Doing Something About It

Parents and community members had for a long time been frustrated by the string of shady businesses that had operated at the site across from the schools since the 1980s. For years, they had hoped for a positive, community-focused use. Concerned parents and neighbors opposed the proposed liquor sales and video poker. They joined forces and successfully convinced the Portland City Council and Oregon Liquor Control Commission to deny Mr. Fares’ liquor license application. Mr. Fares’ business appeared to languish. Neighbors wondered how he was making ends meet.

One day in June 2003, agents from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s narcotics team and the U.S. Marshals Service descended on the Drive Thru Deli site and arrested Mr. Fares. He was charged with importing psuedoephedrine from Canada and selling it to local illegal meth labs. The agents had been gathering evidence for two years. The arrest was part of a multi-state drug ring. Many community members were shocked that something like this was happening in their neighborhood.

The day after the arrest, neighbors contacted the U.S. Attorney’s office to find out whether the government would seize the property and expressed the community’s interest in getting ownership of the site. U.S. Attorney staff began to look for a program that would allow the transfer. The U.S. Marshals Service formally took ownership of the property in February 2003 after Mr. Fares plead guilty to the charges.

Over the next three years, a steering committee, formed by members of the Mt. Tabor and South Tabor Neighborhood Associations (MTNA and STNA) and Atkinson Elementary School PTA, embarked on a process of community engagement to learn how community members wanted to use the site. Paul Leistner—an active member of the MTNA and member of the Board of Directors for Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Program, Inc. (SEUL)—said, “People are so often beaten down by watching development happen around them that’s bad, but there is nothing they could do about it. Well here was something we could do about it.”

The steering committee and the community organizations hosted well-attended community meetings in November 2004 and April 2005 to talk about the future of the site. Participants said they wanted to turn the property into a vibrant community gathering place—like a coffee house—that would give both kids a safe place to hang out and adults a place to network. They also wanted space for classes and community activities and lots of innovative environmental features on the site. Leistner mentions that having a “community-owned space” at the Deli site appealed to many living in the area.
Between 2003 and June 2006, members of MTNA, STNA, and Atkinson PTA joined with many other neighbors and community members and devoted hundreds of hours to reach out to residents , businesses, local newspapers, City Hall, Federal government officials, and the Multnomah County Sheriff and county commissioners, to tell them about their vision for a thriving community center. U.S. Attorney staff found a U.S. Department of Justice program—Operation Goodwill— that would allow them to transfer the property to community ownership. Community members then spent months raising the nearly $50,000 required to cover the U.S. Marshals’ costs and initial insurance and utilities for the site. Over 80 individuals and businesses contributed to the fundraising effort. Local philanthropist Brad Mersereau completed the fund drive with a large donation that closed the gap.

At last when it seemed that residents had support and funding for the project, another obstacle remained: who would own the building? Community members wanted the property to be community-owned. They did not want another private owner who would not take into account community values for the site. The federal government would only transfer the property to an existing 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Community members approached Southeast Uplift to act as owner and their partner in the project. Southeast Uplift is the formal neighborhood coalition office that supports the 20 neighborhood associations in inner southeast Portland. “It seemed that it was the best option to have Southeast Uplift own the property,” said Paul. “SEUL gives organizational credibility to a community group’s initiatives and has a history of effective fiscal management.” The Southeast Uplift Board of Directors agreed to take temporary ownership of the property until a permanent ownership plan was created. The project steering committee would advise SEUL on the future redevelopment and use of the site. With Southeast Uplift on board, the project could move forward.

In June 2006, at a press conference on the site, U.S. Marshal for Oregon, Dennis Merrill, handed the keys to the building to Cece Hughley Noel, executive director of SEUL. Many of the community, government, and business partners who had made the project possible were there for the big event.

Later that summer, the White House Director of National Drug Policy, John Walters, came out to Portland to visit the site and give national awards to the MTNA, STNA, Atkinson PTA, and SEUL for their work on the project. He said that the effort to transform the former drug site is “an important example of what a community, committed to a goal, can do.”

The creation of Tabor Commons, as the project is now called, is certainly something to be proud of, and local residents are excited that a community hub will be right across the street from the elementary and high schools. The success of the project had a lot to do with building partnerships along the way. Paul says, “Without the neighborhood system and Southeast Uplift, neighbors would have spent countless hours re-inventing the wheel. Instead of creating bureaucracy, we were able to spend our time to securing this building for permanent community use.” The Commons indeed is an example of the power of organizing community towards a common goal, and doing something about that goal.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

1999

Adnan Fares opens the Drive Thru Wake Up Deli and applies for a liquor license. Mr. Fares is caught twice selling cigarettes to minors. Community members successfully oppose the liquor license application. Community members continue to be concerned about the activities on the Deli site

July 2001

Illegal drug operation begins, according to federal court indictment.

June 2003

Police raid the property as part of an investigation of a multi-state drug ring that acquires psuedoephedrine and distributes it to meth labs. Community members contact U.S. Attorney’s office to express interest in getting community ownership of the property. MTNA, STNA and Atkinson PTA and other community members form a steering committee to pursue community ownership of the property.

June 2004

The U.S. Marshals Service seizes the property.

February 2005

Mr. Fares pleads guilty and is sentenced to 135 months in federal prison. The U.S. Marshals take formal ownership of the property

November 2004 and April 2005

Neighbors hold community meetings to discuss using the site as a community center in the future and to share ideas of how to redevelop the property.

Summer 2005 through Spring 2006

Neighbors successfully raise $49,000 in donations to cover the costs of the property transfer and initial holding costs.

June 2006

The US Marshall hands the keys to Southeast Uplift at a press conference, securing it as a community-owned space.

July 2006

Neighbors clean up, paint and renovate building and hold an open house. White House “Drug Czar” visits site and presents Community Anti—Drug Excellence awards to the Mt. Tabor and South Tabor Neighborhood Associations, Atkinson Elementary PTA, and Southeast Uplift.