The Reconnecting Albina Planning Project kicks off

News Article
Aerial view of Lower Albina neighborhood
A collaborative initiative to create restorative urban development strategies to support a more connected, accessible, sustainable, vibrant, and thriving neighborhood.
Published

A well-attended City Council hearing on July 31 kicked off the project. A resolution was adopted by City Council, affirming the City’s commitment to a partnership with Albina Vision Trust (AVT) and multiple City objectives for the Lower Albina area including: establishing a reconnected and thriving neighborhood district that promotes wealth building and inclusive economic development, vibrant regional entertainment venues and multimodal local and regional transportation. An ordinance was adopted which authorizes the City of Portland to accept an $800,000 U.S. Department of Transportation Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program planning grant.

About the project

The Reconnecting Albina Planning Project is a two-year project involving the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS), Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), and Prosper Portland, in partnership with AVT, to create urban development strategies for Lower Albina, Lloyd, and Rose Quarter areas. These strategies will foster equitable, sustainable outcomes and restorative development for Portland’s historic Albina and Black communities. The collaborative effort will also:

  • Look at how the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project (I5RQIP) planned highway cover can be integrated into the broader area to reconnect local streets.
  • Create new opportunities for future urban development, economic development, and public open space on top of the highway cover.
  • Build on and coordinate with several key initiatives, such as the Albina Vision Trust Community Investment Plan (AVTCIP) and the Broadway Main Street project.

Give your input: Pin it, Portland

To learn more about what community members envision for the future of the Albina area, BPS and partners created the Pin It, Portland mapping tool. People can select or “pin” a place on the map of the focus area and choose from a menu what kind of service, amenity, feature, etc. they’d like to see there in the future. AVT and City partners will use that information from the community to determine what assets, opportunities and issues in the Lower Albina area they should focus on.

Provide Input: Pin it, Portland: Reconnecting Albina Planning Project

For more information