On Thursday, Dec 1, 2022 Central City Concern (CCC) was thrilled to celebrate the Grand Opening of the Starlight! Our sincere thanks to Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury for emceeing this joyous celebration. We couldn’t have been more proud to host her, as well as Commissioner Dan Ryan, Howard Weiner of Cal Skate, the Portland Interfaith Gospel Choir, and p:ear as well as Everett Station Lofts who curated a pop-up art gallery for us!
This new construction project was acquired by the City of Portland in 2018. It sits on the previous location of The Westwind, which stood for over 100 years in Portland’s historic Old Town District. CCC won the re-development award for the Starlight and broke ground in May 2021.
A new beginning
CCC led a ground-up re-development which added 30 new units, for 100 deeply affordable homes, including a mix of studio and single-room occupancy homes whose design was informed by CCC residents and our architect. The Starlight moves CCC forward in our mission of serving the most vulnerable in our community by providing 100 new homes, 70 of which will provide permanent supportive housing for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. The remaining units will be for community members with limited incomes. The $33 million project offers a mix of homes; eight units will be home to residents earning under 50% of Area Median Income (AMI), twenty-two units for residents earning under 30% AMI, and seventy of the units will provide permanent supportive housing for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. CCC is partnering with the Native American Rehabilitation Association and CCC’s Imani Center, Karibu and Flip the Script to offer culturally specific programming for Native and African American individuals.
Located on the MAX line, the seven-story building features a fitness room, on-site laundry, flexible classroom space, secured bike parking, resident lounges on every floor and on-site staff office space. It also features resident art space, ground floor corner commercial space, a private landscaped courtyard with a sunken garden. Future plans include a public-facing, food-focused retail partnership. The Starlight has achieved Earth Advantage Platinum rating and showcases a 40kW PV solar array on the roof, made possible by customers participating in PGE’s Green Future™ program.
The team
Our development team included Walsh Construction, Works Progress Architecture and GLI Advisors. Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services is providing long-term operating subsidies to fund ongoing supportive services as well as Project Based Section 8 vouchers, in partnership with Home Forward. Other project funding is provided by Portland Housing Bureau through the voter passed 2016 Portland Housing Bond, U S Bank, Energy Trust of Oregon and the PGE Renewable Development Fund.
The people of Portland have made a significant investment in the Starlight. In November 2016, Portland voters passed the city’s first-ever housing bond, dedicating $258.4 million to create permanently affordable homes across our city. The Starlight is part of this investment and is moving Portland forward, making progress toward meeting the diverse housing needs of our community.
Want to learn more about the Starlight, including the tenant selection plan and how to apply?
