Lease with local modular housing company set to begin July 2023
Last week, the Port of Portland approved a lease with Modomi, a Portland-based company specializing in sustainable modular housing developments, at its marine terminal 2 (T2). Modomi, a subsidiary of project^, will base their modular construction facilities at T2’s Warehouse 205, where the company will convert an existing warehouse into a modular housing manufacturing center, focusing on the production of middle-income, or ‘workforce,’ housing.
“Modomi is quickly establishing itself as a leader in the modular housing industry,” says Keith Leavitt, Chief Trade & Equitable Development Officer at the Port of Portland. “This project further activates T2 as a center of innovation for factory production of well designed, sustainable and affordable housing units that can be delivered across Oregon to communities in need.”
Modomi’s initial phase of work is designed to answer the call of the housing crisis throughout the state by deploying modular units to Central and Southern Oregon. Modomi also plans to build approximately 200 units of modular ‘workforce’ housing to be placed in the heart of East Portland’s Gateway Urban Renewal Area. The Portland metropolitan area currently faces a deficit of 13,000 ‘workforce’ housing units, affordable for households earning between 60 and 120 percent of median area income. Modular housing is more efficient, can be produced more rapidly, and is more sustainable than traditional construction methods, with CO2 emissions reduced by 30%.
It is expected that operations at Modomi’s T2 facility will lead to the creation of 40 quality jobs within the first three years, 30 of which will be new to the market. Additional jobs are forecasted as the company grows.
Previously, Modomi has partnered with Oregon Housing and Community Services to provide housing options to those impacted by wildfires in Jackson County. Project^ developed the Meyer Memorial Trust building in Northeast Portland, which showcases mass plywood panels. Project^ also developed the Oregon Conservation Center for The Nature Conservancy, which utilized Oregon-made cross-laminated timber panels. The Port seeks more partnerships with innovators like Modomi to transform T2 into a housing innovation hub, accelerate and expand Oregon’s housing ecosystem, produce quality homes using mass timber, and lessen the carbon footprint of the built environment.
For more information about the Port of Portland’s plans for T2 and efforts related to Oregon’s mass timber industry, visit www.portofportland.com/masstimber.
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About the Port of Portland
With its three airports, four marine terminals, five business parks, and hundreds of employees, the Port of Portland connects people and businesses in the region to powerful opportunities. Using its resources, expertise, and influence, the Port is striving to pull down barriers and unlock new opportunities for those who have been left out of the region’s economic growth, including people of color, low-income workers, and people with disabilities. The Port is leading major initiatives to drive positive change in the region, from the $2 billion project to expand, modernize, and make PDX more accessible, to catapulting Oregon's mass timber industry and providing more options for small businesses to get their goods to markets around the world. For more information, visit www.PortofPortland.com.