A PRIVATE MARKET SOLUTION TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS COMMISSIONED BY MR. FARAHOUD

Transcription

1 A PRIVATE MARKET SOLUTION TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS COMMISSIONED BY MR. FARAHOUD

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Mission Statement 2. Case Study, Floor Plans 3. Costs 4.History 5. Sustainability and Jobs 6. Closing and Contacts

3 MISSION STATEMENT Objective: Amend the City of Portland s building codes to increase the stock of affordable housing, by laying out clear guidelines how to safely modify existing apartment buildings to create efficient, affordable housing without drawing on public funds. Background: Mr. Farhoud s Stark Fir Development operates apartment buildings in South East Portland. Near 160 th and Stark. He has provided affordable housing for 25 years. His agency contacts include Human Solutions, Veterans Affairs (VA), DHS, Parole and Probation for Multnomah County and many more. Mr. Farhoud commissioned this document after he read two interesting policy papers written here in Portland. The first document, the Point in Time Report, was written by the City of Portland and makes clear that solutions addressing homelessness in this city must include tapping market forces. The second document, written by Multnomah County, similarly suggested that solutions [to housing problems in the County] include an overhaul of City of Portland housing code, the tapping of market forces, and create incentives. Clearly, there is clearly a tremendous unmet demand for affordable housing in the City of Portland. Just as clear is that private enterprise needs to be part of the solution. Yet when it comes to one way private enterprise can help by modifying existing apartments to create safe, affordable housing -- the City of Portland currently lacks the code provisions that would help encourage the investment needed.

4 FLOOR PLANS A Case In Point: The Rosewood apartment building in South East Portland. The Rosewood is near 160 th and Stark. The drawing shows an existing apartment at the Rosewood. One plan is an existing 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment. The adjacent plan is modified, and has two 1-bedroom apartments, each with its own bath and kitchen. New apartments cost 70, ,000, the modifications in these drawings cost 10,000. The Benefits: Are major, and include at least the following: Increase stock of affordable housing Quick time turnaround for completion Cost is a fraction of new development Modifying existing apartments creates opportunity all over the City, without building new structures. Sustainability, reduce, reuse, recycle, is always the best. Existing 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath apt. Modified (2) 1 Bedroom apts.

5 COSTS Project Cost Walls/Demo/ Doors Plumbing/ Electrical Materials/ Misc. $3,500" $2,500" $3,500" TOTAL $9,500 City Department SDC & Fees Parks $5,632 Transportation (cars) Transportation (sidewalks) $1,769 $2,850 Building Permit $2,000 TOTAL $11,251 Using the Rosewood: As an example, here are the System Development charges (SDC), permit fees, and construction costs for this particular project. The Plumbing SDC fees is 0 dollars because no new plumbing fixtures will be added. Transportation and Parks SDC fees could use the Plumbing SDC fee model as an example. The Plumbing SDC provides for existing conditions. Installing provisions in the SDC fee system for apartment modifications is similar to the current, very successful system, for Accessory Dwelling units. SDC fees have been suspended and the construction has skyrocketed of ADUs. The same thing will happen in existing multi-family housing. When policy promotes construction, affordable housing will increase.

6 HISTORY During WWII the ship building industry in Portland created a huge demand for affordable housing. The City leaders wrote the War Codes, to create affordable, safe, and code compliant housing. War codes According to ENB codes these codes were implemented to respond to the demand for housing to support the growing ship building industry. a=81890&c=38601 Currently Accessory Dwelling Units, (ADU) have created more jobs, more permit activity, greater urban density and is an excellent source of supplemental income for Portland homeowners. Accessory Dwelling Unit Policies and Success - Prior to the Department of Planning and Sustainability promoting ADU construction very few ADU s were built in Portland - After SDC fees were modernized, hundreds of ADUs have been built, and many more will be built in the future

7 SUSTAINABILITY AND JOBS Why build new apartments when the existing stock of buildings can be modified for current use? Previous proposals call for massive new construction, an unnecessary addition to a city with the capacity to upgrade its current stock and reduce its environmental impact. Environmental benefits from building reuse It can take 80 years for a new building to overcome the negative impacts of the construction process. sustainable-communities/green-lab/lca/ The_Greenest_Building_lowres.pdf If we were to retrofit our entire building stock, the U.S. could achieve efficiency gains up to 50% and reduce green house gas emissions by 25% The apartments will be in proximity to transportation infrastructure which can support and aid low-income workers. Modifying existing stock to increase density allows low-income services access to their patients and customers. Creatively retrofitting buildings for better and more efficient use is becoming common place, yet there has been little incentive to expand these projects by the city. Creating affordable housing, creates jobs, and improves peoples lives. And that is the most important point, especially if you do not have a home.

8 CLOSING & CONTACT Closing: Sustainability and affordable housing are most easily achieved by using our existing multi-family building stock. Mr. Farhoud s goal for this document is very clear. In the mission statement it says Amend the City Code in order to create more affordable housing using our existing building stock. The City of Portland is currently discussing the suspension of SDC fees to help improve economic opportunities in Chinatown. After the success with the ADU program, and the discussion about Chinatown, it is obvious that existing multi-family buildings could benefit from modifying amendments to city polices. Mr Farhoud would like to move this beyond discussion and create the necessary policy. Please provide feedback via , phone, or even carrier pigeon, but please led a voice to the policy amendments, as they pass your way. Respectfully Contacts: Stark Fir Development inc. Moe Farhoud moefarhoud@hotmail.com Architect: ahha architecture llc Raphael A. Goodblatt 615 SE Alder St Portland Or, raphael@ahha-architecture.com