Portland's Burlington Northern Rail Yards spent decades as little more than an abandoned industrial site, one of the biggest parcels of vacant urban land in the United States. Few imagined that the 34-acre brownfield held such potential for urban development, but Homer Williams, as a founder of Hoyt Street Properties, led the transformation of this land into Hoyt Street Yards.

With a vision toward the future, Homer successfully negotiated the Hoyt Street Yards project with the City of Portland, leading to a productive public/private partnership that, when completed, will have borne a neighborhood of parks, restaurants, galleries, retail shops, educational institutions, cultural attractions and more than 5,000 units.

Homer directly managed the development of the first four buildings (Kearney Plaza Apartments, Riverstone Condominiums, Streetcar Lofts and Tanner Place Condominiums), totaling 524 residential units and approximately 30,000 square feet of commercial space. He also worked diligently to ensure the Portland Streetcar connected the Pearl District to downtown Portland and the NW 23 rd Street commercial district.

The heart of the Pearl District, and the catalyst for redevelopment began with the collection of residences at Hoyt Street Yards, which are centered around Jamison Square Park. This lively park provides residents a place to mingle, children a place to play in a unique water feature, and office workers a place to gather in the midday sun. In the summer, the water feature transforms into an amphitheater for neighborhood concerts. Jamison Square was followed by Tanner Springs Park, a more contemplative design that pays homage to the area's historic wetlands ecology. Two more parks will be constructed in the neighborhood to serve the growing residential, worker and visitor communities. All are easily accessible by Portland's streetcar.