Isn’t the Pearl District too expensive for average people?

• Not at the Sitka.  Rents here are designed to be affordable.  Many buildings in the Pearl District are expensive, but the Portland Development Commission and Hoyt Street Properties (the major landowner and developer of the old railyards) are working together to make sure the Pearl District has housing that is affordable to a wide range of Portlanders.

Can anyone live at the Sitka?

• A few apartments are rented at market rates, but most apartments at the Sitka are reserved for households who earn less than 60% of the median family income (MFI) for Portlanders. (About 1/3 of the apartments are available only to households earning less than 50% MFI.)
• Households consisting entirely of full-time students are generally not eligible to rent the income-restricted apartments. (There are some exceptions to the full-time student rule.)
• Contact our leasing office for more information. Our leasing staff will be happy to explain the income limits , the related restrictions, and our screening criteria to you.

What happens if my income increases after I move in?

• No problem. This won’t have any effect on your eligibility or your rent.

How do I know I won’t get a big rent increase after I move in?

• We have committed to keep 203 of the apartments at the Sitka affordable for 60 years. Rents on those apartments will increase as our expenses increase, but the increases will be limited and are monitored by city and state agencies.

How do I know you won’t convert the Sitka to condominiums?

• We can’t. (Well, at least not until the year 2065.) We made a lot of legally binding commitments that we will maintain the Sitka as an apartment building.

Is it complicated to apply?

• There are some extra forms for you to fill out when you first apply. Our staff will need to verify your financial information so they will be doing most of the extra work.

What else is different about living here?

• After you move in, the staff will need to re-certify your income once a year.
• Once every few years, a representative from one of our funders might come and inspect your apartment to make sure we’re taking good care of the building. The city and state agencies who provided the financing want to make sure that we’re being good stewards of those public resources. They come to inspect our records each year, to look at the building, and to check some percentage of the apartments. These inspections are brief. We’ll always give all tenants notice in advance that their apartment might be inspected. (Until the day of the visit, we don’t know which apartments will be selected for inspection.)