PORTLAND, Ore. — Local leaders and members of Oregon's congressional delegation met in Portland Friday to celebrate a $488 million federal grant announced earlier this week for the planned Rose Quarter Improvement project.
The project will widen a section of Interstate 5 that runs through a trench in the Rose Quarter and install a "lid" over the freeway, effectively turning it into a tunnel. Most of the federal grant is designated to help fund construction of the lid, which is seen as a key step in revitalizing the surrounding Albina neighborhood.
Albina was historically a thriving hub of Portland's Black community, but families were forced to move out in the 1960s and 1970s through eminent domain to make room for I-5. Many homes and businesses were destroyed, and the freeway physically split the neighborhood in half. Additionally, Black families were displayed by the construction of nearby projects like the Veterans Memorial Colosseum and an expanded Legacy Emanuel Hospital.
"We are children of this district, we know what it means to have floors, posts, beams, windows and foundation pulled from under our feet, to be robbed with a smile," said JT Flowers of Albina Vision Trust, which has been fighting to restore and rebuild the neighborhood.
"Here at the Albina Trust, that dream is a simple one: the redevelopment of a residential neighborhood that will house over 3,000 working families once displaced from the heart of the city they long called home," said Winta Yohannes, Executive Director of Albina Vision Trust.
It started as an ambitious dream, but the federal investment brings it closer to becoming a reality — and it comes at a time when Albina Vision Trust is celebrating a series of other successes in the neighborhood.
"This major federal investment is going to pave the way for a bright future for Northeast Portland and our entire city," said U.S. Senator Ron Wyden.
The Rose Quarter project ran into a funding crunch last year, with the Oregon Department of Transportation warning that it only had enough money line up to finish part of the design work and couldn't start construction unless more funding became available — but the agency said this week that the federal grant ensures the project can move forward.
"This is a massive down payment, and that's why I use the term 'down payment,' because this gets us out of the starting blocks," said U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley. "This means the designs can be completed, the initial covers can be put in place, and it means that partnership that laid this out as a vision is no longer just a mirage on the horizon."
Longtime Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer said the final price tag for the Rose Quarter project will be in the billions, but he added that the federal grant is still a great first step. He said he hopes the state of Oregon and private investors will also jump on board.
"I think we are going to be well on our way with this transformational investment, and it's going to attract other efforts with housing and development," Blumenauer said. "I think it's going to encourage the legislature to come up with some of the rest of the money, under the governor's leadership."