Habitat presents Cary Boulevard naming recommendations; committee raises alternatives and timeline

Habitat for Humanity’s naming work group presented two recommended names for the Cary Boulevard development and asked the Portland Housing Bureau oversight committee for feedback, saying the group plans to select a final name in early June ahead of a planned land transfer later in the month.

Annette Prank, community development manager, told the committee the naming work group used racial equity filters and community engagement to develop options, and that the group leaned away from defaulting to street-based names. “We are starting small and we acknowledge that the best ideas come from unsuspecting places, so we engage with curiosity,” Prank said. She described the work group as an advisory body convened in fall 2023 and noted it includes people with lived experience of housing instability who guided the naming process.

The work group presented two recommendations: Redwood Bluffs and a concept they called CHU North (drawn from community survey concepts including “True North”). Prank said the committee’s map shows “an ancient redwood tree” on the property and that the site sits on bluffs by the Willamette River, which informed the “Redwood Bluffs” suggestion. She also reported that Paul Knowles was the single most-nominated individual name in community engagement but that some survey and workshop participants preferred concept-based names rather than naming the site after a person.

Committee members offered several reactions during the discussion. Sheila Holden said she has a bias toward naming after Paul Knowles but respected the process that produced the recommended names. “Those are the names that the committee of residents … has suggested. I support the process by which you’ve selected those names,” Holden said. Another committee member proposed Reverend James Coleman as an additional person-based option; a different participant joked in favor of naming the site after himself. Several committee members asked about the diversity of the naming council and encouraged the work group to ensure the council reflects community demographics.

Prank said the naming group aims to finalize a name by early June, with a decision and attorney review to confirm name availability and to reserve the name before land transfer; she gave a current timeline marker of June 25 for the land transfer. She invited committee members to submit further comments before the decision point and provided contact information for herself and Erin Maxey, the Portland Housing Bureau director.

The presentation also described Habitat’s broader naming work and examples of prior decisions: "Gooseberry Trails," chosen to acknowledge native plant life and a trail system on a southwest Portland site, and “Myrtlewood Way,” named to honor the myrtlewood tree at a Gresham site. Prank said those choices grew from efforts to use culturally grounded and nature-based names rather than defaulting to street names.

The committee did not take a formal vote on a name at the meeting; Prank requested feedback and signaled the work group would consult attorneys about availability and reservation after a final decision.

Clarifying details included that the naming work group was formed in fall 2023, Habitat contracted Camille Trummer for community engagement on Cary Boulevard and launched outreach in January 2024 with a May survey and July in-person design workshops, and that the site decision timeline targets early June with land transfer around June 25. Prank also noted prior Habitat projects referenced for naming context and the advisory role of a Habitat Homeowner Leadership Council.