More than 150 students, neighbors,

government dignitaries and social service

partners gathered for the celebration.

Home Forward Board Chair Harriet

Cormack thanked the neighborhood for

its kind welcome and praised the work of

all who made the redevelopment a reality.

Among the presenters was U.S. Rep.

Suzanne Bonamici, who expressed her

support for the redevelopment and its

emphasis on tying together early

childhood education, workforce training

and housing. “The need for affordable

housing in this country is critical,” she said.

“Stephens Creek Crossing is such a

positive project that it could become a

national model.”

Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah

Kafoury closed the program by reaffirming

the County’s commitment to affordable

housing and to ongoing services for

Wall Raising Kicks Off Building at Stephens Creek Crossing “I look at this wall and I see a bridge ... A bridge between neighbors and residents ... A bridge from poverty to opportunity ... And a bridge from despair to hope.” Rev. Jennifer Brownell, Hillsdale Community Church-United Church of Christ, shared these words at a wall raising ceremony in late September to launch the building phase of Stephens Creek Crossing, a new apartment community to replace Home Forward’s Hillsdale Terrace former public housing property in Southwest Portland.

Stephens Creek Crossing

low-income residents at Stephens Creek

Crossing. “The southwest neighborhoods

are some of the most vibrant in Portland.

This is a wonderful neighborhood to live in

and raise a family regardless of income,”

she said.

The event closed with the ceremonial raising

of a wall by all the program presenters, who

were joined by other project partners.

F A L L 2 0 1 2C O M M U N I T Y U P D A T E

To follow our progress during construction at Stephens Creek Crossing, visit us at homeforward.org/development/current-developments/stephens-creek-crossing.

Stephens Creek Crossing is an affordable

housing community under construction in

the Multnomah neighborhood. Developed

by Home Forward to promote work,

education and self-sufficiency for

low-income individuals and families living

in Southwest Portland, Stephens Creek

Crossing will include 122 apartments,

community gardens, play areas, and bike

and walking paths. An Opportunity Center

will host job trainings and classes in

cooking and nutrition, and a Children’s

Center managed by Neighborhood House

will focus on early childhood education.

Seven Habitat for Humanity homes will be

built nearby and offer affordable

homeownership. The new community will

welcome residents in January 2014.

About Stephens Creek Crossing

Since April, workers have been laboring

to ready the site for building construction.

Installation of site utilities is nearly complete,

just in time for neighbors to see the

foundation pouring, framing, roofing and

siding of the community’s 20 new

apartment buildings and two commercial

buildings. This ‘vertical’ phase takes place

from November 2012 through December

2013 and paves the way for resident

occupancy to begin in January 2014.

Construction Update:

Buildings to Take Shape The old Hillsdale Terrace is no more. Construction crews have torn down all 12 of the former structures and hauled away 8,600 tons of building debris—diverting more than 95 percent of material out of the waste stream and into recycling projects. The former public housing community’s concrete block buildings have been demolished and the signature bowl shape re-graded into a flatter, higher, more terraced landscape.

“We expect it to take as many as 300

people to finish construction,” said Mike

Andrews, development director for Home

Forward. “From demolition to the grand

opening, we will employ laborers, framers,

drywallers, electricians, plumbers,

painters, landscapers and more.

Stephens Creek Crossing is truly a place

of opportunity—the construction of a

project of this size is responsible for

generating good, family-wage jobs right

here in our community,” he said.

Stephens Creek Crossing is truly a place of opportunity—the construction of a project of this size is responsible for generating good, family-wage jobs right here in our community.M I K E A N D R E W S ,

Director of Development and

Community Revitalization, Home Forward

Now 26 years old, Mike Aguilar looks back

on his late teens with the perspective of a

wiser, experienced adult. A high school

dropout, he struggled to find the right road,

including making some poor choices that

landed him in prison. A reconnection with

a former boss, Joaquin Castillo, project

manager at Colas Construction, led to an

employment opportunity for Mike and a

newfound direction.

“Mike is an intelligent, hard working and

happy guy who is great to have around,”

said Castillo. “When we first met, he wasn’t

ready for work. But I had a lot in common

with him. We grew up in the same area and

around the same people — we just chose

to take different paths. When we met again,

it was another time in his life. I knew if he

had an opportunity he could shine.”

Now enrolled at the Northwest College of

Construction, Aguilar will be part of the

construction crew at Stephens Creek

Growing Up on the JobJob creation is an important part of the Stephens Creek Crossing redevelopment, both for the seasoned construction crew and for eligible low-income individuals seeking training and work experience. For one young man, it’s also about gaining confidence in his abilities and setting career goals that once might have been out of reach.

Southwest Portland’s heavy, clay soil is notorious for its poor drainage.

Crossing. “This job has made a big impact

on me and given me a stable job and

decent income to support my family,” he

said. “Being around and accepted by

people who are on the right path helped

me a lot. They’ve changed how I look at

life and showed me the important things

that really matter. I am willing to learn

everything I can to go as far in this field as

I can. Hopefully, someday I’ll be running

the job site instead of working on it.” Mike Aguilar, right, with his mentor Joaquin Castillo, left.

HUD Section 3(67): Jobs and Business Opportunities

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) asks housing

authorities to provide job training and business opportunities to low and very

low-income individuals. One of the key ways Home Forward fulfills this is to provide

opportunities on development projects for individuals and businesses that qualify for

the Section 3 program. Both HUD and Home Forward believe the investment in

economic development is also an investment in building individual self-sufficiency.

Mike’s story is an example of the impact the Section 3 program has on individual lives.

And it was a contributing factor to the

severe moisture and water problems

affecting the livability and high operating

costs of the apartments at the former

Hillsdale Terrace. With the headwaters of

Stephens Creek located nearby, water was

a constant presence on the property. Yet

the soil drainage was so inadequate that

springs and surface water had nowhere to

go but collect near the concrete block

buildings, and that gave rise to constant

mold and mildew. Facing an ongoing

maintenance nightmare, Home Forward

knew that a solution to the problem was a

top redevelopment priority.

“We’re confident we have the problem

controlled,” said Patrick Rhea, senior project

manager, Home Forward. R&H/Colas

Construction removed 40,000 cubic yards

of dirt and replaced it with a similar amount

Lending a Hand to Mother Nature of rock fill – equal to the amount of snow

needed to cover the playing surface of a

football field nearly twenty feet high from

one end to the other.

Natural springs and surface water now

have pathways to migrate down the hill

and collect in a new series of underground

drains. “This is the most extensive

drainage system we’ve ever designed,”

said Rhea. “Given what nature has dealt

us, we’re able to move the water along,

keep it away from the buildings, and steer

it back into a more natural flow.”

Fal l 2012

Fal l 2012Community Update: Stephens Creek Crossing

Sowing Seeds of Friendship

The Stephens Creek Crossing Community Update is published by Home Forward. Home Forward (the new name for the

Housing Authority of Portland) is

dedicated to providing safe, decent and

affordable housing for individuals and

families who are challenged by income,

disability or special need. A public

corporation, Home Forward serves all of

Multnomah County, including the cities of

Gresham, Fairview and Troutdale and

other East County communities. Home

Forward is governed by a nine-member

citizen commission, which ensures

continued accountability to the interests

of the community.

For more information about the

Stephens Creek Crossing

redevelopment, contact Home Forward

community relations at 503-802-8508

or visit www.homeforward.org.

135 SW Ash Street, Por t land, Oregon 97204

PRSRT STD

US POSTAGE

PAIDPORTLAND OR

PERMIT NO 11

A knock on the door from Home Forward was all it took to open up a relationship between Hillsdale Community Church-United Church of Christ and its neighbors at Home Forward’s affordable housing community in Southwest Portland. Rev. Jennifer Brownell realized the church had a great deal to offer residents — and could gain something in return.

Brownell envisions a community garden on

church property, where members, neighbors

and residents at the new community under

development, Stephens Creek Crossing, can

come together to grow fruits and vegetables.

“We were founded 95 years ago by the area’s

Swiss dairy farmers. This is a way for us to

draw upon that heritage and share our strong

connection with the land,” she said.

The congregation imagines cooking and food

preservation classes, as well as the blending of

cultures, meals and conversations. A planning

group comprised of church members, residents

and other interested neighbors will collaborate

on a vision for the new garden, which will

complement an urban farm to be located on

the Stephens Creek Crossing property.

With a birds-eye view of the construction site,

Brownell believes the redevelopment is an

inspiration for the community. “We are excited

about the opportunity to be a place of welcome

and to help celebrate what it means to be a

diverse people,” she said. Rev. Jennifer Brownell, Hillsdale Community Church – United Church of Christ