Central City Concern (CCC) is excited to announce the appointment of Senior Director of Community Development Mary-Rain O’Meara to the City of Portland’s new Planning Commission!
As Portland continues to wrestle with the critical need to build more affordable housing and grow our city, the Planning Commission will play a central role in examining land use policies, zoning and code which will help increase housing production and address other development goals. Commissioners will review and propose urban design and land use regulations to City Council to achieve city-adopted goals for equitable growth and development with a climate justice lens.
Mary-Rain has been in the affordable housing and community development industry for over 13 years working for both public and nonprofit organizations. She joined CCC in 2018 to focus on the expansion and preservation of the agency’s diverse affordable housing and real estate portfolio.
A few of her significant accomplishments at CCC include oversight and development of the finance, design and construction of 870 units of rehabbed and new affordable housing units. The types of housing range from transitional, recovery, permanent supportive to workforce developments. Most recently, she oversaw the opening of the Starlight in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood, a 100-unit mixed use permanent supportive housing building which opened in December 2022, providing permanent and recovery housing. Next up? Meridian Gardens, an 85-unit permanent recovery housing building opening in 2024 in SE Portland.
Mary-Rain has served on the Old Town Community Association Board since 2019. She is a member of the Executive Committee and Co-Chairs the Land Use & Transportation Committee. In this role, Mary-Rain partners with a variety of stakeholders for advocacy, planning and community events for the neighborhood.
She joins her fellow nine-member commission to implement the City of Portland’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan, the Central City 2035 Plan and other land use plans.
Congrats Mary-Rain!
By combining housing with wraparound health services, providing jobs, and upgrading buildings with green technology, CCC’s programs are transforming neighborhoods and changing lives.
