APANO Offices and Event Space

 

DEVELOPMENT SCOPE

Tenant improvements to create occupant-owned offices and event space on the ground floor of a new mixed-use development.


PROJECT OVERVIEW

APANO (Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon) is Oregon’s leading Asian and Pacific Islander grassroots advocacy organization. When APANO opened an office in East Portland’s culturally diverse Jade District in 2012, it organized a community visioning process conducted in five languages. The visioning process surfaced a need for local community gathering and cultural event space, and participants pinpointed a vacant furniture store at the busy corner of 82nd and Division Street as a potential development site. Regional government Metro, recognizing an alignment between its transit-oriented development goals and the Jade community’s vision for the site, purchased the property.

APANO operated the building as an impromptu community space for two years, then, with Metro’s approval, partnered with ROSE Community Development to develop Orchards of 82nd on the site. The new mixed-use development provides 48 units of affordable rental housing, sponsored by ROSE, over a ground-floor commercial condo. The condo, purchased by APANO, houses APANO’s new offices and a permanent event space programmed to meet local community needs.


Creative Solutions

Finance. In ROSE, APANO found an experienced development partner with access to specialized funds to support the housing component of the project. To acquire and build out its ground-floor space, APANO launched a crowd-funding campaign (it raised $40,000 from 400 people), which snowballed into a $2 million capital campaign and drew donations from Oregon Community Foundation, the Collins Foundation, and others. HDC worked with both partners to assemble and mesh funding streams, as well as to navigate the complexities of forming a commercial condominium structure.

Design and Construction. HDC worked with APANO, Resolve Architecture, and general contractor O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders to create flexible office and event spaces that can adapt to changing needs. The event space accommodates events ranging from workshops and town halls to cultural performances and—with its commercial kitchen—cooking demonstrations by Asian Pacific Islander chefs. APANO’s street-facing offices invite neighborhood interaction, and its open plan supports collaboration among APANO staff. APANO and building co-owner ROSE save costs by sharing a lobby, parking facilities, mechanical systems, and a publicly accessible courtyard plaza.

SPONSOR
APANO (Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon)

LOCATION
Southeast Portland, Oregon

HDC ROLE
Financial structuring, construction management, construction bridge loan

DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
ROSE Community Development
Resolve Architecture
SERA Architects
O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders
Metro
Oregon Housing and Community Services
Portland Housing Bureau
Home Forward
Network for Oregon Affordable Housing (NOAH)
U.S. Bank CDC
HDC Community Fund

FUNDING SOURCES
Low-income housing tax-credit equity (9%)
Metro Transit Oriented Development funds
Community Development Block Grant (CBDG) funds
Project-based Section 8 vouchers
Oregon General Housing Account Program (GHAP)
Oregon Low Income Weatherization Program funds
Construction and permanent loans
Sponsor funds

SQUARE FEET
Office and event space: 4,800

COST
Acquisition and improvements: $2.3 million

TIMELINE
Summer 2016 to Summer 2019