Griefing & grafting. 😫 How much longer is the public going to buy into this "Affordable" housing scam? It's taxpayer funded for out of state developers and then subsidized by those same taxpayers that paid to have it built. 😥
This is a story as old as man has existed - in America - politics and real estate. One of the most eye opening books I read was The Power Broker by Robert Caro about Robert Moses.
The sad thing about most of the Portland (and American) voting (many do not vote) citizens is that they are easily fooled. The local media is huge in the marketing of lies. But also a certain political party which has partnered with the worst of the worst while marketing what they used to despise as virtuous.
Marketing the evil "Gentrification" into the virtuous "Affordable Housing."
And remarketing support for small businesses and farmers "No Farms No Food" into Climate Change destruction of those small businesses and farmers "No Water, No Chemicals, No Equipment, No Livestock - aka NO FARMS."
Yep it's local voters that in the end are the problem. We elected leaders who support this type of behavior. Until voting patterns change in Portland, this will continue.
I agree. People nationally are coming around, slowly. I don't see the same in Portland from the ethical, compassionate and rational party members. They cannot see there is no hope, for their party has sold out completely and is more corrupt than the same party who partnered with the Mob. And the same party who were the Confederates in the Civil War.
Maybe the party hasn't changed, they are just very good at marketing and remarketing. And they own the media and still partner with the most powerful individuals and corporations while pretending the opposite.
I used to be one of them. No longer now that I see.
And nothing changes. Maybe if they sued /fined / jailed the grifters things might get better. Also whoever is doling out the money with no strings attached and no follow up should be fired.
Jeff, wow such an amazing (and astounding) post. I hope this gets exposure and can make a difference in our deplorable public housing in Portland and stop the abuse of tax dollars. Unfortunately the "housing first" ideology here routinely places active drug users into public housing. This is the key ingredient in the disaster we have created. They continue to use and attract other users to their residences destroying the lives of others around them. Our taxpayer funded facilities are destroyed and no one cares. Just yesterday Julia Brimm-Edwards was bragging about attending an open house for yet another new taxpayer supported housing complex with Cultural Initiatives in SE Portland. Yet you can be sure there will be a lack of control and accountability when it comes to placing individuals into this housing. And if you want another example look no further than the Buri Building…"A $28 Million Low-Income Apartment Complex Descends Into Chaos in Just Two and a Half Years" https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/06/07/a-28-million-low-income-apartment-complex-descends-into-chaos-in-just-two-and-a-half-years/
"In 2018, that all changed. Beam Development decided to sell the property to a California developer specializing in properties designed for low-income renters, Community Development Partners, or CDP. In 2019, CDP petitioned the Oregon Housing and Community Services to further develop Milepost 5 as an affordable housing property in exchange for federal tax credits. Unfortunately, this meant that roughly 25 residents who had too high of an income for the units were evicted since their financial position didn’t coincide with affordable housing requirements. It is unclear if any of those evicted were compensated with moving expenses. "
Too high an income? No moving expenses? Cry me a fuckin' river.
It isn't government's business (looking at you, Sam Adams) to ensure that artists and musicians can live in the bohemian Portlandia lifestyle to which they were accustomed in 1994. Maybe grownups should have a better business plan for their lives than making "rent by playing a few gigs per month, selling a little weed, and giving blood at the local clinic." And maybe Milestone 5's crash illustrates the perils of subsidized housing. There's nothing like market-level rents to keep the brass doorknobs shiny and the roaches out of cereal boxes.
Now, whether Milepost 5 was housing retired Baptists or artistes, what happened under CDP's watch has been nothing short of a crime and an unforgivable scandal. It speaks volumes about the breakdown of law and order in Portland and the city’s neglect of code enforcement that Milepost 5 was allowed to devolve into a dangerous slum.
Where are those righteous DSA members on the city commission when you need them? They should be organizing their comrades to patrol the premises and invest some elbow grease in scrubbing and painting the place.
DSA members investing elbow grease? LOL…their ultimate aspiration is to get elected to $133,000 + part time "work" from home city council jobs. Several have now reached that pinnacle.
There is a mental disorder, if I recall correctly, in which the individual, in a condition similar to OCD, compulsively shops and spends money just for the enjoyment and dopamine-rush of the experience. Sadly, Portland and Oregon voters, led by their progressive politicians, suffer from a political form of this disorder. Their false sense of satisfaction makes them feel they are “doing good” just by spending their and others’ money. While it may relieve their guilty consciences in some way as well, it matters little whether the money does any good. It’s just the expenditures which matter, not the outcome.
And remember the cruel dog beating that occurred at the Louisa Flowers low income building? Public housing has become such a mess due to who they allow to live there….the "housing first" approach is failing us and especially the poor people who have to live next door to these drug addicted individuals.
..."a veritable McDonald’s drive-through for dangerous narcotics."
"It’s truly a disturbing model that hedge funds are investing in government sponsored housing apparently in order to receive government funds to raise their bottom line while people suffer in the housing they own and are supposed to service, all the while state agencies like OHCS, who are supposed to monitor these development companies, look the other way."
Only in America can 'high stakes grifters' treat the proletariat in this demeaning manner. :(
The homeless industrial complex and the housing scams that currently exist are downright depressing. Portland leaders need to understand that a city needs to make money to continue, or be sustainable, and land owners have a responsibility to maintain property, for safe housing. What is going to happen when we're looking at a 100 million dollar shortfall to the city budget? The issues in this city seem almost insurmountable. Ugh.
Its good things have improved but it seems like we have a pretty low bar. It's reported and witnessed to still have drug dealers in the building. I know they still have an ongoing roach issue. If the tenants aren't willing to allow entry that sounds like a community issue that should result in a cause eviction. They are compromising the standard of living for everyone else. I used to visit an older woman there when it was Baptist Manor and the building was always well taken care of. It's depressing how bad it is over there and it has really brought down the whole area.
As others have mentioned, it smells of a scam. 2 mil to buy and over 7 mil once sold off.... no incentive to maintain in between. Looks to me like a money making scheme without the desire to care for the impact of who is housed there.
I have to say that in some ways, I am disappointed by the one sided nature of this article. In the 2 years that I have lived here, there have been significant changes. The roof has been replaced. Electrical and plumbing upgrades have been made. The communal kitchens were updated. 16 bathrooms have been renovated. Roaches have been a battle but one that is being fought. (Much of the delays have been tenants who refused entry or wouldn't prepare) The boiler system was set up for remote starting in the event of a power outage, never again will I have ice on the inside of my window.
Am I completely happy with some of the new tenants being brought in? Not really, as we seem to have a new crop of loudly drunk or high tenants but many of them are really nice and out to get along.
I did property management for many years in Washington and can say from experience that you can never please everyone. One thing I can say is that when we as residents learn to communicate with each other, our odds of making the culture changes we want will become a reality.
Hi Beverly. Thank you for the perspective. I have visited the property recently, and it appears that things have gotten better. I also realize that you first arrived at the property around 26 months ago. I’ve heard that management was giving residents money off of rent if they gave positive reviews. There are several 4 and 5 star reviews on the MP5 website during what would have been the worst period of the property, around 2020 to 2022. There are multiple 1 star reviews on Google during this time complaining about the atrocious conditions.
If they were doing that, it was common knowledge. I did review them shortly after I moved in with a lower rating. Then after the security doors were put in and upgrades to the electrical and plumbing started, I updated it with that information.
My personal experiences from January 2023 until now have mostly been positive. Things that I had difficulty with have since been addressed. I would never be so arrogant as to believe I speak for everyone in the building, I can only speak for myself.
Complex financial crimes can operate in plain sight for years because they are complex.
First, I would look at Beam Development. You have a politically-connected owner who paid $2.2M for a property where rents were restricted by deed covenant able to cash out at $7.1M only because tax credit financing was made available....by whom?
The receiver of that $7.1M is clearly not at risk because it proceeds to deliberately mismanage the property, which is usually a sign of artificially lowering the property tax assessment on the structure. Sales prices factor into assessments, so it's clear the land sale was overvalued.
Step back and you see some coordinated pump and dump, but we're missing critical pieces to open a criminal investigation.
Griefing & grafting. 😫 How much longer is the public going to buy into this "Affordable" housing scam? It's taxpayer funded for out of state developers and then subsidized by those same taxpayers that paid to have it built. 😥
Excellent reporting and digging up information!
This is not surprising to me at all.
This is a story as old as man has existed - in America - politics and real estate. One of the most eye opening books I read was The Power Broker by Robert Caro about Robert Moses.
The sad thing about most of the Portland (and American) voting (many do not vote) citizens is that they are easily fooled. The local media is huge in the marketing of lies. But also a certain political party which has partnered with the worst of the worst while marketing what they used to despise as virtuous.
Marketing the evil "Gentrification" into the virtuous "Affordable Housing."
And remarketing support for small businesses and farmers "No Farms No Food" into Climate Change destruction of those small businesses and farmers "No Water, No Chemicals, No Equipment, No Livestock - aka NO FARMS."
You can go on and on.
Thank you Jeff and Angela.
Yep it's local voters that in the end are the problem. We elected leaders who support this type of behavior. Until voting patterns change in Portland, this will continue.
I agree. People nationally are coming around, slowly. I don't see the same in Portland from the ethical, compassionate and rational party members. They cannot see there is no hope, for their party has sold out completely and is more corrupt than the same party who partnered with the Mob. And the same party who were the Confederates in the Civil War.
Maybe the party hasn't changed, they are just very good at marketing and remarketing. And they own the media and still partner with the most powerful individuals and corporations while pretending the opposite.
I used to be one of them. No longer now that I see.
And nothing changes. Maybe if they sued /fined / jailed the grifters things might get better. Also whoever is doling out the money with no strings attached and no follow up should be fired.
Jeff, wow such an amazing (and astounding) post. I hope this gets exposure and can make a difference in our deplorable public housing in Portland and stop the abuse of tax dollars. Unfortunately the "housing first" ideology here routinely places active drug users into public housing. This is the key ingredient in the disaster we have created. They continue to use and attract other users to their residences destroying the lives of others around them. Our taxpayer funded facilities are destroyed and no one cares. Just yesterday Julia Brimm-Edwards was bragging about attending an open house for yet another new taxpayer supported housing complex with Cultural Initiatives in SE Portland. Yet you can be sure there will be a lack of control and accountability when it comes to placing individuals into this housing. And if you want another example look no further than the Buri Building…"A $28 Million Low-Income Apartment Complex Descends Into Chaos in Just Two and a Half Years" https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/06/07/a-28-million-low-income-apartment-complex-descends-into-chaos-in-just-two-and-a-half-years/
Awful stuff thanks for reporting
"In 2018, that all changed. Beam Development decided to sell the property to a California developer specializing in properties designed for low-income renters, Community Development Partners, or CDP. In 2019, CDP petitioned the Oregon Housing and Community Services to further develop Milepost 5 as an affordable housing property in exchange for federal tax credits. Unfortunately, this meant that roughly 25 residents who had too high of an income for the units were evicted since their financial position didn’t coincide with affordable housing requirements. It is unclear if any of those evicted were compensated with moving expenses. "
Too high an income? No moving expenses? Cry me a fuckin' river.
It isn't government's business (looking at you, Sam Adams) to ensure that artists and musicians can live in the bohemian Portlandia lifestyle to which they were accustomed in 1994. Maybe grownups should have a better business plan for their lives than making "rent by playing a few gigs per month, selling a little weed, and giving blood at the local clinic." And maybe Milestone 5's crash illustrates the perils of subsidized housing. There's nothing like market-level rents to keep the brass doorknobs shiny and the roaches out of cereal boxes.
Now, whether Milepost 5 was housing retired Baptists or artistes, what happened under CDP's watch has been nothing short of a crime and an unforgivable scandal. It speaks volumes about the breakdown of law and order in Portland and the city’s neglect of code enforcement that Milepost 5 was allowed to devolve into a dangerous slum.
Where are those righteous DSA members on the city commission when you need them? They should be organizing their comrades to patrol the premises and invest some elbow grease in scrubbing and painting the place.
DSA members investing elbow grease? LOL…their ultimate aspiration is to get elected to $133,000 + part time "work" from home city council jobs. Several have now reached that pinnacle.
There is a mental disorder, if I recall correctly, in which the individual, in a condition similar to OCD, compulsively shops and spends money just for the enjoyment and dopamine-rush of the experience. Sadly, Portland and Oregon voters, led by their progressive politicians, suffer from a political form of this disorder. Their false sense of satisfaction makes them feel they are “doing good” just by spending their and others’ money. While it may relieve their guilty consciences in some way as well, it matters little whether the money does any good. It’s just the expenditures which matter, not the outcome.
And remember the cruel dog beating that occurred at the Louisa Flowers low income building? Public housing has become such a mess due to who they allow to live there….the "housing first" approach is failing us and especially the poor people who have to live next door to these drug addicted individuals.
https://www.kptv.com/2024/08/15/man-allegedly-caught-abusing-dog-video-identified-arrested/
We must not encroach on the autonomy of addicts, criminals and the mentally ill!
Thanks for researching this. I despair.
I live at Milepost and there are still drug dealers and squatters living here. How can we get them out
WOWZER!!!
..."a veritable McDonald’s drive-through for dangerous narcotics."
"It’s truly a disturbing model that hedge funds are investing in government sponsored housing apparently in order to receive government funds to raise their bottom line while people suffer in the housing they own and are supposed to service, all the while state agencies like OHCS, who are supposed to monitor these development companies, look the other way."
Only in America can 'high stakes grifters' treat the proletariat in this demeaning manner. :(
Excellent article. Well written and researched.
The homeless industrial complex and the housing scams that currently exist are downright depressing. Portland leaders need to understand that a city needs to make money to continue, or be sustainable, and land owners have a responsibility to maintain property, for safe housing. What is going to happen when we're looking at a 100 million dollar shortfall to the city budget? The issues in this city seem almost insurmountable. Ugh.
Its good things have improved but it seems like we have a pretty low bar. It's reported and witnessed to still have drug dealers in the building. I know they still have an ongoing roach issue. If the tenants aren't willing to allow entry that sounds like a community issue that should result in a cause eviction. They are compromising the standard of living for everyone else. I used to visit an older woman there when it was Baptist Manor and the building was always well taken care of. It's depressing how bad it is over there and it has really brought down the whole area.
As others have mentioned, it smells of a scam. 2 mil to buy and over 7 mil once sold off.... no incentive to maintain in between. Looks to me like a money making scheme without the desire to care for the impact of who is housed there.
I have to say that in some ways, I am disappointed by the one sided nature of this article. In the 2 years that I have lived here, there have been significant changes. The roof has been replaced. Electrical and plumbing upgrades have been made. The communal kitchens were updated. 16 bathrooms have been renovated. Roaches have been a battle but one that is being fought. (Much of the delays have been tenants who refused entry or wouldn't prepare) The boiler system was set up for remote starting in the event of a power outage, never again will I have ice on the inside of my window.
Am I completely happy with some of the new tenants being brought in? Not really, as we seem to have a new crop of loudly drunk or high tenants but many of them are really nice and out to get along.
I did property management for many years in Washington and can say from experience that you can never please everyone. One thing I can say is that when we as residents learn to communicate with each other, our odds of making the culture changes we want will become a reality.
Hi Beverly. Thank you for the perspective. I have visited the property recently, and it appears that things have gotten better. I also realize that you first arrived at the property around 26 months ago. I’ve heard that management was giving residents money off of rent if they gave positive reviews. There are several 4 and 5 star reviews on the MP5 website during what would have been the worst period of the property, around 2020 to 2022. There are multiple 1 star reviews on Google during this time complaining about the atrocious conditions.
If they were doing that, it was common knowledge. I did review them shortly after I moved in with a lower rating. Then after the security doors were put in and upgrades to the electrical and plumbing started, I updated it with that information.
My personal experiences from January 2023 until now have mostly been positive. Things that I had difficulty with have since been addressed. I would never be so arrogant as to believe I speak for everyone in the building, I can only speak for myself.
Complex financial crimes can operate in plain sight for years because they are complex.
First, I would look at Beam Development. You have a politically-connected owner who paid $2.2M for a property where rents were restricted by deed covenant able to cash out at $7.1M only because tax credit financing was made available....by whom?
The receiver of that $7.1M is clearly not at risk because it proceeds to deliberately mismanage the property, which is usually a sign of artificially lowering the property tax assessment on the structure. Sales prices factor into assessments, so it's clear the land sale was overvalued.
Step back and you see some coordinated pump and dump, but we're missing critical pieces to open a criminal investigation.