Two of the businesses date back to the 90s, when the city pushed to support minority-owned businesses in Northeast Portland. Now, they feel pressured to move.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Two longstanding tenants renting commercial space from the city of Portland in Northeast Portland said they are seeing a large uptick in rent.
The city of Portland started the Walnut Park and North Precinct Retail Project 29 years ago, with the hope of turning an old Fred Meyer store on Martin Luther King Boulevard and Northeast Killingsworth into a commercial center, sharing the building with the Portland Police Bureau. This opened up more opportunities for new small minority-owned businesses.
Jerome Polk is the owner of JP’s Custom Framing and Gallery and one of the tenants. He says his rent recently went up from $1,200 to $1,800 a month.
“When your rent jumps by almost a thousand dollars, that’s a shock to your system,” Polk shared. “I think that’s with any business.”
Originally, 14 out of the 18 shops were owned by people of color. Polk said most of the other original owners left due to rising rent.
“All of those businesses that have gone; now, the police have occupied those spots,” he said.
Polk believes the rise in rent defeats the goal of the initiative.
“I want the city to be honest with us as far as what is the ultimate plan is,” said Polk. “I need to be on the lookout for myself and secure a place for my business to continue.”
Jaiwhan Woo owns Walnut Park Cleaners and Coin Laundry. He’s been running businesses in Northeast Portland since the 80s. He said recently, his rent jumped from $2,900 to $3,500 a month.
“Prices are getting out of control,” said Woo. “Rent, especially, it’s hard to have a business around here — so owners are moving way out to somewhere where they can handle it.”
Woo hopes the city can see the importance of their businesses, and said many of the shops carry items you can’t get anywhere else in Portland.
“We need to help out businesses,” Woo stressed. “This is how we thrive in our community, so we need Black people to have business here.”
City of Portland’s response to reported tenant rent hikes
KGW reached out to the city of Portland regarding the reported rent hikes from the tenants. The city got back to KGW in a statement after the story aired Thursday afternoon.
In the statement, the city said that JP’s Framing and Gallery lease charges increased in Nov. 2023 by $260 per month — going from $1,315 to $1,575 per month — and before 2023, the rent had not been increased in over 15 years.
Regarding the reported rent hike for Walnut Park Cleaners and Coin Laundry, the city said rent increased in July 2023 by $87 per month, going from $2,900 to $2,987 per month. Before 2023, rent had not been increased in five years, the city said.
The city said it has informed tenants that the overall future use of the Walnut Park facility is being evaluated and could change — though no plans have been made.
They also mentioned that they have spoken with JP’s Framing and Gallery on multiple occasions and explained that there are no specific changes being made for the use of Walnut Park yet, and they will communicate any updates right away should something change. They said a month-to-month lease allows tenants to do what is best for them with all the information that is currently available.
KGW followed up with the city for further clarification regarding rental hikes in 2024. The city responded. saying there have not been any rental increases since 2023. It’s unclear where…
Read More: Rising rents make Northeast Portland shops feel pushed out