PHB and N/NE Oversight Committee Present 2024 Annual Report to Housing & Homelessness Committee

Yesterday, the North/Northeast Oversight Committee and the Portland Housing Bureau joined the City Council's Housing & Permitting Committee to present the 2025 North/Northeast Neighborhood Housing Strategy Report, covering the tenth year of the implementation of the strategy.

The N/NE Neighborhood Housing Strategy was launched in 2014 as a community-led initiative to address historic gentrification and displacement in North and Northeast Portland, in large part due to City actions and eminent domain. The initial $20 million investment has since grown to $135 million, which has supported:

• 134 new homeowners
• 723 affordable rental units completed
• 242 rental units in development*
• 42 affordable home ownership units completed
• 78 affordable home ownership units in development
• 1,437 low-income households receiving home repair loans or grants

"A lot can happen in ten years," said Dr. Steven Holt, Chair of the N/NE Oversight Committee. "But the interesting thing is that through those ten years, the work of this committee hasn't changed. This committee has been absolutely dedicated to one thing and one thing only, and that's providing opportunities for people who don't necessarily get them."

The Strategy has been a topic of interest for municipalities and local governments across the country who see it as an innovative, restorative, and community-driven approach to addressing historic wrongs. Housing Bureau leadership has recently spoken with representatives of Tucson, San Jose, King County, WA, and more about Portland's approach. In particular, peer cities have praised the N/NE Preference Policy, which prioritizes applicants for affordable housing opportunities who have historic ties to the area.

"I remember the events that created this work," said Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney, whose district encompasses the N/NE Housing Strategy area. "And it's been incredible to watch it come to realization. I know there was a lot of concern that that initial commitment would fizzle, that even with an oversight body we wouldn't really see the results, and to see those numbers that are two, three, ten times the original goals, in terms of the outcomes, is incredible."

Read the report

*Includes two projects which have opened in 2026, totaling 137 units, and one project which was funded in early 2026 and is not reflected in the report, with 105 units.