[1:48] ...

[7:17] » cruz: will you please call

[7:18] the roll.

[7:23] >> commissioner slick.

[7:24] >> slick: here.

[7:30] Commiss

[7:31] commissioner alvarez.

[7:37] >> alvarez: here.

[7:39] >> ted cruz.

[7:40] >> cruz: here.

[7:40] I have a note to read.

[7:42] As provided by state law,

[7:44] prosper portland has provided an

[7:44] opportunity to access and attend

[7:46] this meeting in person.

[7:47] There's a youtube live stream

[7:49] video of the meeting and the

[7:50] public has had an opportunity to

[7:52] arrange in advance to provide

[7:54] virtual testimony.

[7:54] At this time, the public may

[7:55] provide written testimony to the

[7:56] commission by emailing prosper

[8:09] commissioners@prosperportland.us

[8:10] .

[8:10] We've got a short agenda today,

[8:11] but we'll go through a few of

[8:13] our usual items.

[8:14] Item number 2 is commissioner

[8:16] reports.

[8:16] Does anything have anything

[8:17] they'd like to report this

[8:23] month?

[8:24] Okay.

[8:24] Sounds like no.

[8:26] So next we have the executive

[8:29] director report with cornell

[8:29] wesley.

[8:30] Welcome.

[8:31] Cornell.

[8:31] >> wesley: good afternoon,

[8:34] everyone.

[8:34] Last week city council

[8:36] reappointed commissioner stoudamire to the

[8:39] prosper portland board.

[8:40] We are extremely excited about

[8:41] this reappointment.

[8:43] She's been recognized for her

[8:44] expertise in public service,

[8:46] community engagement, and

[8:48] strategic leadership.

[8:49] She currently serves as director

[8:51] of engagement and civil rights

[8:52] for the oregon department of

[8:54] transportation.

[8:54] And so we want to collectively

[8:58] congratulate commissioner opn hr

[9:01] return and thank her for her

[9:04] commitment to not only portland

[9:05] but the city as well.

[9:06] I want to note we're in the

[9:07] middle of roux week.

[9:11] It's a city-wide celebration of

[9:13] food and drink culture for the

[9:15] food obsessed, cocktail

[9:18] enthusiast, avid restaurantgoers

[9:19] and the culinary curious.

[9:21] Now through sunday, octo

[9:25] october 12th, roum week has

[9:27] panels and hands-on experiences

[9:29] highlighting women and food and

[9:30] drink culture.

[9:31] Prosper portland's office of

[9:32] events and film is proud to

[9:34] support this event with

[9:36] technical assistance and a scale

[9:38] up grant.

[9:38] For a full list of events and

[9:42] ticket prices, please visit

[9:45] rouxportland.com.

[9:45] Also of note the office of small

[9:47] business is hosting the october

[9:50] show up for small business event

[9:52] on wednesday, october 15th

[9:53] starting at 5:30 p.m. At the

[9:57] array food hall in the gateway

[9:59] district.

[10:00] Every month the osb team chooses

[10:01] a spot in a different

[10:03] neighborhood or business

[10:04] district and invites everyone to

[10:06] come out and shop, grab a

[10:08] beverage or meal at the small

[10:10] business in that area.

[10:11] No agenda, no speech, just all

[10:14] of us celebrating the amazing

[10:17] businesses that make portland

[10:19] unique.

[10:19] The show up for small bus

[10:35] businbus

[10:36] busbusiness

[10:37] are gone ongoing for all of the

[10:38] sponsors below.

[10:38] Kicking it back to you,

[10:39] commissioner cruz.

[10:39] >> cruz: thank you, wesley.

[10:40] Next up, we have item 4, meeting

[10:44] minutes.

[10:44] Would somebody like to make a

[10:45] motion to approve the

[10:48] september 10, 2025, minutes?

[10:50] Assuming there are no comments.

[10:53] >> so moved.

[10:53] >> cruz: thank you.

[10:54] Is that a second?

[10:57] >> I second.

[10:58] >> cruz: great.

[10:58] All right.

[10:59] All those in favor of approving

[11:03] the minutes.

[11:05] [chorus of ayes]

[11:05] >> cruz: passes unanimously.

[11:06] Thank you so much.

[11:09] Okay.

[11:09] Do we have any public comment

[11:11] for items not on the agenda?

[11:17] Pam?

[11:17] >> feigenbutz: not received.

[11:19] >> cruz: all right.

[11:20] I'll note again as I engsmentio

[11:26] earlier, the public can submit

[11:29] comments to to prosper

[11:34] commissioners@prosperportland.us

[11:34] .

[11:34] Now we're going to take care of

[11:36] housekeeping right off the bat

[11:37] that we didn't have in our

[11:38] written agenda.

[11:39] We'll try to clean a couple

[11:41] things up.

[11:42] With a full board back in place

[11:47] for the first miteeting since t

[11:48] year began, I'd like to add the

[11:50] annual election of officers to

[11:51] the agenda.

[11:51] We've not done that yet.

[11:53] Is there a motion to add this

[11:54] item to the regular agenda?

[11:57] >> so moved.

[11:59] >> cruz: okay.

[11:59] Do we have a second?

[12:02] >> second.

[12:02] >> cruz: great.

[12:03] All those in favor of adding

[12:04] this agenda item.

[12:09] [chorus of ayes]

[12:09] >> cruz: okay.

[12:10] It now joins the agenda.

[12:12] So as required by prosper

[12:15] portland board bylaws, we need

[12:16] to elect officer positions of

[12:18] chair, vice-chair, and

[12:21] treasurer.

[12:21] And would any one of the

[12:22] commissioners like to make a

[12:24] motion in accordance with those

[12:31] requirements?

[12:32] Felisa.

[12:32] >> hagins: I'd love to move tom

[12:35] be re-elected as chair of the

[12:37] board.

[12:39] Commissioner commissioner

[12:40] stoudamire be elected vice-chair

[12:41] as the board.

[12:47] And marcelino alvarez be elected

[12:49] as the treasurer of the board.

[12:51] >> cruz: do we have a second for

[12:53] this motion?

[12:53] >> second.

[12:54] >> cruz: great.

[12:55] Thank you.

[12:56] Okay.

[12:57] So does anyone have any comments

[13:00] or questions or anything they'd

[13:03] like to say?

[13:04] >> hagins: I really appreciate

[13:05] the role that you all are

[13:06] stepping up and playing on the

[13:07] board.

[13:08] I think it's really important

[13:09] and I appreciate that you're

[13:10] putting in the time and effort

[13:11] to do that as well as

[13:15] commissioner slick's engagement

[13:17] in cafe.

[13:17] I just want to give a little

[13:19] shout-out and appreciation to my

[13:21] fellow board members.

[13:22] Thank you very much.

[13:23] >> cruz: thank you, commissioner

[13:25] hagins.

[13:26] Any other comments?

[13:30] >> I want to give a shout out to

[13:35] t

[13:36] tabo.

[13:36] I know he spent a lot of time on

[13:38] prosper and the board.

[13:39] Thank you so much.

[13:42] >> cruz: I have to of course

[13:43] thank all of you for what you're

[13:44] doing and for all of your great

[13:45] work and input and support.

[13:48] So the feeling is mutual.

[13:51] So everybody brings their

[13:53] expertise, and we wouldn't have

[13:54] a great board without that.

[13:55] So really appreciate all of you.

[14:02] So okay then, as board chair --

[14:05] excuse me.

[14:06] We'll go ahead and take a vote

[14:10] then.

[14:10] All those in favor of approving

[14:12] the slate of directors as

[14:16] proposed.

[14:16] [chorus of ayes]

[14:17] >> cruz: okay.

[14:18] Thank you.

[14:20] Okay then.

[14:21] And then as board chair and a

[14:23] member of the prosper portland's

[14:26] standing audit committee

[14:28] pursuant to board

[14:30] resolution 6112, I'd like to

[14:35] appoint commissioner stoudamire

[14:39] fo

[14:39] wesley to the audit commission

[14:40] for this coming year.

[14:42] Hope everybody's okay with that.

[14:43] we go back to our

[14:45] regularly scheduled programming.

[14:46] Now we'll do item 6 -- excuse

[14:48] me, which is now item 7.

[14:49] This is an action item approving

[14:52] building conversion and

[14:54] community anchor destination

[14:59] energy efficiency and loan

[15:01] program guidelines.

[15:03] Lisa abuaf and kay little will

[15:04] both present on these items.

[15:06] Welcome, lisa and kay.

[15:08] >> thanks chair cruz and

[15:10] commissioners.

[15:10] As allison's pulling up the

[15:12] deck, good afternoon.

[15:15] I'm lisa abuaf, director of

[15:16] development and investment with

[15:17] prosper portland.

[15:18] Glad to be joined by kay little

[15:20] who is our investment manager

[15:23] who's staff person shelly hack

[15:25] has been instrumental to putting

[15:26] these program guidelines

[15:28] together.

[15:28] Also wanted to acknowledge that

[15:34] samb

[15:35] sam baraso is here in case the

[15:36] board has any questions, because

[15:37] it's a partnership between

[15:41] prosper portland and pcef and

[15:43] sam leads the clean energy fund

[15:45] work within the bureau of

[15:47] planning and sustainability.

[15:48] Next slide, please.

[15:49] Wanted to honor that we're being

[15:50] efficient with our presentation

[15:52] today, so in fact, this

[15:55] presentation captures what is

[15:57] before you in two separate but

[15:59] related resolutions.

[16:01] So one is to approve guidelines

[16:04] for a central city building

[16:07] conversion pilot loan program.

[16:09] And the second is to approve

[16:12] guidelines for an anchor

[16:14] destination energy efficiency

[16:15] and renewable energy loan

[16:17] program.

[16:21] Next slide.

[16:22] So wanted to highlight that in

[16:24] fact the action that is before

[16:25] the board today implements on

[16:27] two key strategies.

[16:28] I know you're very familiar with

[16:31] advanced portland as our

[16:32] collective economic development

[16:34] strategy for portland.

[16:35] And there are particular

[16:36] outcomes that you see listed

[16:39] here tied to fostering a vibrant

[16:43] central city and neighborhood

[16:44] commercial districts that speak

[16:45] to a number of elements that

[16:46] touch on some of these loan

[16:47] program guidelines from office

[16:49] to residential conversions,

[16:52] providing incentive to support

[16:54] housing production via various

[16:56] means, and then supporting

[16:57] anchor business retention,

[16:58] particularly in the central city

[17:00] as we think about the role that

[17:01] the anchor destination program

[17:03] can play for some of our central

[17:04] city partners.

[17:07] But also it furthers

[17:10] implementation of the climate

[17:11] investment plan, the climate

[17:13] investment plan was developed

[17:14] through a nine-month

[17:16] community-driven process.

[17:18] It involved significant input

[17:19] from residents, business,

[17:21] technical experts, community

[17:22] partners, et cetera, and it is

[17:25] the plan that informs how pcef

[17:28] invests a certain portion of the

[17:31] pcef resources into community.

[17:32] Next slide, please.

[17:36] So just a little bit of

[17:38] background and to try to weave

[17:40] together all the plates of the

[17:42] braid, you may recall at about a

[17:44] year ago the board approved an

[17:47] intergovernmental agreement

[17:48] between pcef and prosper

[17:50] portland that allocated certain

[17:52] funds from what are called

[17:54] strategic programs within that

[17:55] climate investment plan.

[17:58] The four key areas that are in

[18:00] intergovernmental agreement with

[18:02] pcef touches upon are outlined

[18:03] here in yellow.

[18:06] These include everything from

[18:08] support on workforce training

[18:11] via community response grants to

[18:12] launching a new clean energy

[18:15] grant for small, commercial

[18:16] buildings and property owners in

[18:18] buildings under 40,000 square

[18:21] feet.

[18:21] And a specific allocation of a

[18:22] portion of those grant dollars

[18:24] to 82nd avenue.

[18:26] And we are here before you today

[18:28] to focus on the implementation

[18:30] and administration of strategic

[18:32] program 14.

[18:33] You see it all the way on the

[18:35] right.

[18:35] This will provide increased

[18:37] access to capital in two key

[18:38] areas.

[18:39] One for an early pilot and

[18:42] learning phase around russeside

[18:50] conversion programs and another

[18:51] around the anchor destination

[18:55] program.

[18:55] Next slide.

[18:56] Now we wanted to dive into more

[18:57] detail and we've separated your

[18:58] two actions into two chapters of

[19:00] the presentation.

[19:01] So first, wanted to provide a

[19:02] bit of context regarding the

[19:04] pilot conversion program.

[19:05] What you see here is a timeline

[19:08] of a number of interdependent

[19:10] initiatives that we've been at

[19:11] together with pcef and other

[19:15] partners.

[19:16] This does include pcef's work on

[19:20] the approval and implementation

[19:20] on the climate investment plan.

[19:22] It also includes work that we

[19:24] have had underway with the

[19:26] department of environmental

[19:27] quality at the state level.

[19:29] We've actually had a multiyear

[19:32] partnership with them as they

[19:33] started to consider how some

[19:34] resources they applied for and

[19:35] were successful in receiving

[19:36] from the federal government

[19:40] could contribute both to broader

[19:41] pollution reduction, but con --

[19:43] but also conversions as a

[19:46] portion of that pollution

[19:49] reduction grant.

[19:50] And there are resources that

[19:51] will also eventually come before

[19:53] the board and executive director

[19:56] wesley for allocation.

[19:57] Because we are negotiating a

[20:00] contract with daq for

[20:01] administration of those funds.

[20:03] Prosper also a couple of years

[20:05] ago worked with the mayor's

[20:07] office as well as echo

[20:13] northwest, agagensler an

[20:15] architectural firm to understand

[20:16] what was happening on the

[20:17] national side and best

[20:18] practices.

[20:19] What were the regulatory or

[20:20] financial products that other

[20:22] cities were offering.

[20:23] And how should we think about

[20:24] those in portland.

[20:25] We actually took a look at some

[20:30] case studies, analyzed the

[20:32] feasibility of conversions to

[20:33] understand what kinds of

[20:34] buildings could make good

[20:35] candidates and what kind of

[20:36] regulatory or financial tools

[20:37] would be needed to support those

[20:39] projects.

[20:39] And the guidelines that kay's

[20:41] going to walk you through

[20:42] shortly are an important next

[20:43] step in kind of taking the next

[20:46] step in implementing some of the

[20:48] recommendations of that report.

[20:50] Next slide, please.

[20:52] So we also thought it was

[20:53] important to kind of highlight

[20:55] some of the work that we've been

[20:57] doing with pcef.

[20:59] This particular visual is

[21:00] actually from the rocky mountain

[21:02] institute.

[21:03] It shows that office to

[21:04] residential conversions can

[21:05] actually significantly lower

[21:07] embodied carbon by reusing

[21:10] existing buildings, structures,

[21:12] materials, et cetera, instead of

[21:14] new construction.

[21:14] And what you see here is kind of

[21:18] in the lifecycle of a building

[21:20] from construction through to

[21:22] operations through to kind of

[21:24] eventual demolition if a

[21:26] building is no longer useable,

[21:28] the 40% of carbon emissions are

[21:30] actually generated during the

[21:33] construction phase.

[21:34] And then the secondary or

[21:36] tertiary benefit which is

[21:37] certainly important has also

[21:38] been important to the way we've

[21:40] negotiated the guidelines with

[21:43] pcef is that conversions also

[21:45] generate additional housing

[21:46] units, as well as addressing the

[21:48] urban challenges that vacant

[21:49] office spaces are creating.

[21:51] In addition, because you'll see

[21:53] this as kay walks you through

[21:54] the program guidelines for

[21:56] conversions, it's important to

[21:57] take the opportunity to make

[21:58] energy efficiency upgrades

[22:01] during the conversion process to

[22:02] more fully realize and embodied

[22:05] carbon savings and ensure

[22:07] overall environmental impact.

[22:08] You'll see that in terms of the

[22:10] guidelines also being tied to

[22:11] folks when they're converting a

[22:13] commercial asset into

[22:15] residential, installing higher

[22:17] energy efficiency hvac systems,

[22:18] et cetera.

[22:19] With that, I'm going to hand it

[22:20] over to kay to walk through the

[22:22] specific guidelines.

[22:25] >> little: thanks, lisa.

[22:25] Good afternoon, chair cruz,

[22:28] commissioners, and executive

[22:30] director wesley.

[22:32] I'm happy to discuss the pilot

[22:34] program guidelines with you.

[22:35] As lisa mentioned, one of the

[22:37] big goals of this pilot is for

[22:39] us to really -- and for the city

[22:42] to get a better understanding of

[22:44] how to value that embodied

[22:47] carbon that is contained in

[22:49] existing buildings.

[22:51] And then how repurposing that

[22:52] does contribute to the city's

[22:54] climate action goals.

[22:55] And also we can get a better

[22:56] understanding of what those

[22:57] technical challenges are.

[22:59] And so that is one of the things

[23:00] that we're trying to accomplish

[23:01] here in addition to being able

[23:03] to revitalize, you know,

[23:06] downtown by the reuse of some of

[23:08] those office buildings.

[23:09] And so the pilot program

[23:11] guidelines were put into place

[23:13] to help to reach those goals.

[23:14] And so the program is really

[23:17] targeted for projects of 20

[23:19] units or more.

[23:19] So of course it requires

[23:21] inclusionary housing to be a

[23:22] component of that.

[23:23] And the funding is broken down

[23:26] into two tranches.

[23:28] And so the initial is $60,000

[23:32] per unit just for the office

[23:34] residential conversion piece.

[23:36] That's of course the piece that

[23:38] then captures that embodied

[23:40] carbon savings that we're trying

[23:42] to realize.

[23:43] But then there's an additional

[23:45] $25,000 per unit of the -- that

[23:52] the project can receive.

[23:52] And that's based on it meeting

[23:54] some of those energy efficiency

[23:55] measures that are focused on

[23:56] things like the hvac systems and

[24:00] other efficiency systems there

[24:01] that can actually contribute to

[24:02] some of that operational carbon

[24:05] savings that will be analyzed

[24:07] throughout this pilot program.

[24:09] One of the things that a couple

[24:13] requirements that the bar is

[24:14] having -- will have to comply

[24:16] with.

[24:16] One is that the rents will be

[24:19] maintained at 60 to 120% ami

[24:22] over a period of ten years.

[24:25] The bar can receive conditional

[24:27] loan for giveness over that

[24:30] ten-year period if they maintain

[24:32] rents at that level.

[24:33] And that's something that they

[24:36] will annually have to report on,

[24:38] we'll have an opportunity to

[24:40] look at their rent rolls, et

[24:41] cetera, to verify that that's

[24:44] happening.

[24:44] But really the big thing that we

[24:46] want to get from them in

[24:47] addition to this is that we

[24:49] really want to have information

[24:51] about the conversion project

[24:53] itself.

[24:53] We really want to have access to

[24:55] that project data.

[24:56] You know, what were the costs,

[24:58] what was the equipment that was

[25:00] installed, the specifications of

[25:03] that, who were the business --

[25:04] the building vendors that you

[25:06] worked with.

[25:07] And they'll also be required to

[25:09] participate in embodied carbon

[25:11] study.

[25:12] All of this information is now

[25:14] what will be used to help us to

[25:16] really evaluate the

[25:17] effectiveness of this tool and

[25:20] so that we can actually measure,

[25:22] then, what those savings were

[25:24] both from the embodied carbon

[25:25] perspective and also from the

[25:28] operational carbon savings.

[25:29] And so really excited to see

[25:31] kind of the results of that.

[25:34] Next slide, please.

[25:42] Now we'll talk about the anchor

[25:44] destination program.

[25:45] Lisa, do you want me just to

[25:46] move forward with this piece?

[25:47] Do you want to talk a little bit

[25:51] about this?

[25:51] >> abuaf: you're doing great,

[25:53] kay.

[25:53] >> little: okay, great.

[25:56] Okay.

[25:56] So our anchor destination

[25:58] program, here this gives us an

[26:01] opportunity to provide some pcef

[26:05] funding for some of those

[26:06] projects that are much larger

[26:07] than would qualify for b grant

[26:10] program.

[26:10] The b grant program kind of

[26:12] limits the recipients of pcef

[26:15] funding to buildings that are

[26:17] less than 40,000 square feet.

[26:19] And so then buildings that are

[26:21] above that really don't have

[26:22] much of an opportunity to take

[26:23] advantage of that program.

[26:25] The anchor destination program

[26:28] is really targeted specifically

[26:29] toward what we call anchor

[26:32] destinations.

[26:33] And so it would be those

[26:35] destinations in the city of

[26:36] portland that really do help to

[26:41] drive traffic to surrounding

[26:42] consumer businesses.

[26:44] We're looking at those at annual

[26:46] foot traffic half a million or

[26:48] more.

[26:48] Which is something that we will

[26:50] really evaluate from our side.

[26:51] But we want to see that they are

[26:53] actually having a positive

[26:54] impact on those businesses

[26:57] around the area and that it's

[26:59] not a franchise or a subsidiary

[27:01] of a national firm.

[27:02] Next slide, please.

[27:06] So as we're thinking about these

[27:07] types of projects, one that

[27:09] comes to mind is the james baird

[27:11] public market, for example, and

[27:13] just where it's located and some

[27:15] of the benefits that it will

[27:17] bring to the area with that foot

[27:19] traffic.

[27:20] And they're actually hoping to,

[27:21] perhaps, receive some of this

[27:25] funding so they can then build

[27:28] out some of the efficiency

[27:28] measures within their own

[27:29] building and also perhaps

[27:30] allocate some of that to the

[27:31] vendors that will be in the

[27:34] building.

[27:34] This loan is structured as a

[27:38] five-year forgivable loan in

[27:39] order to get forgiveness, they

[27:40] have to continue to operate in

[27:42] that location and has to

[27:43] continue to be a locally-owned

[27:45] business.

[27:45] And it will have an interest

[27:47] rate that is market driven, very

[27:50] similar to what we do on our

[27:53] other loans.

[27:54] This one will have a maximum

[27:54] loan amount of 2.5 million.

[27:58] And the borrowing entity will be

[27:59] required to contribute 25% of

[28:02] that eligible cost from another

[28:04] source other than our anchor

[28:06] destination funding.

[28:06] And then they also must enroll

[28:08] in the portland needs progress

[28:12] and provide annual reporting on

[28:14] their participation in that

[28:15] program.

[28:16] And so we're also very excited

[28:18] about this program, and how it

[28:20] can really benefit those

[28:22] businesses that though drive

[28:25] tourism in our downtown area.

[28:28] So that's an overview of the

[28:30] guidelines.

[28:30] Next slide, please.

[28:31] Are there any questions?

[28:36] >> cruz: any questions from the

[28:41] commissioners?

[28:42] Comments?

[28:42] >> this is felisa.

[28:43] I wanted to just follow up and

[28:46] make sure that we will get a

[28:49] report back on sort of what are

[28:50] the projects and things that

[28:52] have happened as part of this.

[28:58] >> little: yes, we will report

[28:59] back to the board to let you

[29:00] know.

[29:00] We have the two buildings right

[29:03] now within the pilot and we will

[29:06] report back on the outcomes on

[29:11] those projects.

[29:12] >> I was also wondering how are

[29:13] we thinking strategically about

[29:14] the office to residential

[29:16] conversions and the location of

[29:18] those projects and some of the

[29:19] other priorities we have in the

[29:21] city in terms of activation of

[29:25] neighborhoods or acute locations

[29:26] that we think are critical?

[29:31] '.

[29:31] >> abuaf: that's a great

[29:31] question, commissioner.

[29:33] I'm going to see if sam's also

[29:34] available just so you hear the

[29:35] perspective from pcef.

[29:37] We're really thinking about this

[29:39] as a pilot moment and we're

[29:41] going to learn from it.

[29:42] Kay shared a little bit about

[29:44] this.

[29:45] We're really asking these

[29:46] particular projects to dive deep

[29:47] with us in data analysis and

[29:48] help inform and right size the

[29:52] per unit calculation relative to

[29:54] the ghg benefits.

[29:56] I would say we are in very early

[30:00] conversations of should there be

[30:02] additional funds available under

[30:03] this strategic program to come

[30:05] over to prosper, they we would

[30:09] want to release those fairly

[30:11] competitively and then have

[30:12] criteria.

[30:12] Whether that's kind of based on

[30:14] a corridor that conversion

[30:16] project is on or it's readiness

[30:19] to really convert and/or

[30:21] leverage dollars.

[30:22] I think it's important, but

[30:23] we've just started those

[30:24] conversations, and I would say

[30:26] right now we're in the learning

[30:27] mode before we jump full in to

[30:29] scaling the program.

[30:31] I don't know, sam, if there's

[30:32] anything else.

[30:33] Just trying to reflect on our

[30:39] conversations.

[30:39] >> sam: the nature that we're

[30:41] talking the pilot initially,

[30:44] it's the products that give us

[30:45] those opportunities to give the

[30:47] emission reductions and

[30:48] understand those community

[30:50] benefits.

[30:51] Absolutely I would say our

[30:51] interests as we move forward and

[30:52] learn from the pilot is figuring

[30:53] out if there are geographic

[30:56] boundaries or prioritization to

[30:59] certainly motivate -- motivate

[31:01] activities in certain

[31:01] neighborhoods, locations, that's

[31:02] something I'd love to

[31:03] certainly -- I'd love for that

[31:05] to be part of the conversation.

[31:06] But in this moment we know that

[31:08] part of it is just getting

[31:10] actors to come to the table so

[31:11] we can learn.

[31:13] >> if I can get on a soapbox for

[31:16] a second, and chair cruz, and

[31:17] kind of give some comments on

[31:18] it.

[31:18] I have a lot of opinions about

[31:22] office to residential conversion

[31:24] specifically in portland.

[31:27] I know that we've all been

[31:27] reading for years about office

[31:29] to residential conversions

[31:30] happening in other cities across

[31:32] the u.s., especially as we've

[31:34] seen a demise in the office

[31:36] demand.

[31:36] And I think it's a really

[31:38] amazing way to reuse and

[31:39] repurpose buildings that could

[31:41] be newer or older or have

[31:43] historical or community

[31:45] significance like has been

[31:46] happening -- I loved in one in

[31:48] new york city about 15 years ago

[31:50] when I first got there after

[31:51] graduate school.

[31:51] So it's been happening for a

[31:53] while.

[31:53] And I think that a really

[31:56] exciting thing, as all of you I

[31:58] think here know, it's a really

[32:00] expensive way to produce

[32:02] housing, especially in a seismic

[32:05] zone.

[32:05] And we and our other western

[32:07] states are in a seismic zone.

[32:10] And recently portland made the

[32:12] decision not to adopt some of

[32:15] the coade changes that our

[32:16] neighbors in washington and

[32:17] california have adopted to try

[32:19] to make office to residential

[32:22] conversions more feasible

[32:23] financially and also just from

[32:24] an administrative and logistics

[32:28] standpoint in favor of

[32:29] maintaining more stringent code

[32:32] requirements.

[32:34] So for me, there is a

[32:35] misalignment of what we're

[32:37] trying to do in portland with

[32:37] this effort.

[32:38] On the one hand, here we are

[32:40] trying to push pilot and

[32:42] learning for office residential

[32:43] conversion to try to enable it

[32:44] to happen in our city.

[32:46] While our code partners at the

[32:48] city are not helping us be

[32:50] innovative and progressive in

[32:51] ways that are being adopted in

[32:53] other cities.

[32:54] So this is one thing that I find

[32:56] to be a rub.

[32:58] The second thing, and it's come

[32:59] up with other topics related to

[33:02] tif and other things.

[33:03] I would love for us to not think

[33:05] about this as simply a climate

[33:08] change initiative.

[33:10] But to think about the

[33:11] multilayering impact that our

[33:13] subsidies for this project can

[33:14] actually offer to our

[33:16] communities by making sure that

[33:18] we choose buildings and

[33:19] locations that really need

[33:25] activation.

[33:25] Where a specific block or

[33:27] neighborhood has strategic

[33:28] importance for activation, and

[33:29] also in addition to that,

[33:32] obviously, activating a vacant

[33:34] commercial building and the

[33:35] embodied carbon benefits.

[33:36] So I think this is all

[33:39] especially important as we think

[33:40] about the fiscal issues that our

[33:41] city is facing financially with

[33:43] decreased revenue, like we need

[33:47] to be more incisive with how we

[33:49] spend our money.

[33:50] And I want to make sure that's

[33:53] being considered as we think

[33:53] about this loan program.

[33:58] >> cruz: thank you.

[34:00] Any -- any response from anyone

[34:03] on that or further comments?

[34:07] .

[34:07] >> sam: if you don't mind me

[34:11] just responding, chair cruz.

[34:13] Sam baraso here clean energy

[34:17] fund.

[34:17] I think there's a wholehearted

[34:20] agreement on the complexities of

[34:20] this and the fact that without a

[34:22] doubt there's a significant --

[34:24] this is in no small part a

[34:28] significant sub-saharan effort

[34:29] to make those projects happen.

[34:30] I think there's a strong

[34:31] interest on our side to not --

[34:33] obviously I speak to the climate

[34:36] benefits because that's where I

[34:37] think most the learnings will be

[34:39] from a technical perspective

[34:40] what's going to happen.

[34:41] But without a doubt those

[34:42] community benefits, yes, there's

[34:45] the jobs created and the work

[34:46] that happens in the projects.

[34:47] But I think there's a lot of

[34:50] eagerness on our side to

[34:51] understand that as well, and

[34:53] drive more of those.

[34:55] >> cruz: thank you.

[34:56] Is there any -- is there any,

[34:59] you know, encouragement or

[35:01] coordination coming from our

[35:02] side toward planning or anybody

[35:04] else with respect to the code

[35:09] change issues that commissioner

[35:10] slick mentioned?

[35:10] Are we engaging on that at all

[35:12] or just kind of sticking to our

[35:14] own program?

[35:22] >> abuaf: that's a great

[35:24] question.

[35:25] If you look at the report that

[35:26] got issued, it took a look at

[35:28] the regulations that was

[35:30] mentioned.

[35:31] We did open it up with the mayor

[35:33] and council at that time and

[35:35] there was not an interest in

[35:36] pursuing those further.

[35:37] Now we have a new mayor and

[35:39] council and it's something we

[35:41] can reopen.

[35:41] I would say to sam it's

[35:43] something we can do with our

[35:44] partnership with the planning

[35:46] and sustainability.

[35:47] It's mostly building code than

[35:48] it is land use code, but I do

[35:50] think it's something we could

[35:51] open up also with cornell and --

[35:53] sorry, executive director wesley

[35:57] and our deputy city

[36:02] administrator's certainly

[36:03] another place to start.

[36:04] >> cruz: great.

[36:04] I don't know how the rest of the

[36:06] board feels about it, but I

[36:07] think I would encourage that.

[36:09] would be great.

[36:11] >> I agree.

[36:12] I feel like the more alignment

[36:15] that we're driving at the city

[36:16] and the restructuring of the

[36:16] city was meant to create that

[36:18] alignment.

[36:18] I think is really important.

[36:20] So it's one of the reasons why I

[36:24] actually really am loving

[36:26] this -- sort of this funding

[36:26] braiding and sort of

[36:28] streamlining these requests and

[36:28] how they come through this

[36:31] process.

[36:32] Because it is exactly, I feel

[36:34] like what our city should be

[36:37] doing.

[36:38] And so hopefully we can get the

[36:40] other bureaus on board.

[36:44] >> cruz: great.

[36:47] Any further comments?

[36:47] Questions?

[36:51] Okay then.

[36:51] Well, we actually have two

[36:54] resolutions with this, you know,

[36:56] covering both of the program

[37:00] guidelines.

[37:00] So would someone give me just

[37:01] one moment to find where I'm at.

[37:04] Would someone like to make a

[37:06] motion to approve resolution

[37:15] number 7627?

[37:18] Please.

[37:18] >> so moved.

[37:19] >> cruz: great, thank you.

[37:20] Do I have a second?

[37:23] >> second.

[37:23] >> cruz: okay.

[37:23] All those in favor -- or any

[37:25] further discussion in if not,

[37:26] then all those in favor of

[37:30] approving resolution 7627.

[37:35] Aye.

[37:35] [chorus of ayes]

[37:35] >> cruz: great, okay.

[37:38] I think everybody voted

[37:42] affirmatively.

[37:42] Maybe commissioner slick, did

[37:44] you vote?

[37:46] >> slick: I'm sorry, gustavo,

[37:47] which one -- is that for the

[37:50] helping conversion?

[37:52] >> cruz: yes.

[37:53] >> slick: I'm going to abstain

[37:54] on that one.

[37:54] >> cruz: so four out of five

[37:56] with one abstention.

[37:58] Okay.

[37:58] And then resolution number 7628,

[38:01] would someone like to make a

[38:02] motion on that one?

[38:07] >> I so move.

[38:09] >> cruz: thank you.

[38:10] A second?

[38:11] >> second.

[38:12] >> cruz: thank you.

[38:13] All right.

[38:14] All those in favor of approving

[38:15] resolution number 7628.

[38:19] [chorus of ayes]

[38:20] >> cruz: great.

[38:21] Okay.

[38:21] Unanimous on that one.

[38:23] All right.

[38:24] Well thanks very much.

[38:27] Any other comments?

[38:31] Okay.

[38:31] There being no further items on

[38:33] the agenda, the prosper portland

[38:34] board of commissioners meeting

[38:35] for this month is now adjourned.

[38:39] So thanks very much, everybody.

[38:40] Have a great day.

[38:41] See you soon.

[38:44] [meeting adjourned]

Prosper Portland Board of Commissioners Meeting 10/08/25

Transcript