The Aurora: New Housing Now in Rosewood
Renderings for SE 160th and Stark
Project Overview
The new Rosewood neighborhood affordable housing community will provide 93 units of affordable housing in East Portland. This development is both a short- and long-term strategy to counter displacement, and will provide stable, affordable housing for vulnerable people and communities of color before displacement occurs.
- 93 Affordable Apartments: This includes a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for people making 30% and 60% of the area median income.
- 16 Permanent Supportive Housing Units: These are designed to help people transition out of homelessness, offering wraparound services to help keep people housed.
- Wraparound Services: LifeWorks NW and Our Just Future will provide a range of on-site services, like behavioral and mental health counseling, along with connections to other providers to meet residents’ specific needs.
- Resident Amenities: Residents will have free high-speed internet access in every apartment and throughout the building, a multi-use community room for activities and events, lobby lounge space, indoor play area, laundry room, outdoor play area and courtyard, and 27 off-street parking spaces.
Resident Services and Programming Offered
- Information and Resource Referrals: Staff will provide info about on-site community events, connections to Our Just Future programs, and assist residents in applying for programs like food stamps, TANF, unemployment benefits, SSI and SSID, Head Start, and OHP/Medicaid.
- Eviction Prevention: Staff can actively provide community resources, utility assistance, mediation services, supplies to pass inspections, and access to Rent Payment Accommodation Program or client assistance funds.
- Enhanced Mental Health and Addition Services: Residents who receive their health benefits through OHP will have access to Lifeworks Northwest’s mental health and addiction treatment services through the on-site Qualified Mental Health Practitioner.
- Community Engagement: On-site community events for adult and children allow residents to come together to share in a communal meal, meet each other, and get to know the staff.
Examples of Additional Resident Services
Residents can access a range of other services that Our Just Future offers all our residents. These are some examples of resources residents can tap into.
- LearnLinks: Free-of-charge, year-round after-school and summer program engages children in kindergarten through 8th grade.
- Incredible Year’s Parenting Classes: An evidenced-based 14-week curriculum helps parents cope with their children’s behavioral needs, with an emphasis on how to prevent, reduce, and treat behavior and emotional problems in different age groups.
Renderings for SE 160th and Stark
Project Development Team
- Developer: Our Just Future and Edlen & Co.
- Service Providers: LifeWorks NW and Our Just Future
- Architect: Holst Architecture
- Contractor: Colas Construction
Project Timeline
- Start construction: June 2021
- Leasing starts: Spring 2023
- Construction completion: Spring 2023
Funding Partners
Portland Housing Bureau, Oregon Housing and Community Services, PNC Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Metro, Multnomah County, Meyer Memorial Trust, Collins Foundation, Sweigert Foundation, Enterprise Community Partners
Documents
Other Resources
- The Rosewood Initiative
- Safer Outer Stark
- Nearby transit: MAX blue line, bus route 20 (Burnside/Stark), and bus route 74 (162nd Ave)
How to Reach Us
- Leave us a message at (503) 548-0222
- Email us at rosewoodhousing@ourjustfuture.org
- Interested applicants can visit here to learn more and apply.
Construction Progress
History and Community
Acknowledging Indigenous History is Essential
What we now call Portland and Multnomah County span the traditional lands of the Multnomah, Wasco, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Cowlitz, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla and many other Tribes and Bands who have long made their homes along the Columbia River. Today, people from these Tribes and Bands are members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, as well as the Chinook Nation and Cowlitz Nation in Washington State.
We do not know the specific historical uses of this land, but acknowledge that it was taken forcibly by white colonizers from Indigenous peoples. We also acknowledge the ongoing trauma on the people whose ancestors stewarded this land, and we invite conversation about the Indigenous history of the land and our role in it today.
More Recent History of the Land
Since this land’s colonization, others have occupied and used it. East Portland, including Rosewood, was annexed by the City of Portland in the 1980s and 1990s. Before that, it was part of unincorporated Multnomah County.
We only know some of this site’s history (single-family homes, many types of trees, a commercial restaurant), but are actively seeking a deeper historical understanding. If you have information about this site’s history, please reach out to us at rosewoodhousing@ourjustfuture.org or (503) 548-0222.
Our Just Future’s Engagement with this Land
Our Just Future (formely known as Human Solutions) purchased the land and vacant building at 160th and SE Stark in 2015 in partnership with Multnomah County and the Housing Development Center. Our goal from the beginning was to build permanent affordable housing within a decade. Initially, we operated an emergency shelter for families experiencing homelessness on the site. In 2018 we relocated that shelter, and many of the residents have since entered their own permanent housing – two accomplishments that helped us get ready to add this new affordable housing community to the Rosewood neighborhood.
East Portland’s Rosewood Neighborhood
According to The Rosewood Initiative, the neighborhood is the area within walking distance, or about a half mile radius, from the MAX light rail station at 162nd Ave and Burnside on the border of Portland and Gresham. The boundaries of the neighborhood are not formal, but rather recognize how Rosewood residents experience their lives. The area is home to more than 14,000 people from all over the world: people who are strong, resilient, talented, inspiring and full of dreams and potential. Rosewood is one of the most multicultural neighborhoods in Multnomah County, rich with diversity: 28% of residents were born in other countries, and the students in local schools speak 28 different languages.
Some Challenges
In general, Rosewood has a high concentration of poverty, and, as a result, many families are struggling to meet their basic needs, including housing. Almost 60% of the households have low incomes, earning less than 80% of the area median. Rosewood residents are vulnerable to displacement from even minor increases in housing costs, too often resulting in a loss of community and rooted connections for immigrants, communities of color and their children. Although rent in Rosewood remains lower than in close-in neighborhoods, the neighborhood has seen steep rent increases and the supply of affordable housing diminish in recent years.
Call for Community Historians
If you have information about this land’s history, we welcome you reaching out to us: (503) 548-0222 or rosewoodhousing@ourjustfuture.org.