KOIN 6 News and the Portland Tribune are media partners.
PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) – A record high five projects funded by the Portland Affordable Housing Bond opened in 2022. The two most recent ones are the Las Adelitas in the Cully Neighborhood and The Starlight in Old Town. Together, they offer 242 units of below market rate housing, including 88 with permanent supportive housing services to help keep the chronically homeless housed.
The Las Adelitas transforms the block in Northeast Portland once occupied by the “Sugar Shack” neighborhood eyesore strip club. The four-story apartment complex includes 142 units ranging from studios to three bedrooms, which are suitable for larger families. One-third of the units serve those earning below 30% of area median income, including 18 with supportive services supported by Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare.
The first tenants moved in at the end of December. A grand opening will be held in March.
Las Adelitas was developed by the Hacienda CDC, a nonprofit providing housing and other services to lower income young people and families. Among other community amenities, the project provides an event hall, a classroom space dedicated to Hacienda’s Portland Niños program for children up to 5 years of age, a central plaza, and open spaces for people to gather and play.
“It’s been a community effort from the start, and I’m proud about what we’ve been able to accomplish,” said Hacienda CDC Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Fonseca. The project cost $58 million, with $15 million coming from the Portland Housing Bureau. Other partners include: Salazar Architect, architect; LMC, general contractor; and Familias En Acción, services.
A parcel at the eastern edge of the property will be developed into commercial space, Fonseca said.
The most recent project to open before that was The Starlight, which offers 100 units of deeply affordable housing, 70 of which include permanent housing services. It is located at 355 N.W. Sixth Ave. The project cost $33 million, with $11 million coming from the bond approved by Portland voters in 2016.
The four-story Las Adelitas affordable housing project transformed the former “Sugar Shack” neighborhood eyesore strip club site. January 17, 2023 (Courtesy Hacienda CDC). 
The 100-room Starlight apartments was one of five affordable housing projects partly funded by the Portland housing bond to open in 2022. January 17, 2023 (Courtesy rendering Central City Concern).
“Projects like The Starlight, which provides 100 units of deeply affordable homes for individuals exiting homelessness in Old Town, fill a vital role in our streets-to-housing continuum and our commitment to ending chronic homelessness in our city. The 70 units (of permanent housing services) at the Starlight further our commitment to this community to create 2,000 new units of PSH for our neighbors experiencing chronic homelessness by 2028,” Portland Commissioner Dan Ryan said when it opened.
The project was developed by Central City Concern, a nonprofit social service and housing provider that has been helping the homeless leave the streets since 1979.
“Being stably housed sets the foundation for folks to successfully engage in their journey of healing and recovery,” said Andy Mendenhall, president and CEO of Central City Concern. “Getting folks inside is protective to each individual housed, every community member and to businesses who are the drivers of our regional economy.”
The Starlight features studio and one-bedroom apartments, with eight units dedicated for residents who make less than 60% of the area median income (AMI), 22 units for those making under 30% AMI, and 70 units for those experiencing chronic homelessness.
Ground floor commercial spaces will feature a residential artist workshop along with neighborhood retail shops.
Central City Concern is partnering with its Imani Center, Karibu and Flip the Script, as well as the Native American Rehabilitation Association, to create culturally specific wrap-around resources for people who identify as Native or African American.
Walsh Construction Co., Works Progress Architecture and GLI Advisors also were on the project team. Construction began May 2021.
The four-story project transforms the former “Sugar Shack” neighborhood eyesore strip club site. It has been developed into an apartment complex with units ranging from studios to three bedrooms, which are suitable for larger families. One-third of the units serve those earning below 30% of area median income, including those with supportive services supported by Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare.
The first tenants moved in at the end of December. A grand opening will be help in March.
Las Adelitas was developed by the Hacienda CDC, a nonprofit providing housing and other services to lower income young people and families. Among other community amenities, the project provides an event hall, a classroom space dedicated to Hacienda’s Portland Niños program for children up to 5 years of age, a central plaza, and open space for people to gather and play.
“It’s been a community effort from the start, and I’m proud about what we’ve been able to accomplish,” said Hacienda CDC Chief Executive Officer Ernesto Fonseca. The project cost $58 million, with $15 million coming from the Portland Housing Bureau. Other partners include: Salazar Architect, architect; LMC, general contractor; and Familias En Acción, services.
A parcel at the eastern edge of the property will be developed into commercial space, Fonseca said.