as possible. It’s a delicate balance. Beyond the 39 parking spots we are providing there will be 19 on-street parking spots created from our street improvements.

Q: Mary Kelley – Where is the closest bus stop? A from Travis Phillips: There are many spots within about ¼ mile of the property. Bus #16, 11, 44, 4 and 75. The #16 and #4 lines are frequent service. A from Stef Kondor: We have been reaching out to TriMet to discuss additional stops and options but it’s slow going. We chose this property because of its superior site by virtue of its location. We are striving to match affordable units to services: Health, schools, services. This site delivered on all elements.

Q: Jon Smart – Have we looked at the Cathedral Park Mobility Plan that includes a proposal for a shuttle to get people up the hill and to bus stops, etc.? A from Stef Kondor: love that, writing it down. A from Travis Phillips: We have looked at it and are not sure how it will get funded. We’ll continue to look more closely at it. Thanks.

Q: Jon Smart – It looks like trees along the railroad. Is that, with brick, the only things being done for sound mitigation purposes? A from Bill Lanning: Portland Housing Bureau funding comes with more stringent requirements for sound mitigation. We have worked with acoustical engineers on the team since the beginning on this. We must ensure a maximum of 45 decibels in the interior of the building. Triple glazed windows in courtyard and at the ends of building will help. If the budget allows, we’ll use that in other areas as well. In wall assembly, there is some sound & vibration mitigation materials. A from Stef Kondor: We looked at sound penetration; sound blocking, cladding, glazing, skin and mechanical to go above and beyond requirements. Exhaust and unit fresh air through corridor from roof (one grill per kitchen exhaust). Q: Ona Golonka What are the next steps? Will there be more meetings? A from Diana Moosman – today is our required community meeting 35 days prior to submitting our permit and there will not be more meetings regarding design before permit.

A from Stef Kondor – We are in design now and we’ll continue to communicate with you all. Especially when we get to pre-leasing, we’ll want neighbors in the mix to help us recruit qualifying tenants. That’s why we have the webpage on this project – to keep communication open. We plan on continued engagement with the neighborhood association and with Portland Public Schools in the Roosevelt cluster. This community is looking to serve a multitude of households. Really trying to serve larger families. We’ll keep circling back to give you updates now and through construction. We are interested in a long-term partnership with the neighborhood and we plan on being a fixture in the community.

Comment from Laura Streib: – I’m excited to have more families in the James John School boundary area.

Comment from Jon Smart: Going back to the shuttle just for info...Schrunk Tower residents were very interested in the shuttle. Home Forward might be someone to follow up with to discuss the shuttle.

Stef asked Laura Streib from Vibe PDX to say a few words.

Laura Streib – I am the founder and Executive Director of Vibe of PDX. We were created in order to fill lack of art and music education in Portland Public Schools and were founded in 2008. This September, I opened a studio in St. Johns and I have a 3 year old child and live in the area. The studio is across from James John Elementary School. We look forward to doing music education with kids at Cathedral Village.

Comment from Stef Kondor – Related tries to match up what residents need to the service providers who are already present in the area and are trusted sources. We try to put the best combo together for the neighborhood; for example, in other projects we’ve partnered with Boys & Girls Club, and Engage, a co-generational service provider.

Q from Jon Smart – Will the community room be just for residents or for others? A from Rose Bak - At other properties we use community space for our tenants as well as for neighborhood association meetings, resource fairs, other events. First priority is for residents but we’ll have options for community use. A from Stef Kondor – yes, for both purposes.

The meeting concluded at 8:00 p.m.

Changes to development plans as a result of this meeting: none.

For questions please contact: Info.CathedralVillage@gmail.com