St. Francis Affordable Housing Development Visioning
Portland, OR · 2021
Client: Catholic Charities of Oregon
Location: Portland, OR
Year: 2021
CP Role: Lead consultant
Practice Area: Visioning + Long-Range Planning
Team: Irene Kim, Principal-in-Charge and Project Manager; Lydia Ness, Engagement and Visioning; Ayano Healy, Project Staff
The Challenge
Catholic Charities of Oregon planned permanent supportive housing on the St. Francis site in a dense, mixed-use part of inner Southeast Portland. The city's housing and homelessness crisis had strained relations between service providers and nearby residents and businesses.
Our Approach
We ran a site-specific visioning process. We convened an advisory committee of residents, businesses, service providers, mental-health advocates, and developers. We held focus groups with affordable-housing residents, people experiencing homelessness, and property and business owners to learn what stands in the way of stable housing and what on-site health and wellness services people need. The process set shared values and long-term uses that fit Catholic Charities' Healthy Housing Initiative.
Outcome
The visioning informed a broader community process and gave Catholic Charities clear next steps on programming. Now named Francis + Clare Place, the building broke ground in September 2023 to provide 61 permanent supportive homes, with culturally responsive services from the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest (NARA) and AfroVillage.
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