Portland Housing Bureau details production strategy and preservation risks; bureau warns rising costs threaten existing affordable units

The Portland Housing Bureau (PHB) presented a multi-part briefing on April 22 that covered the bureau’s housing production strategy, near-term actions funded by federal grants, and a preservation-focused deep dive that warned hundreds of regulated affordable units are at risk in the coming 6–18 months.

PHB Director Helmi Hisrick summarized accomplishments and near-term steps: the city supported six new tax-increment financing (TIF) districts in 2024, and under the bureau’s current policy the affordable-housing set-aside will direct a substantial portion of TIF proceeds toward housing in those districts. Hisrick said the bureau raised grant funds in 2024 — PHB reported $20 million in grants to implement production-strategy programs, including approximately $7 million in federal ‘pro housing’ grants to support specific actions.

Danelle Norby, housing investment manager, outlined preservation risks. PHB reported there are about 24,000 regulated affordable rental units in Portland and that roughly 400 buildings (about 17,900 units) carry city affordability restrictions. Norby said the sector faces three urgent challenges: operating shortfalls driven by expense growth, deferred capital needs, and expiring regulatory agreements that could lead to conversions to market rate.

Norby told the committee that operating expenses grew faster than rent-restricted income between 2019 and 2023 — she cited a roughly 7.1% average annual growth in operating costs for properties in PHB’s portfolio during that period, versus pre‑COVID underwriting assumptions of about 3% annual increases — and that many nonprofit sponsors have deployed organizational reserves to keep projects afloat. PHB said it expects to make preservation-focused capital funds available in the near term and has allocated grant dollars for rehabilitation work; the bureau identified a watch list of at‑risk projects and said it will prioritize acquisitions and rehab where possible.

Brianne DeDecker, manager of the Rental Services Office, presented renter demographics and service activity: median renter income in Portland is markedly lower than homeowner income, housing cost burden is increasing, and eviction filings escalated after pandemic-era protections and rental‑assistance dollars ended; PHB-funded eviction-legal-defense efforts served nearly 3,000 households from program launch through late 2024.

Committee members asked for follow-up on several points: verification of grant figures and leverage claims, how PHB will allocate preservation funding, strategies to reduce vacancies in newly constructed subsidized units (the bureau cited a mismatch between restricted rents at 60% AMI and many renter incomes), and supports to strengthen property-management capacity across the affordable-housing sector.