Portland real estate moguls support push for more homeless shelters
The political committee formed to fund a Portland-area ballot measure campaign to redirect most regional homelessness tax revenue to emergency shelters has received its biggest donations from real estate developers and investors.
Newly formed downtown Portland lobbying group People for Portland wants county governments to have to spend 75% of the tax proceeds to create more temporary emergency homeless shelters instead of on rental assistance, mental health services and other services to keep people housed.
It disclosed Tuesday that it has created a political committee Everyone Deserves Safe Shelter and that wealthy developers and investors have seeded it with $320,000 to fund signature-gathering, their proposed measure should be approved to move forward.
Portland-based real estate developer Killian Pacific, Seattle-based real estate investment firm Harmony Capital Investments and The Singer Family LLC, a Portland-based real estate developer known for owning a large swath of buildings along Northwest 23rd Avenue, each gave $50,000.
Five other donors also gave more than $10,000. Almost every donor is a real estate developer, broker or investor either in Portland or within the Pacific Northwest.
People for Portland formed to criticize how Portland-area governments have handled homelessness, trash and public safety and is behind the proposed ballot measure. As written, the proposed measure would also require local governments to enforce any anti-camping laws on their books.
Metro’s legal team has twice rejected the proposal as ineligible for the ballot, a decision People for Portland is challenging in court.
In a statement April 15, the day the group filed its legal appeal, it said, “We are confident in an independent review of the proposed initiative will result in restoring the people’s right to have a voice in their government.”
Ballot initiative experts project that it will likely cost $500,000 to gather enough signatures in the tri-county area to put the measure on the fall ballot.
Donors appear well on their way to contributing that much.
NBP Capital, which gave $40,000, is the Portland and LA-based real estate developer and investment company responsible for building the Multnomah County Courthouse and a handful new apartment complexes and hotels in Portland.
Downtown Development Group, which gave over $26,000, is owned by the Goodman Family which has been a big People for Portland supporter from the start. The company owns a large chunk of residential, industrial, retail and office space in the city’s central business district.
Gregory Specht, who owns a Portland-based real estate development company named after himself, gave $25,000.
Apex Real Estate Partners, which gave $20,000, is a Portland-based commercial real estate brokerage firm whose previous clients include the city of Portland, Prosper Portland and the Port of Portland, among other local government and education clients.
MRA Investment which gave $15,000, is based in Portland’s Old Town and handles residential and commercial property management.
Nicole Hayden reports on homelessness for The Oregonian/OregonLive. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Nicole_A_Hayden.