A Portland initiative to restore and redevelop historically Black areas in the city is investing $70 million to transform key pieces of riverfront real estate into mixed-use neighborhoods.

The 1803 Fund’s investments in the Albina neighborhood aim to create cultural and economic hubs for Black Portlanders. On Thursday, the Fund’s leaders confirmed it purchased a total of seven acres, including the former grain silos on the east bank of the Willamette River, along with other parcels in North and Northeast Portland.

“We are investing in Albina not as an artifact of the past, but as a promise to the future,” Rukaiyah Adams, CEO of 1803 Fund, said in a statement. Adams is also a member of OPB’s Board of Directors. “Our goal is to build something enduring, grounded in the people who have always called this neighborhood home.”

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The 1803 Fund launched in 2023 with a $400 million infusion from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and spouse Penny Knight.

In the middle of last century, North Portland’s Central Albina neighborhood was a bustling hub for Black-owned businesses. Starting in the 1950s, the city displaced hundreds of residents in the majority Black neighborhood to make way for Interstate 5 and other projects, some of which never came to fruition.

The 1803 Fund was created to help investors rebuild some of the economic prosperity and community spaces destroyed by racist urban renewal policies and projects. The fund focuses on building community areas for education, arts programs, housing and youth development.

“This momentous investment brings new life and new opportunity to one of Portland’s most important neighborhoods,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement. “It is a powerful example of what’s possible when vision and investment come together.”

Related: New housing project opens as step toward restoring Portland’s Albina neighborhood

The 1803 Fund bought the former grain silos between the Willamette River and the Moda Center in October. In its announcement about the acquisition, the Fund’s leaders say they want to turn the riverfront property into space for creativity and intellectualism that reflects the Black families living in the area.

“They’ll see their city from the east side of the river and realize they’ve always been — and always will be — part of its story,” Adams said in the statement.

“When they stand here, they’ll feel their power and potential, knowing they can build, lead and make remarkable things real. Our children will grow up seeing something that’s ours: rooted, lasting, not borrowed for a season.”