Lloyd District News

[cab]

I believe the estimate is that 40% of all US malls will be closed within the next 10 years. I cant see the Lloyd mall surviving unless they do something unique, which clearly they are not.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by cab

I believe the estimate is that 40% of all US malls will be closed within the next 10 years. I cant see the Lloyd mall surviving unless they do something unique, which clearly they are not.

Then it would be obvious and desirable that Lloyd Center should be leveled and redeveloped with the street grid restored and extended through the massive superblock site. Alternating streets could be pedestrian ways like parts of the Pearl District were developed.

[soleri]

Often when a mall hits hard times, it reinvents itself as a "power center" with discount big box stores like Costco and/or Walmart. I wonder if this possibility - which is apparently too late now - was entertained by the owners. One other possibility was giving space to the James Beard Public Market, which might have redefined Lloyd as a culinary destination with new food stores and restaurants.

Lloyd has a huge amount of parking, which is both an asset and an albatross. Would a developer really want to give that infrastructure up for something both radical and vague? Until necessity clarifies their vision, I'd recommend pop-up galleries for working artists and craftsmen. Give them the empty spaces and see if they can make some magic. Right now, it's like seeing a relative die of cancer. The owners apparently are opting for more office space, which seems sorta pointless.

[cab]

It would be a pretty interesting place to turn into housing. Keep just the ground floor retail. Second second floor office, top housing. The density would be amazing and the amount of people could be the foundation for the retail. Live work to the extreme. Like some kind of Logan's run future housing or cruise ship living. I could see old people loving it.

[cityscapes]

Another issue in revitalizing the mall is that the massive development on the movie theater parking lot and the surface lot to the north don't seem to be moving forward like Oregon Square. If all those projects were built the mall would have a huge captive audience, but now that density isn't materializing.

Even with all the investment in the mall, huge stretches of it are still made of dead spaces that are very pedestrian unfriendly. When all of this started I was hoping for something much more transformative.

[AdamUrbanist]

A big part of why the housing investment hasn’t materialized is that the area lacks street life or neighborhood amenities. Until leveling the mall and starting from scratch makes sense -which eventually it will- the best thing they can do for the neighborhood is give people a reason to stick around. There are lots of interesting things you can do with cheap space. If you can turn an old warehouse in an industrial area into an arts scene why not a struggling mall?

[babs]

Is the Lloyd Center site big enough to host a baseball stadium? It might be a better location than the one on the waterfront.

[AdamUrbanist]

You could probably make it work. It would be a much better location in terms of transportation infrastructure. And if you redeveloped the site it would probably also be a more politically palatable location as well.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by babs

Seems to me that with the continual changes in this building and in the west anchor, Lloyd Center seems to be adrift. Outside of the new music venue, I haven't seen them sign any significant new retail tenants. With Sears and Marshalls leaving and foot traffic seeming to struggle, I wonder how long Macy's holds out. If Macy's goes, I don't see Lloyd Center surviving.

Seeing this mall be a shell of itself, I would rather see it torn down and redeveloped.

[Abide]

With the decision to work in more office space at the east end by the theater, it seems the mall is experiencing office creep. If at first you can't sign retail tenants, keep turning more space into offices!

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Posting Notice for a DAR to discuss a revised concept for the East Anchor remodel.

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Drawings [33 MB]

Summary Memo

[pdxsg34]

What's going on with the Live Nation and the new theater? Nothing since April on the theater, and nothing since May on the Live Nation site. There's also been nothing on the new Bowlero since January. I really hope the owners of Lloyd Center shelve these ideas for the ballpark, but I dream.

[NOPO]

Originally Posted by pdxsg34

What's going on with the Live Nation and the new theater? Nothing since April on the theater, and nothing since May on the Live Nation site. There's also been nothing on the new Bowlero since January. I really hope the owners of Lloyd Center shelve these ideas for the ballpark, but I dream.

I actually like the idea of a ballpark and mixed use mid rise and high rises replacing Lloyd center.

[RED_PDXer]

Originally Posted by pdxsg34

What's going on with the Live Nation and the new theater? Nothing since April on the theater, and nothing since May on the Live Nation site. There's also been nothing on the new Bowlero since January. I really hope the owners of Lloyd Center shelve these ideas for the ballpark, but I dream.

With Live Nation moving forward in South Waterfront, it seems like this location isn't gonna move forward. Do they typically have more than one venue in the same market?

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by NOPO

I actually like the idea of a ballpark and mixed use mid rise and high rises replacing Lloyd center.

Same here, I really like this idea the more I think about it.

[pdxsg34]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Same here, I really like this idea the more I think about it.

I was iffy on the idea at first, but I'm with you on liking it the more I think about it too. Lots of transportation options. Much easier zoning-related process than terminal 2 I'd imagine. Malls are dying. The ballpark could spur housing development in that area (since nothing else has). I can't imagine noise being an issue because the neighbors are parking lots. Maybe pair the ballpark with james beard market (if OMSI falls through).

[johnliu]

Originally Posted by pdxsg34

I was iffy on the idea at first, but I'm with you on liking it the more I think about it too. Lots of transportation options. Much easier zoning-related process than terminal 2 I'd imagine. Malls are dying. The ballpark could spur housing development in that area (since nothing else has). I can't imagine noise being an issue because the neighbors are parking lots. Maybe pair the ballpark with james beard market (if OMSI falls through).

I don't understand how a ballpark will spur housing development in the Lloyd District.

If previous apartment projects in the Lloyd are not penciling out (Oregon Square, Regal parking lot), will they be more economically viable because a ballpark is next door? Will having a ballpark next door increase the achievable rents? Or reduce the development or management costs?

[pdxsg34]

Originally Posted by johnliu

I don't understand how a ballpark will spur housing development in the Lloyd District.

If previous apartment projects in the Lloyd are not penciling out (Oregon Square, Regal parking lot), will they be more economically viable because a ballpark is next door? Will having a ballpark next door increase the achievable rents? Or reduce the development or management costs?

As I mentioned previously, I think it could spur development, but I don't believe it's a sure thing. New stadiums can increase the property values of the real estate in close proximity. More demand for hotels, retail in and around the stadium, etc. I'm not a developer, but it seems like property in and around Lloyd site with a new stadium and amenities would be more attractive to invest in than its current state as a mall. I'd venture to guess the lack of a high level vision or direction for the district has played a role in some projects getting delayed or scrapped. We'd have to see real numbers shake out from projected costs, so you could be right in that it doesn't change anything.

That area just has a plagued development history and I really want it to succeed. Bikeportland has an interesting article on the history.

[NOPO]

I really liked that bikeportland article. Thanks for sharing.

[RED_PDXer]

Depending on the type of redevelopment, I would think replacing the mall and it's blank street frontage with more intense and interesting development would bring up property values in the area, perhaps enough to support more housing. Right now, that mall is a black hole of real estate in an otherwise ideal location. The ballpark in that location would make a lot of sense from a transportation perspective, but it could also be another large-scale development without much of a street presence, depending on how it's designed.