Oregon Business Overview

Housing Designed Affordable and Green

A groundbreaking celebration took place May 16 for one of the few apartment buildings in the U.S. that is both green and affordable.

The Shaver Green Building will be built on what once was a blighted piece of commercial property at 4011 N.E. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd.

In the place of old, rusting appliances and an unsightly used-appliance store, a modern six-story building will rise from the property to serve 85 individuals and families. Occupants of the new building must earn at or below 60 percent of the county's two-person household median income of $32,580.

The most unique aspect is that the developer of Shaver Green will strive for either gold or platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification while meeting Housing and Urban Development income level requirements.

"Very few if any residential developments in the U.S. offer buildings that are sustainable, innovative and also accessible to those meeting minimum income standards," said developer Amstrong Stafford

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Metro: Urban Growth Boundary to change in 2010

The Portland area’s population is likely to grow by 1.3 million to 1.9 million over the next 50 years, according to a new Metro study.

The 50-year projections, required by a 2007 state law, kick off a two-year drive to recast the future shape and density of the urbanized area. Next year, Metro will use the data to help designate future sites for urban development and set aside other rural parcels for preservation.

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Economist says state recession ‘debatable’

Oregon’s economy is still outperforming the rest of the country’s, but has worsened enough that it’s now debatable whether it will follow the nation into a recession, the state economist reported Thursday.

That warning represented a departure from State Economist Tom Potiowsky’s forecast in February, when he said Oregon was clearly not receding. Potiowsky wouldn’t say whether Oregon’s economy is in recession, but he acknowledged that the point could be argued, given newer worries about housing, fuel prices and job growth.