Do you ever drive down the street and wonder what that new construction site is all about and what is being built there? Good news! There’s somewhere you can look to find out. It includes an interactive map with a handy link to the permit information as well as a weekly recap on proposed projects. It is all housed at nextportland.com, a website put together by local architect Iain MacKenzie of TVA Architects. The map is great for seeing where construction is taking place on a macro level, or to identify what is happening on a specific site.
One takeaway I had after reviewing the early stages development recap is that although the builder lobbyists warned that passing inclusionary zoning (where a portion of all new construction over 20 units would need to include a small portion that are affordable to low and moderate income folks) would make building come to a screeching halt, that does not appear to be the case. We are just over a year into the program and the initial slow down that was expected as builders rushed to get permits before the program took place, appears to be over.
The site does not include single family home permits. For that, you go to Portland Maps Advanced Gallery page and click on Residential Construction page or go to this link. There you can look at residential permits by year or go to the recap and see a graph of the production over a 19 year period since 2000.
It is clear from these maps that Portland continues to be a popular place for investment and that we are still experiencing significant growth in the urban core. Hopefully with some thoughtful policies, that growth can include residences that are available to folks in all income levels.