Portland is piloting a social housing revolving loan fund with $17.5 million approved in April 2026, with a council-ordered study report expected by the end of August.
The Oregonian · on Helmi Hisserich named ROSE Community Development executive director
Helmi Hisserich, former director of the Portland Housing Bureau, will start August 31 as executive director of ROSE Community Development Corp., a Portland affordable housing nonprofit founded in 1992 that has developed about 600 homes. Hisserich resigned from the Housing Bureau last November in exchange for a $240,880 severance.
Portland City Council's April 2025 resolution directed the social housing study Hisserich championed; its final report is expected by the end of August 2026.
Shelterforce reported that the Portland City Council's April 2026 approval of an initial $17.5 million investment in social housing — part of a $56 million package drawn from previously unbudgeted housing funds — is letting the city pilot a revolving loan fund to acquire property for permanently affordable housing. The piece reports that the discovery of the unbudgeted funds raised questions about administration of the Portland Housing Bureau's roughly $244 million 2025–2026 budget.
The study ordered by an April 2025 council resolution is expected to release its final report by the end of August 2026.
Shelterforce reported on Portland's social housing pilot, funded by a $17.5 million council allocation in April 2026 as part of a $56 million package drawn from previously unbudgeted housing funds, which will seed a revolving loan fund to buy commercial properties for conversion to permanently affordable housing. Councilor Mitch Green told Shelterforce he is optimistic the money will be a downpayment on further policy change rather than a one-off experiment; Councilor Candace Avalos said the private market produces housing that is "grossly expensive and inaccessible" and that social housing can create "systems that last."
The council-ordered social housing study's final report and recommendations are expected by the end of August 2026.