New North Portland development aims to repair harms of urban renewal

Published 10:55 am Sunday, March 2, 2025

A long-vacant block on Portland’s North Russell Street and Williams Avenue, which was once one of the epicenters of a thriving Black community, will finally house people once again.

The corner was razed in the early 1970s as part of an urban renewal project to make way for a hospital expansion that never occurred. The proposed expansion of what was then Emanuel Hospital led to the demolition of more than 300 homes and businesses in the predominantly Black neighborhood.

Today, about 50 years later, construction will begin on a new development there with an 85-unit apartment building, 20 single-family homes and office and retail space for Black-owned businesses. The project is expected to be finished by 2028.

The groundbreaking comes nearly a decade after Legacy Health agreed to hand over the property for development. In 2017, the city’s urban renewal agency, Legacy Health and then-Mayor Ted Wheeler announced a project to develop the property.