Lents Urban Renewal – Some progress toward reporting results

News Article
Audit Update Image - Photo of Willamette River and Downtown Portland Skyline
We found Prosper Portland and the Portland Housing Bureau are making some progress towards implementing our recommendations from an audit in 2020, "Lents Urban Renewal: 20 years of investment with minimal evaluation."
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Our 2020 audit found that Prosper Portland’s and the Housing Bureau’s investments in Lents had mixed results when compared against the City’s ambitious goals. Prosper Portland had not comprehensively assessed or reported how its investments – totaling more than $200 million since 2001 – changed Lents.


Recommendation Status: In Process

Prosper Portland and Housing took steps to improve reporting, but pandemic put some work on hold

We recommended that Prosper Portland begin and the Housing Bureau continue to periodically measure economic results for the goals they set, update goals as needed, and report progress to the public.

In the past year, the bureaus took some steps to meet our audit recommendation but stressed that they do not expect their programs to affect broad economic results.

Prosper postponed the reevaluation of goals and economic analysis to prioritize emergency relief to businesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Prosper is now seeking a contractor to begin in Fiscal Year 2021-22 to provide regular updates on economic indicators at the city and neighborhood level. The agency plans to engage with Lents stakeholders in summer 2021 to determine future priorities.

Prosper and Housing published a Lents Five Year Action Plan Close-Out Report and presented it to various groups before the shutdown began in 2020.

Visit our website to view the original 2020 audit report.

Contact

Minh Dan Vuong

Principal Performance Auditor

Neighborhood