Presented by Ernesto Fonseca, Hacienda CDC & Sid Scott, AIA and Roseva Saa, Scott Edwards Architecture
1 AIA LU|HSW

Designed as a grassroots economic development project to help Latino entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses, the Portland Mercado is a vibrant community hub within the transforming Lents Neighborhood in Portland.

This conversational presentation takes us back to the beginning and shares how vision, thoughtful outreach, creative design solutions, and community support resulted in a culturally-responsive development that delivered social impact and equitable economic opportunities to dozens of new businesses. A 2024 tragic fire resulted in an opportunity to evolve the Mercado to best meet the diverse needs of the community. Attendees will learn best practices for designing with a culturally-specific community, how to find precedents when they don’t exist locally, and how to deliver an impactful design within a constrained budget.The Portland Mercado intentionally created a stronger, resilient community that continues to be a model of success within the Latino development community.