There Goes the Neighborhood

Oh, neighborhood meetings, where have you been all my life? To think that I haven't been involved until now. It was always on my list of important things to do, but yesterday actually marked my second consecutive neighborhood meeting, and I even signed up to help distribute the little newsletter they produce. The action that takes place sure beats TV.

The people that actually show up for these meetings are pretty interesting. For starters, it's not often that I sit in a room with a formal meeting facilitator, board chair, secretary, treasuer, safety cahir, etc. and hear important updates and motions and get to vote. The first meeting I attended I really had no idea what was going on and yet found myself raising my hand and voting on things just due to the energy of those around me. It made me feel silly and wrong.

Last months meeting had quite a bit of buzz due to all the development taking place on Mississippi Avenue, and there was record turnout. What was once a boarded up, poor and crime-filled neighborhood has now turned into a high-end shopping and dining strip, with fancy condos to come. As far as the value of my house goes, that's pretty good. As far as the long-term residnets who can't afford the trendy restaurants, or if they can, don't really want to go there, it kindof sucks.

I've thought a lot about gentrification over the years and it always seems to stump me. Am I a contributer because I'm white and bought a house over here? Maybe, but what were my options? I'm a single gal who's never made more than $30,000 a year. I I didn't have a lot of options to choose from when I started looking for my very own piece of the pie, and who knew this area would become so shmancy? Anyway, I'm not really hear to write about gentrification or me right now.

However, I will say that when a couple of the three major developers took the platform a month ago to talk about their big ol' projects in a positive light so that the residents will say "yay! we support you!" I did feel my stomach churn a little. One development project sounds pretty good, there's a Japanese-American family who has a landscape architecture business and has been in the neighborhood for ages who want to turn some of their property into, yes, more mixed-use condos, but also design and build a Japanes Garden that will be open to the public. It will benefit them as well because their offices will be there. The neighborhood folks seemed alright with that one. Then these shady dudes talked about their giant building and people seemed a little less receptive. The Primary reason is that Mississippi Ave is a designated "historic district" with old brick store-fronts and everyone's putting in all this glass and iron and then charging "market rate" for the condos, i.e. only the wealthy can afford to live here. I must say, however, they announced a "specialty grocery" would occupy the ground floor, and damn, that would be a nice convenience for me (yes, fancy cheese and wine, and more gentrification here). And finally, the real reason my stomach churned: Randy Rappaport, a Pearl District/NY kinda guy who has that too-cool for you vibe in his dress and talk, but has also made a killing developing fancy condo properties all over P-town. He took the stage and faked this sweet nice guy persona who was shy to talk in front of so many people. I could tell people were falling for it (I already know about him through his relationship with a friend), and then at the end someone asked where he lived. Now, his most recent project that recieved architectural praise was on southeast Belmont, and this is how he replied. "I live in the Pearl, but I also live in my Belmont Property. You know, you gotta live where the show is." The show? Who is this guy and why is he so smarmy?

In all, I do agree, put dense housing on streets that have good access to public transportation and all that. I just wish that it was being done in a way that didn't cater to only the affluent and elite. I like the fact that for the first time since I've lived in Portland that I live in a real neighborhood, with little kids playing ball in the streets in dirty clothes and running after the ice cream man. When you walk down the street and see people hangin' on the porch in the summer heat, they aren't all white or hipsters or hippies smoking cigs and drinking PBR. My greatest fear is that Mississippi will turn into a bunch of bleach blond, skinny, SUV-driving moms with too much time on their hands who shop and lunch on the Ave. My old roommate Anna always referred to my neighborhood as "the Sandlot," saying it has the vibe of a 60's neighborhood. It is sweet, and the development is coming no matter what. I just hope the vibe we have now doesn't totally go away.