Avesta Housing hopes to buy the Winchester Woods complex in Portland, depicted in a rendering above, to provide housing for asylum-seeking families. Photo contributed by Avesta Housing
A proposal to create 48 units of new housing for asylum seekers in Portland might still be in the works even though Avesta Housing said last month that it didn’t have the resources to move forward.
Avesta had been planning to purchase the Winchester Woods development, which already is under construction in the city’s East Deering neighborhood, to house asylum seekers, but said at the end of December that it had decided not to move ahead with the project.
Avesta had sought $5 million from the city of Portland as part of its plan to fund the project and the council was scheduled to take up the request at a meeting Wednesday.
Interim City Manager Danielle West said Wednesday that she and Mayor Kate Snyder discussed the project with Avesta’s president and CEO this week.
“They are moving forward and would like to continue to look at restructuring this specific deal, so they have requested that we move to postpone this item,” West told city councilors during a meeting Wednesday night.
Avesta staff did not respond to phone messages and emails on Thursday seeking more information about the project’s status.
Winchester Woods Developer Kevin O’Rourke said he has granted Avesta another extension to finalize the purchasing contract until after the council’s Feb. 6 meeting and he suspects the agency might be trying to work out certain conditions with the city and other funding sources. He said he expects the project to be completed by April, although some units may be ready for occupancy sooner.
The council voted 9-0 to postpone action on the funding request to its first meeting in February.
The Winchester Woods development is under construction in Portland’s East Deering neighborhood. Staff photo by Rachel Ohm.
Councilor Regina Phillips, who had pushed for the council to take up the funding at the end of December, was glad to see the project coming back to the council.
“I just know over the last two weeks there was a ton of work put into this,” Phillips said. “I appreciate all of the work. We all know housing is extremely important, and we don’t want to give up any housing.”
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