http://djcoregon.com/files/2011/06/0...hematic_02.jpg
(Rendering by Bastien and Associates)

http://media.oregonlive.com/portland...4129-large.jpg
Courtesy City of PortlandHigh density development along Northeast Clackamas Street as envisioned by the N/NE Quadrant Plan.


Rose Quarter plan would ease height, zoning rules
Published: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 12:41 PM Updated: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 2:00 PM
Cornelius Swart, The Oregonian

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/i...ld_ease_h.html

Me gusta.

Three MAX lines, streetcar, and a bunch of buses and bike tracks? I'm surprised so few developers are publicly on board with it.

Hmm. Considering that South Waterfront developers aren't even cashing in on the "views," whats the chance they will in the Lloyd?

Planners seem pretty optimistic to me!

Still, Lloyd is defined by its taller buildings. Would like to see some more in that area.

Wasn't there an agreement with the residents who live on the hills overlooking the So. Waterfront that the towers narrow sides would face the hills so that "their" views of the river and Mt. Hood would not be too obstructed...that along with height restrictions???

^ Sort of. Tower height was restricted so as not to block views from SW Terwilliger, a historic highway. They did opt for narrow-profiled towers so as to not block as much of the views for the neighbors who live on the slopes of South Portland/Lair Hill, but their views are still blocked to a fair degree. Portland doesn't offer SF-like view preservation by legal fiat or zoning.

Portland Zoning Code does. That's what the little "s" means on some lot designations: http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/in...=89965&c=47529

Does anyone know what that walkway/round just south of the intersection of interstate and the steel bridge is? It looks like space for public art of some sort but i haven't seen or heard anything about it.:shrug:

It was one of the shafts for the Big Dig project.

Wow, that page 5 map with the proposed freeways gave me pause. I forgot that two of the four places I've lived in Portland would have been torn down for freeways.

what the what?:

the rest is here: http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...3-10-22&page=2

two things immediately jump out at me:

1. National Register. there's no freaking way that they are going to be able to do this now, if they couldn't before the MC was registered.
2. Barry Smith is a "noted" architect? no offense to him (Mr. Smith), but what is Mr. Giegerich smoking?

having baseball in Portland would be very cool on a number of levels. but to continue to go all Bart Simpson (can I now? no. can I now? no. can I now? no... on and on until Homer gives in) on the MC site seems pretty silly/stupid.

Memorial Coliseum is such a disaster. Does anyone know how much money has already been spent on trying to figure out what to do next with it? Acoustics are bad. The venue is too small for really big concerts, but it's too big for smaller stuff. As of a few years ago, the biggest use for Memorial Coliseum was assemblies. OMFG! What a waste of such a prime location.

I think the fight over what to do with Memorial Coliseum will live on until an earthquake hits, at which point that sucker is coming down, and let's all hope nobody is in or near it when that happens. I understand the appeal of preserving a significant piece of architecture, but it's a mostly unused piece of architecture, so what exactly are we preserving it for?

Keep in mind, TMT is working on getting permission to tear down the Cornelius Hotel which is also on the national historic register.

That jumped out at me too. I'd say he's noted for doing terrible work. The student housing by PSU must be the worst new building in the city.

Um...kind of like the Cornelius?

I don't disagree. My gripe about TMT wanting to demolish the Cornelius is that they have no plans to develop the site.

Yeah, I don't think TMT should be allowed to demo the Cornelius under any circumstances whatsoever. It should be on the National Register if it's not already; even if they did have a plan to redevelop the site, the building itself is too important.

The discussion around MC is somewhat moot because it is --rightfully-- fully registered as a historic building. It's not going to be torn down and the people behind the new MLB effort are looking pretty clueless. Someday down the road I'm sure that whole area will be redeveloped. Who knows, maybe one day it will be Portland's contemporary art museum...

I'd love to see a baseball stadium get built and I think the PPS site across Broadway would be the perfect location.

Is it just me? Baseball doesn't seem very Portland.

This is what Lynn Lashbrook has to say about Memorial Coliseum (full article here):

I'm embarrassed for him that he apparently has so much respect for Barry Smith :koko:

I have to admit, the sports scene is one thing I don't understand about Portland. This should be a baseball city. But instead, it's a town for basketball? I don't get it. We have such marvelous baseball weather. And the relaxed vibe of the city fits the sport so well. I'm not surprised at all that soccer is doing so well here. I am surprised that baseball isn't.

Well having worked at the Coliseum as a Utility Worker, i can honestly say that it is time to tear it down. I've walked around, climbed up and down, crawled in and out of every little crevice you can imagine inside of the Coliseum and one thing i can say is that, it is old.
Imagine your trying to get ready for a hockey game and all of a sudden, plywood falls from the rafters because of the heavy rain that is hitting the roof. Or imagine your trying to get ready for the Rose Festival Parade but have to patch up 3 holes on the main floor because the ground itself is so old and cracked, a float rolling over one of the holes might actually sink in. The building is just not worth saving.
I think the only ones who are trying to save the Coliseum are the ones that went to shows and concerts there back in the 70's and 80's, or just like the building because of its "all glass" exterior.
So again, the building is not worth saving, there are other ways to remember veterans, whether its a baseball stadium, condos, a 35 story tower, whatever it is, theres other ways of doing it, but the Coliseum is not the way to go.

I don't think this overrated structure is going anywhere anytime soon....

A city spokeswoman said the new council directed staff to break apart the agreement and renegotiate individual operating and renovation pieces for the iconic Rose Quarter structure, home to the Portland Trail Blazers before they moved to what is now Moda Center. ...

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...next-june.html

Its the architecture community. They talk a good game, but when push comes to shove to show up and actually do something, they go missing. They pushed hard to keep this building, where are they now? They should be leading the charge. I do feel the structure has merit as an architecture piece, but unless a function can be identified and paid for do we really need to keep it around for form? I kind of feel sometimes architects forget function and get too obsessed with form.

they're still around, no-one's gone missing. just because it's not on the front page doesn't mean that nothing's happening. renovation plans have been drawn up (BOORA?) and it is now a funding issue. what do you expect out of the architecture community at this juncture?

I find it really curious that there are so many in this community that seem to DESPISE the MC. I don't think it's an iconic structure, but appreciate many of the design elements. it certainly has a use, if properly maintained and cared for. tearing this down would be beyond silly, in my personal view.

beyond that, the area available for an MLB stadium is simply not enough in the RQ. it's great to maximize the existing infrastructure (parking and transit primarily) but to attempt to shoehorn a massive structure like this is foolhardy. especially considering the amount of land available across the street at the Blanchard property. that would provide enough room for the stadium and the additional parking that would be needed, while still being able to utilize the RQ facilities and transit options.

but the biggest question is whether MLB in PDX would actually fly long term. once the honeymoon is over then it comes down to population, disposable income and corporate spending. we are considerably deficient in all of those areas from a major sports franchise perspective. are we truly a major league city, or are we really, really (really) hoping to be? hope don't pay the bills.

It's Opsis. Although maybe it's a collaboration involving multiple firms.

I don't think Portland could handle a MLB team, as it is now Seattle needs to use Portland when including their numbers to support a team. I would like to see Portland get back a minor league baseball team (though the Hillsboro Hops do technically count) and maybe an NHL team. But there is more than enough fan support for the Blazers and the Timbers.

Please tell us what that use is, because I have no idea, and those booking the venue clearly have no idea either since the MC sits mostly unused or severely under-used. So much money and effort has been poured into figuring out what to do with the MC during the past 18 years, and each plan fizzled out. But hey, if you have the answer, by all means, let us all know. The main use for the MC is assemblies. ASSEMBLIES. It's crazy how much land - how much amazingly prime land - is being eaten up by that structure and its parking.

Personally, I love the look of the MC and I appreciate it's historic significance. But it's under-used and often not used at all. It isn't prepared to withstand a quake and there certainly isn't money around to fix that, especially since no one has been able to even find a proper use for the thing. And let's not even bother talking about energy efficiency. HA!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!1!!!!!!!


You might want to tell that to the representatives involved with MLB who came here, evaluated the site and deemed it acceptable. But, hey, what do they know, right?

I'd be glad to see Memorial Coliseum come down and be replaced by a baseball stadium, even if it's minor league.

My prediction is that the MC will sit as it is now, under-utilized, mostly empty, for decades. When a major quake hits, it'll be damaged beyond repair. And then, finally, something marvelous will happen on that site. I hope I'm wrong though. It's a gorgeous structure, but I hope it gets leveled, the sooner the better.


I agree completely, but I don't view that as a reason to keep the MC. Whether or not Portland can support major league baseball has nothing to do with the fact that the MC sits mostly unused or under-used.

I have only heard the PPS building being a good location for a MLB stadium, I have never heard of MC being a large enough space for a MLB stadium. It barely could hold a small minor league baseball stadium.

Isn't that the site they were talking about here?

Everyone can argue about whether or not MC should be demolished until the cows come home. It's a protected structure and it's not going to be torn down, period. Not even for a giant Salt & Straw with a spinning ice cream cone on top.

Mind you, I'd love to see it creatively re-purposed and even significantly altered for the right project. High speed rail station? Contemporary art museum? Portland isn't even close to that kind of game, though. Too timid, too poor, too provincial. Either way, it would continue our ugly history of cultural shortsightedness if we simply wiped it off the map.

Also, it may indeed come down in a massive earthquake (from what I've read, more likely all the glass will come off). That will be the least of our worries, seeing as just about every un-reinforced masonry structure will be toast, probably killing thousands of people and completely altering the Portland we know forever. At that point --all the vintage bridges down, what's left of historic Portland gone, thousands of people dead, massive population loss-- I'm not sure if I'd care what, if anything, gets built in its place.

Now THAT I could get behind! :)

@ 2oh1: a better analysis of the MC situation is here:

http://pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/15...ssal-conundrum

my understanding is that the Opsis plans (thanks maccoinnich) were supposedly completed late last year, which is where the $31.5m figure came from, but I'm not 100% certain of that. bottom line is that the MC is currently being used, but the clusterfucky bureaucracy that is part and parcel of this city is making it extraordinarily difficult to KNOW anything about what's possible or probable.

I believe that the MC has a place due to it's size and location for a variety of events, just as it is now. with upgrades it will be an even more attractive draw for similar events. can it be profitable? ask an economist. or better yet, ask the City to do a better job of due diligence for the MC and the RQ. I've heard wildly divergent estimates on cost, ROI, etc. throughout this 'debate', and put little faith in them since the two sides of this question (MC or not to MC) are as polarized and vitriolic as MSNBC and Fox.

check out the latest planning efforts for the area by the City here:

http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/article/415852

pg. 26 has some graphics showing the potential for the RQ and vicinity that is consistent with the majority of the latest thinking about the types and layout of uses.

When the architecture community makes the case to save this building, it somehow became the cities problem to figure out a business venture? This is the problem. Fine, its an architecture jewel decreed by the architects, let them find a business model that is profitable. Instead they force the hand of the city and hand them a white elephant with a built in excuse when it fails. Oh it was the clusterfucky bureaucracy that did it in. BS, it was the private architect firms that didn't have a workable business plan other than "its a beautiful glass jewel box, save it" They didn't find any private partners or business that made sense, did they?. I'm so tired of the government blame game. No private entity has stepped up to save this beast. If you are going force the hand of government to save it, than deal with the public process.

Exactly.

And it's a similar problem in cities with these old arenas. In many cases, there simply isn't a use for them and resources are being wasted in trying to figure out what to do with them. This problem isn't unique to Portland. And to say the MC is being used isn't just laughable. It's insulting. The MC's main use is assemblies, and the city loses money every year on the thing. It's a beautiful structure without a purpose, and it gets in the way of every plan to rejuvenate the Rose Quarter.

Memorial Coliseum hosting 400,000 to 450,000 visitors/year is hardly a "useless" or unused building. I do not understand the rhetoric on this forum regarding the MC, when I read comments that are against any demolition of historic brick buildings downtown, regardless of how significant they are, but call for the demolition of one of our most iconic buildings in the city. I have been to several events this past year at the MC alone. It does need a renovation; any building 50+ years old needs one!!

Mayor Hales really needs to foot the bill for the renovation. Buildings continuously degrade and fall apart the moment they are built. They are all money pits - and their upkeep must be funded, otherwise you will end up like Detroit. You know the old saying? "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Sustainability wise, its a no-brainer to spend the effort and actually get it renovated and programmed properly. Stop with the idiotic rhetoric, FUD and pipe dreams; this building can function very well as part of our entertainment venue area known as the Rose Quarter.

Note that MLB or baseball does not appear once in the draft NNE Quadrant Plan document. More importantly, the original plan for MLB by HOK & Fosler was for it to be built to the north of the RQ & Broadway bridge (Blanchard Property), where there was more room. Anyway, last time I heard it may be 10-20 years before MLB had a team open to moving. Why would they move to Portland? An unproven market without a viable site?

I suggest re-reading Brian Libby's coverage of the stories from his archives: http://chatterbox.typepad.com/portla...rial-coliseum/

And the MLB stadium plan: http://www.oregonstadiumcampaign.com...um_concept.htm

Opsis MC page:
http://www.opsisarch.com/blog/projec...ial-coliseum/#

BS. The city owns the MC, and architecture firms don't work for free (they also don't write business plans). The city listened to the public, which did not want the building destroyed. They need to have the balls to actually DO SOMETHING and not twiddle their thumbs for the next 5 years. Jesus, how long have they thought about moving forward on the Convention Center Hotel? 10 years? This city has serious leadership issues - as in it doesn't have any.

Aaaaanyways, the latest news on the MC:

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...next-june.html

400-450,000 people annually, you can't be serious. I would say that number is closer to 200,000 visitors annually. The only major events there are FrightTown, the comic book show and the OSAA events. Maybe that's just a little over 100,000 visitors combined. Those numbers haven't changed since I started working there in 2002.

This building needs to get bulldozed and made way for something new, different and exciting.

If the Winterhawks attract 10,000 people per home game (that was near their average last season), that's 360,000 people a year to start with, and doesn't count preseason or post season. Some of those are played at the Rose Garden, but that's still a significant number of people just for one team.

I actually enjoy going to Winterhawks games at the MC, it is a great building for Hockey. Though it could use some renovations and improvements.

Sorry but the winter hawks averaged about 6,500 people annually. That's only about 250,000 a year and attendance has stayed flat for the past 5 years.
I'm not sure where your getting your facts from.

BZZZZZZZZZZT. Incorrect. The Winterhawks didn't even average 10,000 per game during the playoffs. In fact, their average - during the playoffs - was 9,261/game.


Probably from Brian Libby, whose articles on the MC are ridiculously one-sided, regardless of whether or not facts support what he writes. His site has some excellent content, but he can also be the architecture version of Fox News. I had to stop reading his site a while ago.

This is 100 percent right on. We're not talking about saving a building like the Cornelius that, if fixed, could have many uses--office, retail, housing, hotel... We're talking about a 50 year old coliseum for which the city has explored a variety of different uses for as long as I've lived here--now going on 11 years. It, along with the Portland Public Market, wins the Lack of Momentum and Future Award.

Exactly this. The irony here is that the Cornelius is being torn down due to the cost of renovation. Meanwhile, the MC is being kept despite the cost of renovation and despite the fact that the city loses money on it and despite the fact that there isn't even a plan for what to do with it. In fact, a lot of money, resources and time have already been poured into figuring out what to do with the MC - all for nothing, as nothing has been decided and nothing has been done.

Well, it looks like Portland isn't the only city dealing with an iconic structure in need of a new purpose: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireSto...oters-20785297

If Houston can pull off an re imagining of the Astrodome, I have hope for the Coliseum. I think Portland needs to think beyond an arena. I would be in favor of keeping the glass exterior, gutting the interioir, and establishing a year-round open-air market... A "Saturday Market on Steroids" if you will...

Yesterday, Houston voters voted against the effort to save the Astrodome.

So much for that.

I just read that the Astrodome has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. The Texas Historical Commission held a hearing on October 19 and the nomination was heard by the Sate Board of Review. So, once the Feds sign off, it's a done deal.

So... if the Astrodome gets listed, will it still be demolished? If yes, that may mean the Historical Registration is not the "silver bullet" everyone thinks it is...

I'm not completely sure, but I believe being listed on the National Register of Historic Places only 'encourages' the preservation and restoration of the property, not an actual mandate to do so. I think each city or county devises their own rules on how to handle historical places.

Interesting that Cordish even have a representative in Portland to meet with the mayor. Personally I think anything that could bring life to the Rose Quarter is a good thing, even if it's filled with Olive Gardens and Hard Rock Cafes.

...continues at the Oregonian.