A $58.6 million affordable housing complex named for a longstanding Chinese restaurant has opened at 7705 SE Division St. in Portland's Montavilla neighborhood, adding 124 units to the corridor.
Legin Commons, a four-story, 110,000-square-foot building on 1.61 acres at the edge of Portland Community College's Southeast Campus, opened Thursday, July 16, the Portland Housing Bureau announced.
The project is a partnership between developer Our Just Future, co-developer Edlen & Co., and the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon, known as APANO, which is headquartered a few blocks east at 8188 SE Division St. and provides on-site services for residents.
More than half the units are sized for families: 47 two-bedrooms and 16 three-bedrooms, alongside 28 one-bedrooms and 33 studios.
Twenty units are reserved for households earning 30% or less of the area median income, the lowest affordability tier. Another 42 serve households at 50% AMI, and 62 at 60% AMI.
PCC made the land available for the project, which sits two blocks from the FX2 Division Street bus line and two blocks from 82nd Avenue's Line 72. A MAX Green Line station is less than a mile away.
The name honors Legin, a longstanding Chinese restaurant that once occupied an adjacent site near the Jade District.
Funding and design
The Portland Housing Bureau contributed $6.4 million of the $58.6 million total development cost, according to the bureau's project page.
The voter-approved Metro Affordable Housing Bond, passed in 2018 with a $652.8 million regional price tag, provided additional funding, though the exact bond allocation to Legin Commons has not been publicly itemized.
Bora Architecture designed the building. LMC Construction served as general contractor. A rooftop solar array, funded through a Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund grant, and high-efficiency electric HVAC systems will reduce utility costs for tenants, according to the Housing Bureau.
Outdoor amenities include a community garden, playground, covered picnic areas, and gathering spaces. Inside, residents have access to a community room, indoor play area, laundry facilities, bike storage, and lounges.
Regional bond progress
Legin Commons is the 18th project to deliver homes under the Metro bond program. Across the three-county region, the bond has now produced 1,392 affordable units, with 762 more in progress, the Portland Housing Bureau said in its July 16 announcement.
The Housing Bureau described the bond as a critical homelessness-prevention investment and credited metro-area voters for approving the measure, which aims to house roughly 12,000 people across Washington, Clackamas, and Multnomah counties.
No upcoming public hearings or waitlist openings have been announced. Residents seeking information can visit the Portland Housing Bureau's Legin Commons project page at portland.gov/phb/construction/legin-commons.
