Community Livability Grant Program
FY 2011-12 Funding

PLANS

• ICURA Plan (2000)
• ICURA Community Livability Implementation Strategy (2002)
• Lents URA Plan (1999)

Interstate Corridor URA

Susan Kuhn
Senior Program Manager
PDC, 222 NW Fifth Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
503-823-3406
email

Lents Town Center URA

Kevin A. Cronin, AICP
Senior Program Manager
PDC, 222 NW Fifth Avenue
Portland, OR 97209
503-823-3305
email

A new round of PDC Community Livability Grant funds will be announced on February 21. Up to $300,000 in grants will be available in each of the Interstate and Lents Town Center URAs. These grants support a wide variety of community benefits: historic preservation, open spaces and gardens, community and cultural centers, social services, job training, and the growth of local businesses. All interested applicants are required to attend a mandatory workshop to learn more about project eligibility, completing the application, and the evaluation and selection process. For Interstate, the workshop will be March 6 at the June Key Delta Community Center, 11 am-12:30 pm or 5:00-6:30 pm; for Lents Town Center, March 7, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at SE Works. Check this page after February 21 for details.

INTERSTATE CORRIDOR URBAN RENEWAL AREA GRANT RECIPIENTS
APPLICANT	PROJECT	REQUESTED	AWARD
Community Warehouse	Community Warehouse Roof and Skylight Replacement Project	36,000	36,000
Bradley Angle	Emergency Shelter Window Replacement Project	49,929	49,929
Volunteers of America	Storefront improvements and interior renovations at Marie Smith Center	33,959	28,969
Peninsula Children's Center	Preschool Playground Improvement Project	7,500	7,500
African American Health Coalition, Inc.	Window replacement project; exterior stucco repair and painting	47,550	94,399
Community Help Institute for Learning & Development	Kitchen upgrade/ADA ramp installation	60,563	35,693
Kenton Neighborhood Association	Kenton neighborhood community garden	36,700	36,700
Friends of Pittman Addition	Art in the Park	10,810	10,810
	TOTAL:	283,011	300,000

LENTS TOWN CENTER URBAN RENEWAL AREA GRANT RECIPIENTS
APPLICANT	PROJECT	REQUESTED	AWARD
Portland Youthbuilders	Carport	24,070	24,070
Native Wellness Committee	Marshall HS Community Health Clinic Renovation	50,000	50,000
Friends of the Portland Memory Garden	Community Garden @ Memory Garden	30,000	30,000
Leach Botanical Garden	Master Plan Implementation	26,240	26,240
	TOTAL:	130,310	130,310

 

 

The Portland Development Commission seeks proposals that promote livable and healthy neighborhoods within the Interstate Corridor (ICURA) and Lents Town Center Urban Renewal Areas (“LTC URA”).  Grants are available through the PDC Community Livability Grant Program (the “Grant Program”) for real property improvements at new or existing community facilities, in open spaces, or to preserve historic or cultural community assets. 

Grants are awarded through a competitive process and are intended to encourage projects that preserve community assets and to improve or expand space that benefits the broader community.  Examples are:

• community health services;
• childcare;
• arts promotion;
• multi-cultural and intergenerational activity;
• job and/or housing resources;
• recreational opportunities, especially for youth; or
• other projects which add to the overall livability for area residents.

PREVIOUS GRANT PROGRAM AWARDS

PDC has awarded more than $1.8 million in Community Livability Grants since 2006.  Projects that have received awards include: 

• a wheelchair ramp for a community medical center;
• installation of a reclaimed wood floor and commercial kitchen infrastructure to enhance community meeting space;
• exterior improvements for a music center;
• a new furnace and energy saving improvements for a childcare center;
• expansion and renovation of space for community service activities using recycled materials;
• energy efficient improvements to a historic building;
• preservation of historic assets-  i.e. Paul Bunyan and the Historic Columbian Cemetery;
• functional improvements for community gardens and open space;
• a new community garden; and
• parking lots converted for outdoor performances  and community green space.

The typical grant ranges from $5,000 to $50,000.

 

Community Livability Grants – making a small but mighty difference

As the first Lents Town Center recipient of a Community Livability Grant, the SE Works One-Stop Job Center exemplifies the strong community connection that the program seeks to foster.

SE Works, Inc. is the workforce development provider for the SE Portland area, and works with the unemployed, underemployed and various targeted communities to find employment opportunities. In 2010, the One Stop Career Center relocated to 7916 SE Foster Road, near the 82nd Avenue of Roses business corridor and closer to Lents Town Center. PDC provided a $71,000 PDC Community Livability Grant to assist with green tenant improvements, and that amount was matched by the landlord. The new location doubled the space of the previous location, offered several private meeting rooms for interview preparations and quiet time, computer stations for job seekers, and classroom space. At the celebratory ribbon cutting for the new Center on November 29, SE Works staff and clients alike applauded the results with enthusiasm.  More than 2,000 customers have visited the new site since it opened on October 26.

The SE Works grant was the first of five projects in fiscal 2010-11 that received small grants and will be celebrated this year in the Outer Southeast community.

The program is designed to foster 20-minute neighborhoods, improve livability in the Lents Town Center URA neighborhoods, and leverage PDC funds with community driven projects.

Ethos Music Center has made the most of its partnership with PDC, using the Community Livability Grant to improve its neighborhood presence and leverage its own resources to maximize services to the community. 

Founded in 1998 and located at the corner of N. Killingsworth and N. Williams Avenue in the Humboldt neighborhood, Ethos promotes music and music-based education for youth in underserved communities. The Center reached 7,500 kids in the past year, through private and small group music lessons, camps and workshops, educational assemblies, and live performances. Ethos students come from a variety of socio-economic levels and represent many cultures and ethnicities – and the language of music brings them together.

Ethos has received two prior ICURA Community Livability grants totaling $38,813 for façade improvements and exterior renovation to a building that was in disrepair. This year’s grant will help the Center complete a green renovation project that includes an 8.38 KW solar panel system, two eco-roofs, energy efficient windows and appliances and increased insulation. The grant will also pay for the installation of a 24,000 gallon cistern that will hold Ethos' stormwater runoff and use the rainwater to power Ethos' fire-sprinkler system, to irrigate Ethos' community gardens, and to flush Ethos' toilets. The project is also funded with a $50,000 Kresge grant, $15,000 of Ethos' funds, volunteer labor, and donated plants and professional services.

The eco-friendly project has a much broader effect as well, since the PDC funding enables the Center to direct more of its funds toward teachers and programming: 7500 kids served per year.

For more information or to be added to the mailing list, please contact:

Interstate Corridor URA	Lents Town Center URA
Susan Kuhn Senior Program Manager PDC, 222 NW Fifth Avenue Portland, OR 97209 503-823-3406 email	Kevin A. Cronin, AICP Senior Program Manager PDC, 222 NW Fifth Avenue Portland, OR 97209 503-823-3305 email