Statement on Argyle Gardens
On October 11, 2023, the Portland Mercury published an article describing Argyle Gardens, a permanent housing program Transition Projects developed, and provides services at, in North Portland.
At Transition Projects, our foundational values center on creating a welcoming, safe, and affordable housing environment for every resident in our community. Everyone deserves to live in a space that fosters security and demonstrates pride in their homes. We are wholly committed to these ideals and continuously strive to uphold them in every aspect of our operations.
The article touches on issues we are actively working to address and contains inaccuracies and mischaracterizations that warrant correction.
Our top priority is addressing the challenges at this property. First, a few notes about the cleanliness of the common spaces in each building: a property management staff member is tasked with cleaning each building bi-weekly. However, given the high level of service needs of some residents this has not proven to be sufficient for some common areas. Transition Projects and Quantum Residential are working collaboratively to ensure that the issues are promptly and effectively resolved.
At Transition Projects, we understand that many residents in the property are grappling with diverse challenges. Living in shared spaces requires a collective effort to maintain a harmonious environment. While aspects such as cleaning dishes and managing food are part of communal living and ultimately the responsibility of each resident, we also recognize the importance of offering guidance and tools to our residents. Our primary aim is to set expectations and collaboratively foster an atmosphere where residents can comfortably meet them. We are enhancing our residents’ access to supportive services, aiding them in building essential skills for living harmoniously within community spaces.
Concerning the issue of bed bugs, it’s an area Transition Projects and Quantum have been actively addressing. There have been hurdles, such as residents’ hesitations about room treatments. For some, this could be due to personal or past experiences that make them uneasy. Understanding and respecting their choices is crucial, even as we wish to help. We’re actively seeking ways to engage with our residents, ensuring they feel safe and informed about the measures taken for their well-being.
Transition Projects acknowledges other challenges faced at Argyle Gardens, from behavioral health concerns leading to property theft to physical incidents directed towards residents and staff. While we ensure due diligence and operate within legal parameters to address the more significant incidents, our immediate efforts will include enhancing security measures such as preventing propped-open doors and providing individual lockable kitchen spaces for residents.
More broadly, we recognize the necessity for comprehensive support for Argyle Gardens’ residents. We are currently transitioning more of the units to Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH), which offers vital on-site tenancy support. This step, we believe, will address many behavioral concerns and ensure a safer, more harmonious living environment. Our commitment is unwavering, and we’re dedicated to finding the best solutions within our means.
Finally, we want to emphasize that the Single Room Occupancy (SRO) model is a vital element to the continuum of affordable housing, and it’s one that we know works from our decades of successfully managing programs at our Clark Center Annex and Barbara Maher Apartments.
Now, we want to dispel some concerns raised by the piece. All quotations are from the Portland Mercury article.
“Quantum Residential did not respond to repeated requests for comment from the Mercury.”
Transition Projects response to the Portland Mercury’s initial questions on 8/1 was on behalf of Transition Projects and Quantum Residential.
“A sign above the stove prohibits residents from using it to cook–though that rule has never been followed or enforced.”
The City of Portland requires signs limiting grease production when there are Type 2 hoods in commercial spaces. The signs posted do not prohibit residents from cooking on the stoves.
“Furthermore, TPI, which owns the apartment complex as a limited partnership and serves as the services provider, said Quantum Residential is supposed to provide regular janitorial services.”
LISAH Limited Partnership owns Argyle Gardens. Transition Projects is the General Partner.
“‘As part of our role as the service provider, we’ve added two staff in the past 30 days to better support the residents and address behavioral issues,’ RJ DeMello, a communications and community development manager for TPI, said back in early August. DeMello said buildings are ‘cleaned by janitorial staff twice per week.’ DeMello also said locking cabinets would be added in the kitchen. Two months after that email, none of that has happened.”
Two additional services staff were added and common spaces are cleaned twice per week. Some of the kitchen cabinets were damaged and we are getting bids to fix those and will have the locks in place by the end of October.
“But many of the amenities promised for residents–a community room with computers, secure bike storage, a designated kitchen, socialization, and community– quickly evaporated or were never offered at all.”
This is false. Argyle Gardens offers a community room, secure bike storage, and kitchens for all of its residents.
Community events in the last four months include Oregon Health Plan signup events, a gardening party to build raised beds and plant vegetables and flowers, and Fun in the Sun days with games and light refreshments.
OHSU nursing students will be on-site starting next month to support residents’ physical and some behavioral health needs.
“The city’s Bureau of Development Services has at least one open complaint about Argyle Gardens, but not even a city inspector can get the property’s management company or its owner to answer the phone.”
The complaint has been closed out via a final inspection from the city in September.
“Other attempts to save money on construction costs have left the buildings hard to cool during summer months. Side panels on some of the buildings at Argyle Gardens were built using Plexiglass greenhouse material rather than traditional drywall. The material lets in natural light, but it also traps heat in the buildings, which only supply one air conditioning unit per floor.”
The reporter’s mention of plexiglass refers to the stairwells of each building. These stairwells are environmentally isolated from the conditioned living spaces. The design was chosen to offer more weather protection and enhanced safety compared to fully exposed exterior stairs. The rest of the building is heated and cooled the way most affordable housing was built for decades, prior to the recent heat dome.
It is correct that there are items at Argyle Gardens that must be addressed and resolved. The community and residents are incredibly important to both Quantum Residential and us.
We’re committed to getting this right and will not stop until we do. Everyone deserves a safe, clean, and welcoming environment in which to live, and we are continuously working to realize that vision. We look forward to updating you on our progress soon.