Albina Vision Trust

Mission

For several years, we here at the Albina Vision Trust (AVT) have been envisioning a new kind of community in Portland’s Lower Albina. We are leading America’s largest restorative redevelopment effort, one that centers the re-rooting of Black people, families and culture in the heart of Portland. That work includes making sure that all of us are reflected in the built environment and that we participate in the wealth generated by our presence as owners of our homes and businesses.

We intend for all Portlanders to thrive, not just survive.

This ground is special. 94 acres of prime, center city real estate situated along the banks of the Willamette River. The Albina of the future will be a waterfront mecca of abundance built around affordable housing, green space, commercial activity and an interwoven series of accessible community hubs for education, the arts, wellness, technology and innovation. Profits generated from the district-level development will be funneled back into the lives of community members through the Community Reinvestment Plan, a dynamic reinvestment model capable of ensuring that both growth and development benefit Albina’s residents rather than harming them.

We will not only leverage policy to move historically displaced residents back into Albina affordably, but will create a vibrant and intentionally designed ecosystem geared around providing marginalized community members with legitimate generational mobility and opportunity from cradle to grave.

We trust that together, we can create a loving future that honors the promise of the past.
 

Bottom Line for Portland

In the past 3 years, we have broken ground on our inaugural 94-unit affordable housing development in Lower Albina, secured right of first offer and right of first refusal on the sprawling, 10-acre Portland Public Schools Headquarters site, begun scoping a waterfront park that would span the distance between the Steel and Broadway Bridges alongside local and regional partners, and earned both the recognition and support of the US Secretary of Transportation for our nation-leading efforts to breathe new life into our historic home. We now find ourselves positioned at a vital crossroads, one that offers us the ability to execute on what once felt like a dream.

The story of Albina’s past is the story of urban America. The story of its future is ours to write together.

Quote

“Albina Vision Trust is all about generating common wealth and community power. We aim to create places of conscience in the city center, where each of us feels safe and has the resources and support to thrive. After all, there are no more elemental forms of common wealth than belonging and opportunity.”  - Rukaiyah Adams, Board Chair of Albina Vision Trust

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The violence of displacement is a visceral and life-altering phenomenon. Each one of our full-time staff members is a Black Portlander who has grown up in this city and witnessed the destructive forces of urban renewal and gentrification firsthand. Our ties to our community run deep; we understand that this effort is a collective one – as we imagine what could be, our role is not to guide, but to follow the guidance of those who know Albina intimately and care to see our district prosper anew.

We stand here today on the shoulders of those who gave everything to lift us up, a village of daughters and sons, grandchildren and great grandchildren, united in our vow to restore the communal legacy our ancestors left behind.

To mend means to grow. Let us walk towards tomorrow as shared stewards of a precious dream couched in a district-wide redevelopment project: the radical idea that connection can be capital, community can heal, and healing can transform what is possible for generations of children that have yet to draw their first breath.

Incentives

Donate $50 or more and receive a bag of limited, Albina-branded coffee courtesy of Deadstock Coffee! (First 50 and last 50 donors)

Donate $200 or more and receive a pair of shoes from Holo Footwear! (First 10 donors)

If we can reach $10,000 in individual donations, our wonderful partners at Colas Construction will match!

And if we can reach an additional $5,000 in individual donations, the fantastic folks at Walsh Construction will match as well!

The Board of Albina Vision Trust also offers to match all donations of $50 and above, up to $10,000.

Partner(s)

Deadstock Coffee - offering a free bag of limited Albina branded coffee to the first 50 individuals and last 50 individuals who donate $50 or more

Holo Footwear - offering a pair of shoes to the first 10 individuals who donate $200 or more

Colas Construction - offering $10,000 match

Walsh Construction - offering $5,000 match