Preserving Diversity in the Falcon
The Falcon Apartment building has stood witness to the rise, fall, and re-emergence of an historic neighborhood in Portland. Gentrification slowly eliminates economic diversity in a neighborhood, and often affects generational and racial diversity as well. The Falcon was a racially diverse place when purchased in 1999. It was not, however, economically or generationally diverse. The majority of the long-term tenants were elderly, and all were low income. Brian Wannamaker was intent on preserving the racial diversity as well as expanding the generational and economic diversity of the buildings’ community.
One of the first things Wannamaker did when he purchased the building at “Murder Corner” was to hire Herb Jenkins, a live-in security guard, to offer additional security to the tenants and to control the hallways and evict the drug addicts that camped in the building. With tenant safety improved Wannamaker turned his attention to the extensive repairs the property required.
The costs of updating the property while trying to pay the mortgage brought Wannamaker up against the dilemma that many land owners face when they purchase a building in a transitional neighborhood: the need to increase income from the building while balancing the value that long-term tenants add to the community. Concerned for the quality of life of the long-term tenants at the Falcon, and wishing to preserve the tight-knit community of these residents, Wannamaker implemented an anti-gentrification policy.
The generational diversity of the building began to grow, as the majority of new tenants moving into the Falcon were people in their 20s and 30s, but most of them were Caucasian. Wanting to reflect and preserve the racial diversity of the building and neighborhood, Brian hired Carl Flipper of the Humboldt Neighborhood Association and the aforementioned Herb Jenkins, to actively recruit young African Americans to move into the building. Actively recruiting through existing community members is the best way to drive interest in a demographic that can otherwise feel alienated by development in a neighborhood.
However, even the affordable rents did not draw young African Americans. Over time it became apparent that the majority of young African Americans were moving out of a neighborhood they associated with gangs and drugs and grandma’s house, while the majority of young people moving into the neighborhood were artists chasing affordable rents. A large influx of artists moving into a neighborhood can be a sign of the impending economic shift of that neighborhood. Recent examples in Portland are the Pearl District and the Alberta Arts District.
Wannamaker recognized that recruiting artists into the building might stabilize the tenant population and provide a way for him to increase the income for the building. People desire to live around a vibrant art community and are willing to pay market rents to do so. Higher occupancy would increase rental income, which in turn would allow him to protect the low rent for the long-term residents. In 2003, he actively recruited artists and small business owners from the newly exploding Mississippi Corridor to fill up the vacant apartments. By eliminating vacancy in the building he was able to stabilize the rents for residents with limited income.
After filling vacant apartments, Wannamaker realized he could add more value to the building by utilizing the 14,000 square foot basement, which had long sat full of discarded furniture and forgotten belongings. The basement’s 12-foot-high ceilings inspired Wannamaker’s vision to create artist studios. Creating rentable units from previously unused space allowed for rental flexibility on the artist studios. By offering studios in trade for artwork to the Falcon’s permanent collection, Wannamaker attracted highly skilled and well-recognized artists to the Falcon, creating an exciting hub of core artists.
The Falcon Arts building continues to preserve racial, generational, and economic diversity in North Portland
