Developing & Delivering Multifamily in Portland Today

How Feasibility, Location, Available Capital and Market Conditions Are Shaping What Gets Built

• 

  Sam Rodriguez

  Sam Rodriguez serves as Senior Managing Director, with a focus on the Portland, Oregon market for Mill Creek Residential. Formerly, Mr. Rodriguez served as a Development Associate for the Pacific Northwest division with Trammell Crow Residential. Before joining Trammell Crow, he worked as a Project Manager for a Portland residential developer for two years and prior to that practiced architecture for 16 years, the last six as a Senior Associate and Project Manager at SERA Architects, Incorporated in Portland, Oregon. In that capacity, Mr. Rodriguez oversaw construction of several award winning, urban mixed-use and multifamily housing projects in the Portland area. Projects he managed while at SERA include 8 NW 8, The Avenue Lofts, The Civic and The Tate Condominiums. At Trammell Crow, he successfully managed Tupelo Alley and Riva on the Park from design through construction. Mr. Rodriguez received a Bachelor of Architecture from the Central University of Venezuela. He is a registered Architect in Washington DC and Venezuela.

  Mill Creek Residential

  Senior Managing Director, Development

  Sam Rodriguez

  Senior Managing Director, Development

  Mill Creek Residential

• 

  Eric Cress

  An engineer and designer by training, Eric is drawn to innovative new ideas that make our communities better places to live. At UD+P, Eric concentrates on acquisition, development, finance, and property management. He oversees budgets and the acquisition-to-construction phase of new projects, and he initiates loans for our private real estate funds. Before UD+P, Eric was a project manager at Pacific Bay Investments in Berkeley, California. Prior to that, Eric managed engineering projects for Cypress Semiconductor, Maple Optical Systems, Leapfrog Toys, and the National Science Foundation. Eric holds eight patents and has published several papers related to this work. He earned an MBA with a focus in real estate finance from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, as well as BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University. Eric currently serves as a Vice President of the Central Eastside Industrial Council and Urban Product Council Chair of the Portland Chapter of the Urban Land Institute.

  Urban Development

  Principal

  Eric Cress

  Principal

  Urban Development

• 

  Anselm Fusco

  Managing Director

  Holland Partner Group

• 

  Sarah Zahn

  Sarah Zahn is the Managing Director of the Development Group at Security Properties and a member of the Investment Committee. Sarah and her team oversee all phases of new development projects including site acquisition, design, entitlement and permitting, financing, construction management, lease-up and disposition. She is also responsible for sourcing and analyzing new pipeline projects for the group. With over 20 years of experience in real estate development, Sarah is passionate about projects that strengthen communities and enhance urban environments. Her diverse portfolio includes mixed-use infill, multifamily, office, hospitality, higher education, civic uses and affordable housing.   Prior to joining Security Properties in 2023, Sarah was most recently Chief Operating Officer for Urban Development Partners in Portland, OR where she oversaw the company’s development platform. Prior to that, Sarah spent several years working on the redevelopment of a 33-acre former industrial site on the Willamette River into a vibrant, mixed-use community. She also spent 5 years at Gerding Edlen working on the firm’s public-private portfolio of projects. Sarah started her career in real estate development in the San Francisco Bay Area.

  Security Properties

  (Former) Managing Director, Development

  Sarah Zahn

  (Former) Managing Director, Development

  Security Properties

• 

  Tim Leavitt

  Tim Leavitt, PE, serves as DOWL’s Practice Area Leader for the Civil and Land Development (CLD) business unit, including nearly 100 professionals in site civil engineering, land surveying, land use planning, and landscape architecture. DOWL was founded over 60 years ago and has grown to over 550 team members, located in 18 offices across 7 states, west of the Mississippi River. Tim leads DOWL’s CLD team with nearly 30 years of successful and diverse experience in civil engineering design, site entitlements, business development, and office / regional / divisional business unit leadership. Over his careeer, Tim’s experience has ranged from the fairly simple design and site entitlements for a 10,000 SF commercial pad to the complex master planning and engineering of 100-acre mixed-use master plans. He is particularly adept at visioning with and orchestrating the triumphant execution of our Client’s development and business goals. He also has a keen knack for stakeholder and decision-maker messaging, given his prior spare time activity: Tim served on the Vancouver Planning Commission, Vancouver City Council, and as Mayor of Vancouver from 2001-2018. Among his many mayoral accomplishments, Tim is credited with strengthening the regional collaboration and relationships amongst governmental and business leadership, elevating the city’s presence with move to a new city hall, and leading the city’s efforts to bring the waterfront development over the finish line. In is free time, Tim enjoys training, hiking, biking, golf, travel….and moderating Bisnow panels!

  DOWL

  Practice Area Leader

  Moderator

  Tim Leavitt

  Practice Area Leader

  DOWL

The Path Forward for Portland Affordable Housing

Tackling Cost, Feasibility, Policy, and Partnerships to Deliver and Preserve More Accessible Communities

• 

  Kathleen Mertz

  Kathleen’s career spans a variety of leadership roles in the housing industry, including serving as a Project Manager, Director, and Vice President for Real Estate Development for a national nonprofit senior housing developer, as well as overseeing real estate, asset management, and community development programs as the Director of Housing and Community Development at a local public housing authority. Her expertise is particularly notable in her work with federal, state, and local funding programs, such as HUD and LIHTC, across multiple states. Her efforts have contributed to the production and preservation of over 1,600 affordable housing units, significantly impacting the landscape of community development.

  REACH Community Development

  Head of Real Estate

  Kathleen Mertz

  Head of Real Estate

  REACH Community Development

• 

  Sarah Schubert

  Sarah Schubert brings over 17 years of real estate development and finance experience to CDP and has worked on affordable housing projects in both Portland, OR and New York City. Most recently, Sarah worked as the Director of Development for BRIDGE Housing’s Portland office and before that as the Director of Housing for Human Solutions, Inc. (now known as Our Just Future), where she oversaw the Development, Asset Management, and Resident Services teams.

  Community Development Partners

  Director of Development

  Sarah Schubert

  Director of Development

  Community Development Partners

• 

  Martin Porter

  Pastor Martin Porter is a visionary leader, faith-based real estate developer, and dedicated pastor in the nation’s oldest African American denomination. As Managing Partner of West Coast-based Logos Faith Development, he leads a pipeline of over 40 projects totaling more than 2,000 units. With expertise in transformational leadership, real estate development, and faith-based housing, he identified a gap in mission-driven development on church-owned land and built Logos into an industry leader. Before launching Logos, Pastor Porter held senior leadership roles at national and regional real estate firms, earning recognition as a top producer and recruiter while fostering cultures of retention and growth. His leadership journey is shaped by both personal trials and professional triumphs. Born in Asia and raised in the UK and Southern California, he overcame early hardships, finding meaning and purpose in church and ministry. His life experiences and powerful testimony of resilience through faith fuel his commitment to service. Beyond real estate, Pastor Porter’s ministry is focused on empowering families and developing future leaders. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership and is pursuing a master’s in divinity (MDIV), integrating both disciplines to drive lasting impact. Pastor Porter preaches restoration, redemption, and resilience. His mission is clear: to build homes, hope, and human dignity—ensuring everyone has an opportunity to live and have a “life worth living.” He stands by and exemplifies the values of the organization he founded and leads: Faith, Family, Honor, and Heritage.

  Logos Development

  Founder & CEO

  Martin Porter

  Founder & CEO

  Logos Development

• 

  Bjorn Beer

  Bjorn Beer is a consultant and broker with SVN. Bjorn has spoken at national conferences about his creative re-capitalization and disposition solutions for housing providers. He's a voting member of Housing Oregon. His first real estate investment in 2007 resulted in a land donation to Habitat for Humanity, an experience that opened his eyes to creative ways to leverage private capital and the tax code to build Affordable housing capacity. Beer won the 2026 Real Leader of Real Estate award from Real Leaders Magazine for his creative recapitalization and disposition solutions for housing providers.

  SVN

  VP

  Bjorn Beer

  VP

  SVN

• 

  Ravi Kurtz

  Ravi uses his engineering background to bridge the gap between construction and tax planning. After understanding the technical needs and requirements of a project, he will educate and advise on the most pertinent incentives. He is an active project manager who will develop and drive a plan to maximize the incentives for each and every project. When you work with Ravi you can expect top notch client service. He aims to create a reliable, consistent product that you understand and can plan around. He takes pride in adding value to you capital projects and working to realize each client's goals. In his spare time, you will find Ravi digging through old vinyl at the record store, visiting family and friends, and enjoying a morning hike with his puppy.

  Eide Bailly

  Manager

  Moderator

  Ravi Kurtz

  Manager

  Eide Bailly