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-   -   Albina Vision / Rose Quarter Redevelopment (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152548)

2oh1 Aug 31, 2015 4:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek (Post 7147797)
I see what you're saying now. We should be grateful it isn't in that basement any more though. All of the foot traffic it generated is now being funneled onto the streets instead of underground. I wish more stores would vacate the basement for street locations (I'm looking at you Victoria's Secret). Any ways, we should make a Pioneer Place hatred thread! :P

Back to the Rose Quarter!

I have to assume it costs more to rent a space at street level - but you're absolutely right. The Apple Store moving outside of the mall made a huge difference for foot traffic in the area.

I still can't believe the Yard House made the entrance to their restaurant inside the mall rather than outside. I have yet to meet anyone who has been there that wasn't confused about how to find the place. My god, they're right next door to the Apple Store. What! Were! They! Thinking!?

maccoinnich Sep 1, 2015 7:25 AM

Quote:

City explores demolition, $145M indoor track, remodeled arena options for Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Renderings)

http://media.bizj.us/view/img/6873232/trackfloor.jpg

After a year of studying potential uses for Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland leaders will begin exploring three options that could define the structure's future.
The options, presented in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum Options Study, are:
  • Continue current operations after a temporary closure.
  • Permanently close and redevelop the site.
  • "Renovate/Remodel/Transform" the structure..
For the latter option, five different scenarios are presented for the public's perusal. Those options include adding a “dynamic floor system” that accommodates an indoor track and field facility and a broad array of other uses, as well as a "covered open-air arena." The former option would cost the most of any of the five ideas, at $115 million to $145 million. The latter option is the second-most expensive, at $95.2 million.
...continues at the Portland Business Journal.

mhays Sep 1, 2015 3:47 PM

Here's a good barometer for those projects: Would they happen if they had to be built new, for the same prices?

Usually these discussions (which recur all the time, from Houston to Seattle) are fans of a building grasping at what appear to be straws.

For example, I can believe that an indoor track would be nice, but (wild guess) I'd be surprised if that was more than six figures in annual ticket revenue, unless a major championship came to town.

maccoinnich May 31, 2016 7:47 PM

An email I just received from AIA Portland:

Quote:

Historic Press Conference and Celebration
at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Thursday, June 9 | 10:30AM


AIA Portland members and associates are invited to a historic press conference and celebration on Thursday, June 9 at 10:30am at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, with a special announcement from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Please join members of Portland City Council, representatives of local veterans organizations, the Rose Festival Foundation, and the Friends of Memorial Coliseum for this special announcement.


ORNative May 31, 2016 8:03 PM

Hmmmmmm - curious, the Rose Festival Foundation?

innovativethinking May 31, 2016 8:19 PM

Well probably something about the Rose Festival since it starts up around that time

babs May 31, 2016 9:16 PM

Maybe a new event is being placed there. If the MC was being refurbished, they would probably have members of the Winterhawks there.

maccoinnich Jun 1, 2016 12:51 AM

A friend of mine who works in historic preservation thinks that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is going to name it one of their "National Treasures".

65MAX Jun 1, 2016 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maccoinnich (Post 7459085)
A friend of mine who works in historic preservation thinks that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is going to name it one of their "National Treasures".

Yes, I heard a similar rumor. I hope that's the case.

BlazerBeav Jun 1, 2016 2:52 PM

Honest question - what good would come from that? It will continue to be a derelict building without significant investment - and seeing as how we can't even get work done on the roads without a new, specific tax, does anyone honestly foresee that happening?

58rhodes Jun 1, 2016 4:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlazerBeav (Post 7459586)
Honest question - what good would come from that? It will continue to be a derelict building without significant investment - and seeing as how we can't even get work done on the roads without a new, specific tax, does anyone honestly foresee that happening?

maybe it would be eligible for fed funds?

babs Jun 1, 2016 5:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 58rhodes (Post 7459720)
maybe it would be eligible for fed funds?

Before any money gets spent on it, there needs to be a plan. I've seen tons of ideas but no plan. Renovating it as an arena will be a money losing proposition. I like the idea of turning it into an ice center. Winterhawks play there plus it's open to the public the rest of the year. No idea if it's financially viable but the first step would be to have a business plan.

It's an awful memorial to veterans. Sunken granite memorials do little to educate future generations of the sacrifices made. Something interactive and interpretive would do a lot more.

I hope there is something more here than a press event.

maccoinnich Jun 1, 2016 7:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babs (Post 7459801)
Before any money gets spent on it, there needs to be a plan. I've seen tons of ideas but no plan.

Here

babs Jun 2, 2016 4:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maccoinnich (Post 7459954)

Thanks for posting this.
These plans are all contingent on maintaining the MC as an arena. What's unfortunate is that the business plan is weak to keep it as an arena. Unless Portland State or UP decide to start playing basketball or hockey there, I don't see how the number of events increases enough to justify the spend, especially with an NBA level arena next door. Keeping the underground exhibit hall space would also be a waste. It already looks like a parking garage down there, you could repurpose it as that and redevelop the garages on Broadway.

I'd like to see some proposals that demolishes the inner arena but keeps the outer walls and four posts that hold the place up. Inside that structure, you could build offices, a hotel, something else. What if Regal Cinemas builds a state of the art theater inside that structure? It would keep the integrity of the building while bringing something new to the area. Let's look for a creative reuse and not just assume it has to be an arena.

pylon Jun 2, 2016 6:31 PM

turn it into the james beard public market

maccoinnich Jun 2, 2016 7:26 PM

The building doesn't need to attract a new sports team to be viable as an arena. As the report explains, there a quite a few touring shows that would be interested in a venue of Memorial Coliseum's size, but turn it down because of some big issues:
  • One is that the building doesn't have a loading dock, so all equipment has be brought in and out of the arena by hand. This adds a lot of time to the set up / take down of a show.
  • The roof isn't currently able to support the weight of the equipment many promoters want to hang from it.
  • None of the concession spaces are vented, which limits the type of food that can served.
  • Seats are not ADA accessible.
  • There are no hospitality suites.

The report outlines the cost of improvements that would address deferred maintenance, and address the functional issues above. If they addressed these issues the venue would be able to hold more shows a year, and would make an operating profit. That to me makes a lot more sense that trying to shoehorn a function into the building that it's not well suited to.

babs Jun 2, 2016 8:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maccoinnich (Post 7461356)
The building doesn't need to attract a new sports team to be viable as an arena. As the report explains, there a quite a few touring shows that would be interested in a venue of Memorial Coliseum's size, but turn it down because of some big issues:
  • One is that the building doesn't have a loading dock, so all equipment has be brought in and out of the arena by hand. This adds a lot of time to the set up / take down of a show.
  • The roof isn't currently able to support the weight of the equipment many promoters want to hang from it.
  • None of the concession spaces are vented, which limits the type of food that can served.
  • Seats are not ADA accessible.
  • There are no hospitality suites.

The report outlines the cost of improvements that would address deferred maintenance, and address the functional issues above. If they addressed these issues the venue would be able to hold more shows a year, and would make an operating profit. That to me makes a lot more sense that trying to shoehorn a function into the building that it's not well suited to.

There are couple flaws with this.
1. How many shows have bypassed Portland? Did most of them find a way to fit at the Moda Center? Are we talking about one event or enough to fill 50 nights a year? Big difference.
2. At most arenas, touring shows make little to no money on Hospitality Suites. For instance, at the Moda Center, if you buy a suite, you get tickets to all events and all of the $$$ goes to the Blazers.
3. Concession revenue usually split between the arena owner and the resident teams. Touring shows don't make money off food concessions.
4. I remember back in the 80s, the reason the Blazers gave for not having a video board was due to the ceiling joists not being able to hold the weight. Then some touring show hung a hung a bunch of stuff and everything was fine. That's when they ordered the video board.

My bottom line is that I would like to see the Rose Quarter get some life. In order to do so, there needs to be more year round and day/night activity. Spending a ton of money on refurbishing an arena that may add 20 nights a year of activity will not do it. Let's get creative and see what other ways we can bring life back to that area. A remodeled arena is keeping status quo. We can do better.

eric cantona Jun 2, 2016 8:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babs (Post 7461427)
There are couple flaws with this.
1. How many shows have bypassed Portland? Did most of them find a way to fit at the Moda Center? Are we talking about one event or enough to fill 50 nights a year? Big difference.
2. At most arenas, touring shows make little to no money on Hospitality Suites. For instance, at the Moda Center, if you buy a suite, you get tickets to all events and all of the $$$ goes to the Blazers.
3. Concession revenue usually split between the arena owner and the resident teams. Touring shows don't make money off food concessions.
4. I remember back in the 80s, the reason the Blazers gave for not having a video board was due to the ceiling joists not being able to hold the weight. Then some touring show hung a hung a bunch of stuff and everything was fine. That's when they ordered the video board.

My bottom line is that I would like to see the Rose Quarter get some life. In order to do so, there needs to be more year round and day/night activity. Spending a ton of money on refurbishing an arena that may add 20 nights a year of activity will not do it. Let's get creative and see what other ways we can bring life back to that area. A remodeled arena is keeping status quo. We can do better.

did you even bother to read the report cited?

babs Jun 2, 2016 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric cantona (Post 7461457)
did you even bother to read the report cited?

I did, did you?
If we want life brought back to the Rose Quarter, it's time to look at ways of reusing the building as something other than an arena. If we keep sticking to notion that it needs to stay an arena, then we'll continue to have this same discussion 10 years from now.

eric cantona Jun 3, 2016 1:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babs (Post 7461514)
I did, did you?
If we want life brought back to the Rose Quarter, it's time to look at ways of reusing the building as something other than an arena. If we keep sticking to notion that it needs to stay an arena, then we'll continue to have this same discussion 10 years from now.

I did. I actually know some of the people that worked on it. I'm going to continue to trust their judgement as professionals to inform me about what makes sense for that structure. anecdotal information is not going to trump research and experience for me.

BTW - this building will NEVER be responsible to bringing life back to the Rose Quarter. A) there never was life to bring back at the "Rose Quarter" because it's a fabricated place designed with suburban sensibilities; and B) the entire area needs to be reintegrated into the fabric of the city with a mix of uses and users. that entails pretty massive investment in new construction.


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