2024 Annual Conference | Cascadia Innovation Corridor

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About the 2024 Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference

“Housing for Tomorrow’s Cascadia” • November 18-19 • Portland, Oregon

Over recent decades, the Cascadia region has enjoyed incredible success and a quality of life that is the envy of many. Today, 9 million people call Cascadia home, an increase of more than 1.6 million since 2005, and we expect 3-4 million more residents by 2050. This growth has brought challenges, foremost among which is a lack of affordable and workforce housing. Across Cascadia, the three jurisdictions need to build at least 3 million new homes over the next 20 years to keep up with population growth projections.

At this event, elected officials, business leaders, developers, housing advocates, and other stakeholders from British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington discussed how we can work together to create sufficient housing supply now and in the future to address our affordable housing crisis.

Conference Agenda

Day 1: Monday, November 18th

› 9:00-11:30 am: Optional Tour – Port of Portland Terminal 2 Mass Timber Innovation Campus

› 12:30-1:00 pm: Welcome and Opening Remarks

- - Gov. Chris Gregoire, Cascadia Innovation Corridor Co-Chair
  - Laura Jones, Cascadia Innovation Corridor Co-Chair
  - James Parker, Northwest Native Chamber

› 1:00-1:30 pm: Housing Roadmap Introduction

- - John Wenstrup, BCG Managing Director and Senior Partner

› 1:30-2:00 pm: Keynote – Zoning Opportunities: Commercial Corridors

- - Peter Calthorpe, Urban Designer

›2:00-2:20 pm: Keynote – What We Can Learn from California’s Assembly Bill 2011

- - Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, State of California

›2:20-3:00 pm: Joint Keynote Q&A

- - Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, State of California
  - Peter Calthorpe, Urban Designer
  - John Wenstrup, BCG Managing Director and Senior Partner
  - Moderator: Gov. Chris Gregoire, Cascadia Innovation Corridor Co-Chair

› 3:30-4:15 pm: How Government Can Meet the Scale of the Problem

- - Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, State of Washington
  - Andrea Bell, Executive Director, Oregon Housing and Community Services

› 4:15-5:00 pm: Permitting Reforms

- - Carmen Rubio, Portland City Commissioner
  - Arlene Janousek, Housing Accelerator Fund Project Manager, City of Kelowna
  - Moderator: Mike Fong, Executive Director, Washington State Department of Commerce

› 5:00-5:30 pm: Fireside Chat & Day 1 Closing Remarks

- - Gov. Jay Inslee, State of Washington
  - Moderator: Andrew Hoan, President & CEO, Portland Metro Chamber

› 5:30-7:00 pm: Reception

Day 2: Tuesday, November 19th

› 8:30-9:30: Other Tools and Innovations to Support and Incent Housing Development

- - Dan Bertolet, Senior Research, Sightline Institute
  - Amy Vilis, Director of Housing Growth Innovation, DIGITAL
  - Nathan Young, CEO & Principal Builder, MODS PDX
  - Moderator: Gregg Colburn, Associate Professor, University of Washington

› 10:00-11:00: Creative Opportunities for Financing Housing Development

- - Rukaiyah Adams, CEO, 1803 Fund
  - Steve Walker, Executive Director, Washington State Housing Finance Commission
  - Moderator: Bob Powers, PNW Market Lead of Community Development Banking, JP Morgan Chase

› 11:00-11:40: Keynote – AI Economy for Cascadia and Implications for Housing