[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwepUaH3ZaI&feature=related]The Portland Development Commission’s North/Northeast Economic Development Initiative, which is intended to make urban renewal in these areas benefit the residents and businesses already here, has posted videos of its input gathering efforts.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHEwnPKI08s]
The initiative has its own Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pdxNNEDI
If you’ve been wondering just what is going on at Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Alberta, the Sweet Thing Bakehouse has finally opened in the downstairs space on the southwest corner.
From the Press Release:
“Local Beanery and Bakery Combo Opens With A Conscience
Like a little ambiance with your Americano? A little panache with your pastry? A little social consciousness with your sweet tea?
Sweet Thing Bakehouse & Coffee Bar® is all that and more. Locally owned and operated, Sweet Thing® (http://www.sweetthingpdx.com/) brings together a unique blend of that good old neighborhood hangout feel, baking talent and innovation, and the finest of the world’s coffee beans — all in a setting that invites friends to linger in comfortable conversation.
Built on a foundation of support of local and global community, Sweet Thing® is dedicated to values rooted in an “act locally, think globally” line of thought. Visitors to the bakery will immediately be taken with the architecture of the “conversation space”, purposefully arranged to encourage conversation, either tête-à-tête or on a grander scale. Or just pull down their free Wi-Fi and surf, share photos, movies or music with friends.
Owner Shawna Marshall is realizing a dream of being able to aid the community, serve neighborhood dwellers, and support a worthy cause by opening this well-appointed, family-owned and operated, full-service coffee bar and bakery. The fare is full and varied featuring coffees, teas, smoothies, fruit parfaits, soups, salads, paninis, specialty cakes and more.
As many products as possible are sourced locally. Some of the products used in crafting a variety of delicious paninis are taken straight from a local, hand-kept garden. With an eye toward sustainability, the drink cups, plastic ware and straws are all 100% bio-degradable. All coffee beans are organically grown, fair traded, and a percentage of profits from coffee sales returns to the Café Feminino foundation (http://cupoftheworld.com/html/cafe_feminino.html) to help support women and children in coffee-growing communities of South America.
All in all, Sweet Thing Bakehouse and Coffee Bar® is the kind of place you can hang with friends, or just enjoy your own personal space knowing you’re part of local and global community.”
So there you have it!
An update on the progress of St Andrew Catholic Church’s future building project:
St. Andrews staff presented to the King Neighborhood board last year their intention to build a new community services center from which their safety net programs for the neighborhood are run as well as improvements to existing buildings including a new kitchen, bathrooms, youth education facilities, and improved landscaping including a new Eco roof. All areas will now be ADA accessible.
They are close enough to their financial goal to begin construction this month. A ground breaking ceremony will take place on September 20th at 11am in the parking lot between the church and the community center. The church is located on 8th and Alberta. All are welcome.
The King Neighborhood Association’s letter of support last year has been included in some of the grant applications and contributed to a substantial grant from Meyer Memorial Trust.
If you have any questions relating to this project, you can contact:
Lisa M. Hatten
St Andrew Catholic Church
Capital Campaign Coordinator
503-880-0116
The North-Northeast Economic Development Alliance (NNEDA) and the Portland Family of Funds (PFF) invite local community members and other inner NE Portland stakeholders to the OAME conference room to review the redevelopment concept plans for the former Lutheran services facility site located on NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and NE Skidmore.
PFF is an investment firm that has participated in a dozen projects in Portland, including four in NE Portland: Vanport Square, Kings Crossing, Oregon Medical Clinic, and the Community Transition School. PFF utilizes numerous financing programs, including the New Markets Tax Credit program, to facilitate the development of community-based projects in distressed communities.
NNEDA and PFF would like to offer local residents and stakeholders an early opportunity to review and comment on the schematic design plans for developing an education- and family housing-based project on the former Lutheran site at the corner of NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and NE Skidmore. Come hear from the project team about their vision for the site, and provide your feedback on their design plans for implementing that vision.
This project is intended to create an attractive and exciting private development that focuses on building community capacity through the co-location and collaboration of education, family housing and community services within a single facility.
Please join us on the evening of September 23rd to hear more about the plans for this project and to share your thoughts and suggestions for the concept and plans.
OAME Large Conference Room
4134 N Vancouver Avenue
September 23, 2009
6:00 to 9:00 PM
Light refreshments will be provided
You can also view the schematic design plans for the project and comment on them at http://www.portlandfunds.com/projects/albina.php. Or bring your questions and comments to the meeting on September 23rd. If you would like additional information prior to the meeting, contact Carl Talton at 503-546-2650 or carl@portlandfunds.com. We hope you will join us.
Sheila Holden and Carl Talton
Via the Sentinel:
Mistrust, doubt unleashed by N/NE urban renewal
Submitted by Sentinel News Service on Wed, 09/02/2009 – 3:45pm.
“I’m not sure the PDC has the guts to change what’s going on,” said James Poise, owner of the E-Mat Cafe on Northeast MLK Jr. Boulevard. Posey, one of Northeast Portland’s longtime African American residents, stands before a packed room at the Elks Lodge on North Tillamook Street. It’s a sweltering night in August, and over 50 residents have turned out to give the Portland Development Commission a piece of their minds.
“We got nice bike paths, but right down the street we have people living on the streets,” Posey continues. “The priorities are all screwed up.”
One after the other, residents tell the same story: Decades before, urban renewal bulldozed the heart out of this once predominantly African American neighborhood and left only vacant lots and abandoned buildings in its wake. Recently, investment has come, but many longtime black residents don’t see their lot in life improving.
“I’m wondering what PDC is really doing for the neighborhood,” Adron Hampton wondered. “I don’t see a thing done in this community.”
Since last December, the PDC has been considering consolidating or modifying the two vast urban renewal districts that cover North and inner Northeast Portland. Together, the Interstate Corridor and Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Areas (ICURA and OCCURA) comprise some 3,769 acres. This year those zones will set aside approximately $47 million in neighborhood tax dollars for regional and local improvement projects.
On Aug. 19, the first of 11 citizen advisory meetings convened to discuss just how to divide, expand or extend the city’s urban renewal areas in this huge swath of territory.
Read the full story at:http://www.portlandsentinel.com/?q=node/5095