By Julie Reed
The structural framework for the new nine-story, 334,000 sq. ft. Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel has created a visible presence on the east Portland landscape. The new building project is 45 percent complete and is expected to open in spring 2012.
Continue reading Construction is nearing halfway on the Children’s Hospital
Portland Plan
The Portland Plan process continues. Of most interest to Eliot is the Central City Plan process embedded within the larger process. It will evaluate and potentially change zoning among other things. The current focus is the NE quadrant of the central city that includes the Rose Quarter, Lloyd District, Lower Albina, and portions of Eliot along Broadway and between Williams and I-5. The process has two parts. The first is planning revisions to I-5 between I-84 and the Fremont Bridge. The second is the usual review of land use and zoning. There is a citizens advisory panel assisting with the process. Many on the panel believe the process is dominated by interests who want to widen I-5 without considering neighborhood impacts. They are warily watching transportation interests to blunt that threat, however, there are serious issues with this section of the freeway that will complicate future development in the Rose Quarter and the Broadway corridor associated with the new streetcar line. Not much has happened after three advisory panel meetings but the next meeting in January is expected to begin the review of freeway options where things should get more substantive AND interesting.
Continue reading Land Use and Transportation Update for Winter 2011
New Apartments Planned for MLK and Monroe – Developer Chris Rogers of Phase Two Development and his architect, Ralph Tahran presented their proposal for a new apartment project on the SW corner of MLK and Monroe. They have not submitted plans to the City, but envision a 5-story, 44-unit structure. It would be a mix of mostly 1-bedroom and studio units with some two bedroom units and two townhomes on the western edge of the property over a row of parking garages. Twenty two parking spaces are planned. Units would be market rate, although they intend to participate in a PDC property tax abatement program that requires 20 percent of the units to be set aside for individuals making no more than 60 percent of median family income. They hope to begin construction next fall.
On November 15 the Rose Quarter Development Project along with the N/NE Quadrant of the Central City plan held a joint open house at the Memorial Coliseum. Materials and video related to the Rose Quarter open house have been posted on the Rose Quarter website.
The vacant lot on the southeast corner of MLK and Ivy used to be a service station turned alchemy lab known most recently as the Grant Warehouse. The former owner had polluted the site with an unknown toxic brew which was discovered during a fire. Consequently the City tried to force Mr. Grant to clean up the site, which was beyond his ability and means. Ultimately the EPA did the clean up and placed a lien on the property. Eventually the EPA turned the property over to the City and from there it ended up with PDC as an “opportunity site” within the Convention Center Urban Renewal District. PDC hosted a couple of community advisory committees to explore development options and to solicit design proposals. One of the goals was to provide home ownership opportunities rather than subsidized rental housing. Due to the poor housing market and challenge financing condo construction in inner-NE Portland final design and construction had been delayed. Now it appears a workable plan has been identified that can be constructed.
Portland has launched 2 major planning activities – the Portland Plan and the Central City Plan (CCP). Both will chart a future for Portland over the next 25 years. This will compliment Metro’s 2040 Plan. The Portland Plan has a high level look at 9 issues of importance to city residents, such as economic development and education. On the other hand, the CCP will review land use and zoning and propose changes in both to City Council. The Central City area includes the Lloyd District, Rose Quarter, Lower Albina, and a portion of Eliot between Broadway and Russell. More information on the CCP can be found on the City web site www.portlandonline.com/bps/cc2035. Information about the Eliot portion of the CCP can be found by clicking on the “N/NE Quadrant Plan.”
The Rose Quarter is a regional attraction with regional traffic, noise and trash that impacts the Eliot Neighborhood. The redevelopment of the Rose Quarter is both an opportunity and threat to the livability of Eliot. Fortunately, there is a way for Eliot neighbors to have a say in what happens in the Rose Quarter; the Good Neighbor Agreement.
Portland is a City that likes to plan. And, it likes to have lots of meetings when it plans. At least 3 planning processes are getting started that will affect the future of Eliot. Each will require involvement of the Eliot Neighborhood Association as well as participation from Eliot neighbors. The three are:
The Memorial Coliseum concept proposals have been submitted and the Rose Quarter Stakeholder Advisory Committee is preparing to evaluate the ideas. On Tuesday January 26th the SAC along with the public will be able to see those concepts presented by the submitters.
The next couple of years will see new plans and projects proposed that will affect the future of Eliot. There are outside interests driving these that do not necessarily have Eliot’s interests at heart. It is important for us, as residents, to make our interests known. Both the Eliot Land Use Committee and the Board are here to do that and, in some cases, we are already preparing, but we need to be sure we are accurately representing the neighborhood, so participating in neighborhood meetings is critical.
The North/Northeast Economic Development Initiative is an analysis of past and planned investments, possible boundary adjustments and priorities for new investments in the Interstate Corridor and Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Areas. The Portland Development Commission (PDC) is conducting the N/NE Economic Development Initiative in partnership with the community to ensure that PDC investments enhance livability and economic opportunity within the two urban renewal areas and the city at-large.
In July, Mayor Adams announced the formation of a task force whose purpose is to make a recommendation on how to revitalize the Rose Quarter and what to do with the aging Memorial Coliseum. In August, the 32 member Rose Quarter Stakeholders Advisory Committee members were announced and Eliot Neighborhood was identified as a stakeholder.
By winter Eliot will have new infill housing that is as old as the neighborhood. Let me explain.
The call came in mid-2007, “Want to move another house? I have a lot and we can go 50/50.” The Kinsman house was built in 1908 near NE 7th and Broadway and was recently used as an annex to the Mountain Shop. It is a large building – and tall. Unfortunately, the available lot in Eliot was 10 blocks away down tree-lined streets. So the first order of business was to find out what route had both the width and the fewest trees. Next we tried to discover what the City’s tree trimming/cutting policy was for house moves. Six months and a letter to the Mayor later, we finally got a response, “We won’t tell you until you have your building permit.” Thus began the first of many Catch-22 situations we had to resolve. Although the City’s building move process is better than is used to be, it is still poorly implemented.
Speaking of poor design, how about that 12-lane bridge to nowhere; I mean Vancouver? The lone “neighborhood” voice in City Council was frozen out when she tried to raise environmental justice issues, since the congestion that will be “relieved” will be at the Columbia moving the current congestion further into inner N/NE including Eliot. This is an area that is already overloaded with toxic air emissions and poisoning adjacent schools and it will only get worse with the bridge.
Continue reading Speed me to my sprawling home in Washington
What makes a neighborhood? This is a recurring theme in this column. Typically it is about “imports” of low-income and special needs populations from the parts of the city who refuse to accommodate them in their own neighborhoods. At times it is about new construction that ignores the historic character of Eliot simply to express an architect’s ego or a developer’s greed. Almost always, it is preaching to a powerless choir because the City refuses to take the complaints of inner-N/NE seriously.
Eliot Neighborhood 