New Housing Planned for Vacant MLK Frontage

Posted on by

Ivy City Homes is the name of a new mixed-income housing development planned for Ivy Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. just south of King Neighborhood. It is to be one of the first projects nationally to earn the Earth Advantage Community certification for sustainability.

A public/private partnership with the Portland Development Commission, the project provides a provision for permanently affordable homeownership with a subcontractor base consisting of a high percentage of minority-owned, women-owned, and emerging small businesses. Permanent affordability of 30% of the units to families earning up to 80% of the median family income through a partnership with Proud Ground, a community land trust with deed covenants that restrict the resale prices of the permanently affordable units through future resales.

The homes are to achieve a LEED for Homes certification with energy-efficiency of 45% over current energy code and will have energy efficient appliances and secure bike parking. Construction on the 28 units of residential and live/work space is scheduled to be completed summer 2011. Of the 28 units available for sale, approximately nine will be affordable to families earning 60-80% of the median family income for the area.

http://aristondev.com/projects/ivy-city-homes

Join the King Neighborhood Tree Planting!

Posted on by

In partnership with Friends of Trees, the King neighborhood is planning a tree planting project for February 12, 2011! Join us on Saturday morning to help plant trees and create a healthier community.

Planting a tree in your yard or parking strip creates long lasting benefits enjoyed by everyone. Did you know that trees remove pollutants from the air? A typical tree absorbs 10 pounds of pollutants, cleans 330 pounds of carbon dioxide, and creates 260 pounds of oxygen each year. Having cleaner air in your neighborhood has all sorts of health benefits, such as reduced asthma rates. Trees also help intercept and retain 760 gallons of rainwater each year, which help keep our rivers clean and help save us money on stormwater fees. Trees can cool our homes in the summer and shade our city which helps us stay cool all summer. Trees raise the property value of your home by up to 20%. Also, unlike many other things, trees appreciate in value each year. And by planting trees now, we can keep our city green into the future.

This winter, King residents will be offered street trees starting at $35.00. The cost will include a site inspection by the Urban Forestry Department to ensure you choose the right tree for your home, hole digging, help with planting your tree, stakes, mulch, ties, labels, follow-up monitoring, and information on proper tree care techniques. For more information, please visit www.friendsoftrees.org.

Planning has begun for the King Tree Planting event, to participate please contact Irek at (503) 828-6943 or king@plantitportland.org.

Give Two Hours for Loaves and Fishes

Posted on by

David Lomax of KNA asks:

Got 2 hours?

I am volunteering at the New Seasons Market – Concordia store on Sunday, November 21, 2010. I invite you to join my Martin Luther King Jr. Loaves and Fishes team by volunteering for a 2-hour shift.

Loaves & Fishes Centers, The Meals-On-Wheels People, is having a fundraiser the five days preceding Thanksgiving. It is called Donate Dinner. Donate Dinner is one of the largest volunteer events in the Portland metropolitan area. Last year, 1,500 people volunteered for 2-hour shifts and the outcome was incredible – they raised more than $230,000 to support the Meals-On-Wheels program.

What do I need you to do? Greet customers as they come into the store to shop for their Thanksgiving dinner. Smile, hand them a Donate Dinner card, and let them know that if they would like to donate to the Meals-On-Wheels program they tell the cashier when they check out. Their grocery receipt will include their tax-deductible nonprofit donation receipt. It is that simple!

Please join my team for a 2-hour shift. Last year, each volunteer raised an average of $225 per shift! All proceeds are invested in our local senior population.

Together, we can make sure that no senior in our community goes hungry or experiences social isolation. Please join me and the more than 1500 other volunteers to raise critical funds to feed our elder population. Click here if you want to view my team’s current schedule.

If you are not available on Sunday, November 21, 2010 to volunteer for my team, please go to www.donatedinner.org and see if another date and store are available. It takes a village to feed our seniors!

Loaves & Fishes Centers, The Meals-On-Wheels People is a secular nonprofit corporation that prepares 5,000 meals each weekday for seniors in Multnomah, Washington and Clark counties. Unlike most other Meals-On-Wheels programs, our local Loaves & Fishes has never had a waiting list for meal services. Why? Because of the generous community support from volunteers and donors, a meal can be delivered within 24 hours of notification.

David Lomax
MLK Center Loaves & Fishes
5325 NE MLK BLVD
Portland Oregon 97211
(503)-953-8207 Phone
(503)-988-4899 Fax
dlomax@lfcpdx.org
www.loavesandfishesonline.org

Leaf Removal Fee Comes to Section of King

Posted on by

The City of Portland has instituted its long talked about fee for removal of leaves in the streets of Portland neighborhoods with the heaviest street tree canopies. Many homeowners were surprised when implementation finally came since there was apparently no advance direct notification. According to the Oregonian article on the subject, the news of the plan was supposed to be disseminated via the individual neighborhood associations–even though they are not city entities. Paige Coleman, director of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, distributed an email querying neighborhood association volunteers if they had in fact been notified by the city.

The portion of King that is in a leaf district is Walnut Park from Alberta to Ainsworth and Rodney to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. This district will receive two leaf removals each year. This year’s will be on November 5th and 24th and the fee will be $30 with low income households paying $10. Property owners can opt out of the fee if they apply for a waiver and submit a leaf removal plan. More info is at the City of Portland leaf removal page: http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=47144&a=319617

Read Oregonian columnist Anna Griffin’s take on the issue here.