6601 NE Killingsworth, Portland, OR 97218

The school for homeless children gets a home

The Community Transitional School was founded in 1990 in Portland to create a stable educational environment for children whose families were homeless, in transition, or suffering a poverty-related crisis.

In the 16 years of its existence, Community Transitional School had been forced to move 6 times, and was again looking for a new location. The school began a capital campaign to build a permanent facility, but New Markets Tax Credits were essential to closing the financing gap and allowing construction of the new school to begin.

The brand new 9,500 SF school with classrooms, administrative offices, exercise area and track opened in May of 2008. Over 200 children attend the school each year, with average daily enrollment of 70 to 80 students.

Several of the project partners provided consulting, legal, and accounting services pro bono. The project received Honorable Mention in the 2008 Small Business Qualified Low-Income Community Investment award category from the Novogradac Community Development Foundation.

Development Type: School for homeless children

Project Timeline: Completed Spring 2008

Project Partners: Portland New Markets Fund I, LLC; US Bank Community Development Corporation

Total Project Cost: $3.5 million

NMTC Allocation: $3 million

Total Economic Impact: $6 million

Jobs: 38

Click here for more community impacts information (PDF)

Click here to view a video on Community Transitional School