Portland has invested $207 million in the Lents neighborhood since 2000 to help revitalize the area, jumpstart commercial development and create more housing and family-wage jobs, but the city hasn’t checked to find exactly how the spending has impacted the people who live and work there, an analysis shows.

According to a city audit published Wednesday, auditors compared economic and housing data for Lents in Southeast Portland, parts of nearby Montavilla and the city as a whole -- and the results were mixed.

Property values rose by 63% since 2000, 476 affordable housing units were added and the number of jobs in the area increased by 36% since 2003, the audit said. Housing costs grew more moderately than in Montavilla and jobs grew faster.

Other indicators worsened or failed to show the degree of improvement found in Montavilla. Three out of five households that rent in Lents spend more than 30% of their income on housing, more than in Montavilla and citywide. And, while jobs have increased, average wages, when adjusted for inflation, decreased by 4% in Lents between 2003 and 2017 to $37,606, while average wages citywide went up by 8% to $61,431.

The audit said 23% of residents in Lents live in poverty and the rates were worse there than in Montavilla and citywide.

[Read the audit]

Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development agency, and the Portland Housing Bureau funded various projects in Lents, starting two decades ago. Their stated goals included increasing the homeownership among people of color, creating housing opportunities that allow existing Lents residents to remain there, increasing employment of people of color and supporting businesses and raising their profitability.

Prosper Portland and the housing bureau should do more track to the results that urban renewal investments have achieved in Lents as well as continue to periodically analyze the economic results of their goals and tell the public of their progress, the audit said.

“If the city does not measure progress toward urban renewal goals and results, it cannot make mid-course adjustments strategically,” the report said.

According to the report, the largest single allocation from the $207 million went to revitalizing the commercial area: $74 million. The audit found the number of businesses in Lents increased by 31% to 764 between 2003 and 2017, but Prosper Portland hasn’t tracked if businesses’ profits improved.

Around $41 million was invested in housing, including $5 million on housing administration and overhead, the audit said. About $11 million went to helping around 200 people buy their first homes in Lents, according to the report.

The area now houses more people of color than in 2000, but the vast majority rent. The number of homes in Lents owned by people of color actually dropped slightly while rentership soared, the audit found.

The other city spending included $31 million on administration costs, $27 million on streets, parks and other infrastructure, $10 million on Prosper Portland staff and $7 million to support jobs, the audit said. Prosper Portland hasn’t analyzed unemployment data in Lents despite having a goal of improving employment, according to the report.

In a joint letter, Housing Bureau Director Shannon Callahan, Prosper Portland Executive Director Kimberly Branam and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who oversees both agencies, said the audit gave “an incomplete or potentially inaccurate analysis of the progress made.” They said the audit didn’t highlight other accomplishments they feel were successful such as nearly $12 million invested in transportation infrastructure in the area as well as parks improvements. A more recent initiative focused on Lents between 2014 and 2019 led to 363 new rental housing units, development of the Portland Mercado and more than around $1.4 million in loans and grants to businesses in the area, the letter said.

The city officials also questioned whether Montavilla was an appropriate reference point for comparison given differences in land area, population density and other features.

In a response to the letter, the Auditor’s Office said the audit focused on economic and housing results “because that’s where most spending happened.”

“We agree transportation and environmental goals are important and encourage Prosper Portland to report on results in these areas.”

-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

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