The Louisa Flowers is the largest affordable housing development built in Portland, Ore., in the last five decades. Developed by Home Forward, the 12-story building provides 240 homes in the city’s vibrant Lloyd District.
The studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments are home to residents earning 30%, 50%, and 60% of the area median income. Twenty permanent supportive housing (PSH) units are reserved for domestic violence survivors and are covered by Section 8 vouchers.
Rising on a longtime vacant lot, The Louisa Flowers makes a strong architectural contribution to Portland’s urban center by completing the street wall and providing ground floor commercial space on a major transportation corridor. The building sits at the intersection of the city’s streetcar and light rail lines and is adjacent to a network of bicycle and pedestrian paths and amenities. The building’s active, undulating brick façade draws on both the concept of movement and the neighborhood’s rich tradition of masonry buildings, says Julie Livingston, senior project manager.
The design and construction team’s focus on high indoor air quality, the thermal comfort of residents, and energy conservation delivered not only an environmentally sustainable building with a LEED for Homes Platinum certification, but a durable, easy to maintain building that will be operationally sustainable over its lifetime.
Residents of the Louisa Flowers have access to an on-site resident services coordinator who assists with housing stability, referrals, and community building activities. Residents of the PSH units receive additional support from Continuum of Care services providers in Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services.
The $74 million development is named for a respected African-American pioneer and leader who settled in Portland in the late 1800s. One of the first black families to own and develop property on Portland’s east side,
Louisa Flowers and her family were pillars in the community, and the building strives to both honor their impact and acknowledge the history of displacement that continues to impact communities of color in this neighborhood, the city of Portland, and the state of Oregon.
