Legin Commons — Community Partnership Brought to Life in East Portland

Our Just Future’s newest affordable housing community—Legin Commons—will create 124 energy efficient homes for families and individuals making 60% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI). The four story-building will:

  • Contain a mixture of studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom apartments to create stable housing for a broad range of people. This will provide much-needed housing for families and PCC students.
  • Offer on-site resident services. Our resident services team partners with families living in our 20 affordable housing communities to maintain their homes and build economic security for the long-term. Residents will also have access to on-site property management, a community room, spaces for socialization and gathering, laundry, bike storage, and a central outdoor courtyard with a play area for children.
  • Reserve 20 units for Project-Based Section 8 rental assistance vouchers from HUD and Home Forward. These apartment homes are for households making 30% or less of the AMI.

On May 15th, 2025, Our Just Future gathered with funding and community partners and supporters of affordable housing to celebrate the groundbreaking of this critical housing development in East Portland.

We thank our partners and collaborators for helping to bring Legin Commons to life.

FINANCE PARTNERS

DEVELOPMENT TEAM

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Location & Name

The Legin Commons community will be situated in the Montavilla neighborhood of SE Portland on a 1.6-acre parcel of land located at SE 77th and SE Division. The site is two blocks from a frequent service bus stop that connects Gresham to downtown Portland and two blocks from 82nd Avenue, with bus stops connecting Clackamas to North Portland. A MAX Green Line station is a mile away along with schools, grocery stores, and restaurants accessible by bus or foot, including culturally-specific grocery stores. The community is within walking distance of Mt. Tabor Park, with outdoor recreation space and frequent community events.

The neighborhood has a population that is predominantly comprised of folks with Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry. The site was previously home to Legin, one of the first Chinese restaurants on Portland’s east side. Legin was a beloved fixture of community life and civic infrastructure for the Asian and Asian American communities that grew around 82nd Avenue after being displaced from the city center. The space held community meetings, social events, and other gatherings. After Legin restaurant closed in 2012, the property became a Kaiser health facility for several years until PCC purchased it.

In 2021, PCC approached OJF to help redevelop the site into affordable housing. OJF, in turn, approached APANO to co-develop the housing to restore a community asset that aligns with the Jade District Neighborhood Plan.

Community Need

According to Metro, a regional government, greater Portland is roughly 48,000 homes short of the current demand. With inflation driving up the cost of basic needs and rents rising at faster rates than incomes, this problem has only been exacerbated in the last few years. OJF is committed to housing and economic justice and strives to add to the affordable housing stock of East Portland—a traditionally underserved area of Multnomah County—to benefit our community.

Development Timeline

Our Just Future closed on the Legin Commons project in December and groundbreaking has begun as of January 2025. Construction is estimated to take 18 months. The building will be ready for occupancy in 2026.

Partnerships:

OJF is working closely with several partners to develop this new affordable housing community:

  1. Our chief partner for this project is APANO, a local advocacy organization whose mission is to unite Asians and Pacific Islanders to build power, develop leaders, and advance equity through organizing, advocacy, community development, and cultural work. They have been ensuring that we are responsive to the needs of the community. APANO will work with other culturally specific organizations like IRCO, AYCO, Latino Network, NAYA, and Urban League to market in their communities.
  2. A community advisory committee comprised of stakeholders who represent future residents—including Community Vision, AYCO, IRCO, Rose CDC, The Jade District, and PCC—is providing input during the design process. We sought input from OJF’s Resident Advisory Committee to ensure that voices of affordable housing residents were included in the design and development process.
  3. Portland Community College will lease the land to OJF under a long-term land lease.
  4. Edlen & Co is our development consultant. They are a mission-driven real estate investment, development, and asset management firm with whom we have worked to create several affordable housing communities, most recently The Nick Fish community in the Gateway neighborhood.
  5. Bora Architects is providing architectural and design services and Understory Landscape Architecture is doing site and landscaping design. The engineering team is PAE, Vega Civil Engineering, Valar Consulting Engineering, and LMC.
  6. Financing partners include Oregon Housing and Community Services, Portland Housing Bureau, Portland Clean Energy Fund, HUD, and Energy Trust of Oregon. The team will select tax credit investor(s) and construction and permanent debt providers in early 2024.

For more information about this project, including site selection and environmental impact to the area, please visit this article by the City of Portland.