A nonprofit that serves the North Coast’s Latinx community has landed major funding, bringing it closer to its goal of establishing a cultural center in the region.
The Oregon Legislature approved $1.9 million in lottery revenue bonds for Consejo Hispano’s headquarters, Casa Mariposa, based out of a former Lutheran church in downtown Astoria. That translates into about $1.7 million for the nonprofit.
Executive Director Jenny Pool Radway called it a “historic investment” that will go directly to the organization’s capital campaign to help secure full ownership of the former Peace Lutheran Church building.
The nonprofit purchased the building last year for $2 million, but Pool Radway said the building there is an additional $1 to $1. 5 million in deferred maintenance and upgrades. Full ownership puts Consejo Hispano in a stronger position to take on the improvements responsibly and sustainably, she said.
The money is significant in another way, too. Other groups in Astoria — predominantly Nordic groups — have established long-standing cultural spaces: the Finnish Brotherhood’s Suomi Hall and the Sons of Norway, for example.
Now: “Casa Mariposa is the first Latinx-owned community space of its kind on the North Coast,” Pool Radway said, and added that while the nonprofit’s work focuses on the Latinx community, “We welcome everyone. If we can help someone, we never turn them away.”
Consejo Hispano offers a variety of services including tax assistance, financial literacy education, digital literacy programs and cultural programs and celebrations among other things. The nonprofit also provided space at Casa Mariposa for Astoria’s emergency warming shelter this winter.
Consejo Hispano’s funding request to the Legislature received support from people across Clatsop County and the North Coast.
“We went into this request knowing it would be a challenging year for state funding, which makes this investment even more meaningful,” Pool Radway told KMUN.
She said the community support was critical and, for her, affirms something essential: “that our community belongs here.”
“At a time when many Lantinx families are feeling uncertainty and pressure, this investment is a reminder that we are valued, we are supported and we are part of the fabric of this region,” Pool Radway said. “The people who stood with us made that clear, and we are profoundly grateful.”
In his letter of support for the funding request, Astoria Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick wrote that Casa Mariposa is “a win in multiple directions for our community.”
He noted that the church building is historic and is one of many churches in Astoria in need of repurposing.
“Having Consejo Hispano in the former church/now Casa Mariposa will help to bring life back to that portion of our downtown while providing vital services that are greatly needed by their underserved clientele,” he wrote.
Last February, the city of Astoria helped propel the project forward at the local level when Consejo Hispano faced a large, unexpected fee while in the process of closing on the building.
The change in use that corresponded with the change in ownership had triggered a more than $72,000 system development charge, a one-time fee levied by the city. These fees are meant to make developers shoulder a share of the costs associated with expanding public infrastructure to accommodate future growth.
The Astoria City Council agreed to have the city cover the fee for Consejo Hispano. City Manager Scott Spence called it a “unique opportunity to help a community partner.”