In the past, economic development with public dollars in Portland has amplified the historic and harmful economic, racial, social and environmental disparities in our city.

It’s time for a new way forward for economic development in our city. That’s why the Healthy Communities Coalition (HCC) began negotiating a legally-binding Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with Prosper Portland, Continuum Partners and the City of Portland for downtown’s Broadway Corridor redevelopment in 2019.

The Broadway Corridor is 34 acres that connects or includes landmarks and neighborhoods such as Old Town Chinatown, the Pearl District, Union Station, the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the U.S. Post Office, which will be demolished as part of redevelopment. Historically, the Broadway Corridor has been the home for communities of color who have been forcibly displaced over the past century as a result of “the effects of racialized policies, practices, and decision-making.”

The Broadway Corridor is on the land that has been home for Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Mollala and many other tribes. Black Americans, many of them porters who arrived from Union Station, lived in, created and supported Black-owned hotels and other businesses in the early 20th century. It was once the home of to Japanese Americans until the U.S. government’s internment order in 1942 that forced these Portlanders to leave their homes and businesses.

Now, the City of Portland and Prosper Portland are using $40+ million of public tax dollars to leverage $1+ billion of private investment on this site.

Broadway Corridor Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) Platform

HCC wants to ensure that the City of Portland, Prosper Portland and the developer Continuum Partners work alongside us to negotiate standard-setting new benefits that substantially advance good jobs, affordable housing and equity for Black, Indigenous, People of Color, people with disabilities and working class communities. We are negotiating to win:

• More than 700 new, quality affordable housing units.

• Construction job opportunities for women and people of color.

• Wages and benefits for all construction workers based on the “prevailing wage” - an equity tool for creating good living-wage jobs.

• Enforceable job quality standards for janitors, security officers, building engineers and other workers in the redeveloped site.

• Disability justice to ensure accessible housing, jobs and business opportunities for people with disabilities.

• Equitable opportunities for small businesses.

• Transportation justice for all who live, work and access the Broadway Corridor.

• Environmental sustainability and stewardship for all components of the project.

As of April 2020, HCC is in the final weeks of negotiating a strong CBA.