I wonder if that section is accurate when it says "community fitness center/trailblazers & winterhawks practice facility." Relocating the Blazers' practice facility would be huge. (and fantastic, imo)

edit: one nice touch I see in this design is the better incorporation of the waterfront area directly in front of the MC. Providing that the new development is, as is shown, not so high that it blocks much light/views of the sky and sunsets from within the coliseum, I think that filling in that area does a nice job of both making use of some nice river frontage and incorporating the coliseum so it's not just sitting on the edge of the whole thing.

^ ... and the waterfront area is un-thought out. The RR should be cut and cover right next to Interstate in order to get rid of 2 curves right next to the Steel Bridge vastly increasing up rail speed. With the RR under the new development you can have a full public parkland waterfront.

Also, the waterfront "old Red Lion" site and grain silos is the proposed site for an HSR terminal since the Steel Bridge has too tight of curves for HSR service to get to Union Station. The plan also does not take into account that the PPS megablock is the preferred sight for a future stadium.

Other than those small critiques I hope something actually starts happening to our bulldozing blunder of a wasteland.

where did you hear that? why would the curves make any difference to HSR? obviously HSR wouldn't be going around those curves at any significant speed, it would move just like regular passenger rail approaching the station.

One thing is for sure imo. This decade will be marked by eastside development close to the river.

Actually I remember hearing that as well when there was talk about relocating the train station and selling off the old train station. Its current path slows down the train tremendously and adds time to the trips, as well as creates a tax on the structure of the steel bridge.

When Portland gets high speed rail, we will be getting a new train station out of it and it will be on the east side near the Rose Garden.

Back in the mid to late '60's there were big plans for that area also. It was called 'Coliseum Gardens' and the renderings posted around the property looked like an Eastside Portland Center. Lots of high rise apartments and office/retail buildings. The only thing to come from that was the Calaroga Terrace. Hopefully 40 years later this will become a reality.

Looking past the coliseum
Redoing the arena is just first step for Rose Quarter

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/...26380514582900

By Jim Redden
The Portland Tribune, Mar 11, 2010

As the Portland City Council moves closer to deciding the fate of Memorial Coliseum, two larger questions are starting to loom – what to do with the rest of the Rose Quarter and how to pay for all the improvements that the city and other interests would like to see.

By the end of May, the council is scheduled to pick a development team to overhaul the coliseum. Most City Hall observers expect the nod to go to the Portland Trail Blazers organization, which proposes maintaining the coliseum as a sports and entertainment arena. But the Blazers’ plan still faces competition from other proposals that would remake the coliseum into an athletic or arts-oriented facility.

After the council makes its decision, a new process starts to plan the redevelopment of the property surrounding the coliseum, the Rose Garden, the Blazers’ office building and two city-owned parking garages. Most observers also believe the Blazers have the edge in the second process as well. That is largely because the Blazers already have presented a concept for revitalizing the Rose Quarter as a lively entertainment district dubbed JumpTown.

“We see our plan for the coliseum as key for JumpTown, and JumpTown as the way to revitalize the entire area,” says J.E. Isaac, the Blazers’ senior vice president of business affairs.

Advocates for rival plans – the Memorial Arts & Recreation Center (MARC) and the Veterans Memorial Arts & Athletic Center – also say their developments would ignite a broader renewal of the surrounding area, although they have not yet prepared even preliminary concepts for the Rose Quarter.

But regardless of what the council decides to do with the coliseum and Rose Quarter, no one is sure how much all the work will cost and who will pay for it. One of the biggest questions is where the city will find the money to upgrade the coliseum – which it owns – and to build the street, sidewalk, water and sewer improvements that will be needed in the Rose Quarter. Depending on the scope of the projects, such work could easily cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

An obvious source of money is urban renewal funds, the same city financing source that helped spur growth in the Pearl District and South Waterfront area, at least before the economy slowed down. In fact, the Portland Development Commission is overseeing a planning process that could pump $18.5 million or more into new redevelopment projects in North and Northeast Portland. It would add six parcels of property – including the Rose Quarter – to the existing Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area, which has already helped fund such projects as the Interstate MAX line and the New Columbia housing development.

But there is already intense competition for the money. An existing advisory committee has identified nearly $90 million in priority projects that do not include the Rose Quarter. The Overlook Neighborhood Association wants the PDC to build promised mixed-use developments along the Interstate MAX line. Portland Community College is looking to partner with the PDC to redevelop portions of North Killingsworth Avenue near the Cascade Campus. And community activists want more affordable housing and money to help longtime residents stay in their homes.

“In the end, it has to be win-win for everyone,” says Roy Jay, head of Portland’s African American Chamber of Commerce. Jay also sits on a 23-member citizen committee advising the North Northeast Economic Development Initiative.

one alternate to "corporate town": http://www.actionsportsnw.com/

This might actually be the best idea I have seen for this district...shame the city will probably end up picking the crappy corporate idea.

i agree - this one looks way better. The buildings are more streamlined and less bulky and awkward. The part that is lacking though this is bridging Interstate and really making something of the river - it could even tie in with a sports like theme to it...river taxi, bike and skate rental etc.

if you mean by "bridging" an actual bridge, it's there. if you meant it metaphorically it's important to note that actual development on that piece of property is in the hands of Vulcan (Paul Allen), who own it. it is an absolutely perfect place for a park, but access to the river is difficult due to the presence of trains, and some serious grade differences.

I kind of meant both. Carry the grid/street/pedestrian network over Interstate and then drop down onto the river property - old Red Lion location. I understand Vulcan / Paul Allen / Trailblazer owner has control over the property, but with that said there seems a natural synergy to make something happen that engages the river. Seems like a perfect opportunity to make something more about it. Not some theme park of "whatever", but a district that takes advantage of being on the river. I also remember a competition that was awarded to I believe BOOR/A for something to happen there?

Memorial Coliseum's future is down to a best-of-three
By Janie Har, The Oregonian
April 14, 2010, 8:40PM
Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index...ture_is_d.html

You could call them Wealthy Spice, Sporty Spice and Arty Spice. On Wednesday, the three finalists with visions for transforming Memorial Coliseum got the Portland City Council's go-ahead to prepare official plans.

An advisory group convened by Mayor Sam Adams last year picked the three concepts to go to the next phase: the Trail Blazers' JumpTown, developer Doug Obletz's plan for a community athletic center, and the Veterans Memorial Arts & Athletic Center.

Each finalist now gets $40,000 from the Portland Development Commission to craft detailed plans. The advisory group will select a winner this spring, with City Council approval expected in early summer.

Adams thinks the city can reinvigorate the Rose Quarter area. His call for a public brainstorm last year yielded 96 ideas -- some out there but most heartfelt: a roller coaster, a public market, a car museum.

"The Rose Quarter has stymied many a mayor and a City Council," Adams said Wednesday. "People are passionate about Memorial Coliseum."

The coliseum is owned by the city but operated by the Trail Blazers, which owns the nearby Rose Garden.

A key component of this phase will be whether the proposal can pay for itself and make money. There's also a question as to how much money the public will give the winning project.

Then there's the question of whether the city has the ability to give moneymaking rights to any group other than the Blazers. The current operating agreement contains essentially a noncompete clause should any other developer be selected.

Here's a look at the three finalists:


Veterans Memorial Arts & Athletic Center


VMAACVeterans Memorial Arts & Athletic Center concept for Memorial Coliseum.
What: Like the Memorial Athletic & Recreation Center but with a lot more room for arts, multimedia and nonprofit office space. Imagine a 500-seat concert hall, jazz nightclub, restaurant and rock-climbing wall.
Who: VMAAC Development Group, Kiewit Building Group and WATG architectural firm
What's to like: Grass-roots mojo. The group's frontman is Matthew Miller, a University of Oregon graduate at work on this for five years. The chairman is Leroy Cameron, a past president of the Jazz Society of Oregon.
Trouble: It's not backed by the Blazers or Obletz, which have muscle at City Hall and a track record in Portland.
Supporters: Portland Youth Philharmonic, Friends of Chamber Music, Theatre Vertigo
Seating: 8,000-seat arena
Veterans memorial: Keeps it where it is, doubles the size
Learn more: vmaac.com


JumpTown


Portland Trail BlazersThe JumpTown concept for the Memorial Coliseum.
What: A glittery entertainment and sports plaza with a nod to Nike and the district's African American roots. The coliseum itself hasn't been the focus but will be in the formal proposal.
Who: Portland Arena Management (Blazers), Winterhawks, developer Cordish Companies
What's to like: It could make money -- the point -- and give the neglected area the economic boost it sorely needs. The Blazers have financial backing and a seamless vision for the district.
Trouble: Portland could end up with a commercial dead zone and a string of unappetizing chain stores. Also, nobody likes a deep-pocketed front-runner.
Supporters: Oregon Music Hall of Fame, Portland Jazz Festival, Oregon School Activities Association, Portland Rose Festival Foundation
Seating: 7,500 to 8,000 seats
Veterans memorial: A park along the river; flexible
Learn more: imaginejumptown.com


Memorial Athletic & Recreation Center


TVA Architects Inc. The Memorial Athletic & Recreation Center concept for Memorial Coliseum.
What: A tricked-out public recreation center with space for college and high school sports, NHL-size hockey rink, a 152-meter velodrome, and a competition-level indoor track. Traveling athletes could train, along with seniors, moms and kids.
Who: Portland developer Shiels Obletz Johnsen; Brailsford & Dunlavey; TVA Architects; Peter Meijer Architect
What's to like: A center for kids and residents could be a real civic boost for the area, which sits at freeway and TriMet crossroads. Revenue from sporting events would pay for community programs.
Trouble: The existing bowl would come out. Also, the team has made noise that it could withdraw because the Blazers have an unfair edge.
Supporters: Onward Oregon, a progressive group; fans of track and field
Seating: Flexible 6,500- to 8,500-seat arena
Veterans memorial: Enhanced memorial on the east plaza
Learn more: marcpdx.org

-- Janie Har

http://blog.oregonlive.com/portland_...k_at_deve.html


Blazers, city will soon discuss developing Rose Quarter's empty lots


Published: Thursday, June 24, 2010, 9:00 PM Updated: Thursday, June 24, 2010, 9:02 PM


http://media.oregonlive.com//avatars...84-100x100.png
Ryan Frank, The Oregonian


http://media.oregonlive.com/portland...7842_large.jpg
View full size
Benjamin Brink, The Oregonian

A mass of concrete parking garages and asphalt currently greet Rose Quarter visitors along North Broadway and Benton Avenue. The Portland Trail Blazers' concept for an entertainment district would turn the parking lots and empty plots into an area of high-rise hotel rooms, offices, shops, restaurants and an interactive Nike museum.

On a summer day in 1993, Portland Mayor Vera Katz and Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen piloted backhoes to unearth the city's next riverfront district.

Katz and Allen celebrated the team's new $262 million arena. But just as important, executives said, the team planned to dig up nearby parking lots and build restaurants, shops and more.

Seventeen years later, Allen and the Blazers enjoy a successful home court in the Rose Garden. But the surrounding district is still a garden of blacktop.

The reasons are as long as a halftime beer line.

For starters, the Rose Quarter -- like many U.S. stadium districts -- isn't easy to rebuild into a walkable Hawthorne-style neighborhood of shops and housing. The 40-acre site is virtually unreachable by foot, fortified by a freeway, a busy street and a river.

On the Blazers' side, team executives scaled back their ambitions after the initial Rose Quarter restaurants folded in the 1990s. The team then tumbled into trouble that occupied executives' attention. Remember the Jail Blazers and the Rose Garden bankruptcy? In the meantime, Allen missed out on the biggest real estate boom of his lifetime.

On the city's side, politicians couldn't decide whether to tear down the Blazers' old home, the Memorial Coliseum. Without a decision, city leaders weren't able to broker the type of public-private deal that produced the Pearl and South Waterfront districts during those 17 years.

The Rose Quarter delays continue today.

http://media.oregonlive.com/portland...652d_large.jpg

View full size
Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers' design for the proposed JumpTown district in the Rose Quarter, looking east from downtown Portland toward the Rose Garden. The plan includes an interactive Nike museum, a boutique hotel, offices, restaurants and a 500-seat theater.

Last week, Mayor Sam Adams called off a competition among the Blazers and two other groups to remake the 1960 coliseum for the 21st century. He said each idea had a fatal flaw.

That leaves Adams where the city started in 1993: at the negotiating table with the Blazers.

Both sides must answer some key questions:

Is there a City Council majority willing to make a deal to be ready when the economy improves? Is Paul Allen -- worth $13.5 billion and one of the Northwest's richest men -- ready to play ball? If so, can the City Council and Allen find a compromise the public supports and can afford?

1993 deal

To understand what hasn't happened in the Rose Quarter, rewind to that 1993 summer.

The City Council and Allen's company had just signed a public-private deal to build a new arena and keep the Blazers in town for 30 years.

Under that deal, private investors put up 87 percent of the $262 million project. Allen himself chipped in $46 million plus future debt payments, and the city added $34.5 million for two parking garages and other improvements.

Team owners in other cities had won deeper subsidies or bolted for cheaper suburban stadiums. But Allen gave Katz what she wanted: a modern, privately funded arena in the city's center next to a light-rail line.

In exchange, the city gave Allen's company some control over what happened in the rest of the district, which the city owns. Allen won the right to manage the Memorial Coliseum and exclusive rights to propose new buildings in the Rose Quarter. With his visions spreading across Interstate Avenue to the riverfront, Allen also bought the old Red Lion motel.

The deal gave Allen the power to shape the city's eastside skyline. But it also required him to get City Hall's approval to do anything.

When the arena opened in 1995, the Rose Quarter's flaws quickly scuttled the team's real estate plans.

Blazer games and Disney On Ice attracted enough people to fill the district's restaurants and bars. But when the arenas sat empty, so did the tables at Jody Maroni's Sausage Kingdom.

The Rose Quarter, in newspaper headlines, became the Ghost Quarter.



http://media.oregonlive.com/portland...702d_large.jpg

View full size

Inside the Rose Garden, Allen turned around the Blazers franchise. The team got out of the police blotter and back into the playoffs. Fans rewarded Allen with 115 consecutive earsplitting sellouts.

Outside the arena, Allen and the city haven't turned around the Rose Quarter. The fans are now gone for the season, leaving just a stiff breeze, the whir of freeway traffic and a lone lighted storefront.

JumpTown

So what will the city and Allen do to jump-start the Rose Quarter?

For the first time in years, the two sides have a development concept to debate. Drawings for the Blazers' JumpTown idea show high-rises sprouting from vacant lots.

Team president Larry Miller began working on the idea after Allen brought the arena out of bankruptcy in 2007. But a revived Rose Quarter didn't catch the public's attention until two years later.

Adams proposed razing Memorial Coliseum for a Triple-A baseball stadium. The mayor eventually dropped the idea amid public protests, but his proposal sparked a public debate. Adams cast an open call for Portlanders' ideas for the coliseum and led a 32-person task force to review them. They whittled dozens of ideas to three before the mayor halted the process last week.

Instead, Adams will focus on the Trail Blazers, the company that, by city contract, controls the coliseum through 2023 and the Rose Quarter development rights for a few more months.

The Blazers say they're eager to refine their concept to fit the ambitions of the city and its residents. "We're flexible," said J.E. Isaac, the team's senior vice president of business affairs.

Adams, who has worked on the Rose Quarter since he was Katz's chief of staff in the 1990s, said the Blazers "have been much more engaged than they ever have been."

But that doesn't mean a deal is imminent.

People inside and outside City Hall remain skeptical about whether Allen and the Blazers can produce an idea that will fly in a city that gives its residents so much authority in public-private deals.

The Blazers brought on The Cordish Co. of Baltimore to help design JumpTown. The current idea would be anchored by an interactive Nike museum and include a boutique hotel, offices, clubs, restaurants and a 2,500-seat concert hall.

Critics say Cordish relies on chains to anchor its food and entertainment centers, which they say runs counter to Portland's indie culture.

"It's the Walmart of entertainment," said city Commissioner Randy Leonard. But Isaac said: "We feel like we put together an all-star team of interested companies. We have the best opportunity in a generation to accomplish an active neighborhood."

Taxpayers would have to help pay for whatever the Blazers design.

Isaac declined to disclose any financial estimates, saying he's still working on them. But he told city officials that the total cost of an earlier proposal would have been $100 million to $150 million.

As for the public subsidies, the city's urban renewal agency has budgeted $5.4 million. But the city has the capacity to offer more than $50 million if it takes on riskier debt in one urban renewal district and redraws another district's boundaries to swoop into the Rose Quarter.

Adams said he worries about whether Allen and his partners will put up enough private money to make the deal work. The Rose Quarter development would be a blip on Allen's balance sheet. But Cordish is prepared to put up all the private investment unless Allen chooses to join in, Isaac said.

Allen and his real estate company, Vulcan Real Estate of Seattle, have stayed out of the planning work even though they are leading a 60-acre development in Seattle's South Lake Union. Isaac said Allen is deferring to Cordish, which Isaac said has expertise in entertainment districts.

To get a deal done, the city and Blazers will have to get past 17 years of mutual frustration. Each side still points to the other to explain the Rose Quarter's failure.

David Postman, Allen's spokesman, said: "The city seems to be slow to figure out what the path to completion is. The private commitment is there."

Leonard, the city commissioner, said: "Anyone who would argue that the city isn't doing its part is disingenuous. The real problem is people of means not being willing to step up."

Allen, through his spokesman, declined to be interviewed. But Steve Patterson, the Blazers former president, said Portland politicians need to strike a deal that provides a reasonable profit and worry less about perceptions that they've caved to a billionaire.

Patterson said: "Paul's lost $1 billion since he's owned the Trail Blazers, largely in the years since the Rose Quarter was built. You need a different perspective from the public side if you're going to have development there."

Adams and the Blazers will soon begin months of public meetings and high-stakes negotiations.

The Blazers' rights to develop the city's Rose Quarter land expire in November, a deadline that Adams will surely use as leverage. The Blazers, he said, have already asked for an extension before they start more detailed planning work.

For now, there seems to be one thing all sides agree on.

"The status quo of parking lots," Adams said, "is unacceptable."

-- Ryan Frank


© 2010 OregonLive.com. All rights reserved.


http://media.oregonlive.com/portland...5ff4f8652d.jpg

Whatever happened to the design that BOOR/A proposed for the waterfront / old Red Lion site. I believe they competed for that project and were picked.

?

Have the Allen group and the city explored the possibilities of combining their vision of a headquarters hotel for the convention center and Rose Quarter? The Rose Quarter and CCenter are within easy walking distance....above and/or underground.

"Last week, Mayor Sam Adams called off a competition among the Blazers and two other groups to remake the 1960 coliseum for the 21st century. He said each idea had a fatal flaw. That leaves Adams where the city started in 1993: at the negotiating table with the Blazers." -The Oregonian



Wait, so that whole process of having people submit bids was all for nothing? The whole thing was called off by the mayor? Just like that?

What was the point then exactly? And how does he think that will be productive to getting development going in that dead part of town? :koko:

Some new info from the DJC:

http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/11/10...wear-industry/

http://djcoregon.com/files/2010/11/1...n_site_map.jpg

Is it me or does this plan look like it doesn't change much about the current area other than pointing out where there currently could be a tower?

The pedestrian connection over the I-5 seems like the only real thing that is being proposed for the area.

Though I still think the city should be working with the PPS with trying to purchase their current property and moving them to a more efficient building. Which would be a great move for the city to finally acquire a decent location for a future ballpark when Portland one day gets baseball back....cause that would make sense for the city, unless of course Randy Leonard has forgotten all about baseball after everyone shot down his two stupid location proposals.

Open house tonight:

Joint Open House: Rose Quarter and N/NE Quadrant Projects

Memorial Coliseum, 4:30pm - 7pm

http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/in...323820&c=52841

Ok, I don't think anyone missed out by not going to this. Just a community outreach meeting, the PDC is basically "back to the drawing board" and is eliciting community comments.

I gave them my $.02

I've come to the conclusion that the PDC, and the Mayor's office as well, don't have any real say in what will happen here. the Blazers are driving the bus. let's just hope that don't drive it off a cliff like they did during the original development of the RG/RQ.

the PDC graphic shows very little that hasn't been shown before, and is essentially meaningless. the ped crossing of I-5 has been around for nearly a decade on a number of plans. the tower is the only "new" item. any guesses on the likelihood of that happening in the next decade? interestingly, they seem to have lifted the notion of a memorial terrace on the west side of the MC from one of the alternate RFP responses that I had worked on. I must say, it is a spectacular idea...

which brings up another personal annoyance with this "process". during the review the 90+ proposals for the MC/RQ, Mayor McCheese announced late in the game that they were only going to consider those that dealt specifically with the MC only. he said that this round of proposals would not be able to address the greater quarter, and that there would be a separate RFP out (this winter, I believe he said) for development of the RQ. from my understanding the quarter is now wholly in the hands of the Blazers. at least for the next six months.

"ever have the feeling you've been cheated..."
J. Rotten

A new six-story residential building proposed for this parking lot.

Here's the development application.

No on-site parking. :tup:

Sweet! Now, if only someone would develop the grassy lot across the street. Is that used for overflow event parking? Or...? I've always wondered.

There was a proposal from AMAA for a highrise office tower. That was about a year or 2 ago

Portland school district site attracts PDC
POSTED: Monday, January 31, 2011 at 03:50 PM PT
BY: Nick Bjork
Daily Journal of Commerce

The Portland Development Commission has targeted the next big site it wants to redevelop. The problem is that its present tenant isn’t looking to move.

The city agency late last week identified an 11-acre parcel - and its 365,435-square-foot Blanchard Education Service Center - as one it would like to acquire. In doing so, the PDC also has entered into an agreement with Portland Public Schools and consulting firm Shiels Obletz Johnsen to look into how nearly 700 employees could be relocated at no cost to the school district.

The Blanchard site has a large footprint and is near downtown, Interstate 5 and the Rose Quarter. Developers and Mayor Sam Adams have pitched ideas for the site, and even the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability has explored redevelopment possibilities.

But as Sara King, development manager with the PDC, pointed out, visioning would be wasted unless the tenants were willing to move some or all of their operations.

The PDC is paying $60,000 for Shiels Obletz Johnsen to update a 2005 study that looked at the feasibility of the school district moving some, or all, of its services to a new site. Portland Public Schools presently uses the site to house its central administration staff, central kitchen and food services, warehouse and distribution services, and its maintenance services.

“We want to figure out what the magnitude cost would be to move the facilities off-site,” King said. “So many things have changed since 2005 and we want to see if it would be more cost effective now to move them.”

The 2005 study - conducted by Shiels Obletz Johnsen, GBD Architects and The Kalberer Co. - found that the building and the site provide more space than the school district needs, and that subleasing the additional space wouldn’t be financially sound. But the study also found that the four services do not need to be colocated and the district should look to move some of the services off-site and redevelop the parcel internally rather than sell it.

According to the 2005 study, the site would fetch approximately $20 million, but relocation of the four services to other school district-owned sites would cost nearly $75 million.

The findings of the 2005 study led Portland Public Schools to stand pat, but it is willing to listen to new proposals, said Matt Shelby, a PPS spokesman. In late January the Portland Public Schools Board of Education voted to participate in the updated study and work with the PDC. After the vote, the two public agencies and the consulting firm signed a memorandum of understanding.

“The building is meeting a substantial majority of our needs right now and we are in no way actively seeking buyers or tenants,” Shelby said. “But at the same time we are not wedded to this building.

“If it can serve a better purpose to the city, and if relocation is, at the very least, cost neutral to Portland Public Schools, we are more than willing to listen and participate.”

The study is expected to be completed by the end of March. But the PDC would not necessarily acquire the site anytime soon.

The PDC is still working with the United States Postal Service to acquire a 13.4-acre site in Northwest Portland - the Pearl District’s largest parcel. The city started the process in 1995, and a letter of intent was signed only two years ago. The PDC created a nonrefundable escrow account worth $2 million as a good faith agreement enticing the USPS to participate in negotiations.

“I know that there are people out there dreaming up ideas for the site, and that is necessary for long-term visioning,” King said. “But what we are trying to do here is lay the groundwork to see if it’s even feasible to not only move the school district off the site, but purchase and redevelop it as well.”


Options for the Blanchard site

Redevelopment of the Blanchard site wouldn’t occur for years, but developers and city staffers have nevertheless pitched ideas over the years.

In early January, Mayor Sam Adams and Gerding Edlen Development Co. were reportedly in preliminary talks with Costco about the site housing one of the retailer’s stores with an urban design. But that wasn’t the first time redevelopment suggestion for the 11-acre parcel.

In October 2010, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability solicited responses from three architecture firms – Dao Architecture, SERA Architects and Seattle-based Mithun – about potential ideas for the site; the BPS noted six.

These included: a public area and entertainment district; a close-in industrial park or urban farm; a mixed-use, big-box development; an employment incubator; a research and development office space; or a mixed-use, residential development.

Redevelopment of the Blanchard site also would at least somewhat be tied to the city’s Rose Quarter redevelopment project, which is under way.

http://djcoregon.com/news/2011/01/31...-attracts-pdc/

Stadium!

Theres still this report:
http://www.oregonstadiumcampaign.com...mlb_082604.pdf (large PDF)

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/743/stadiums.png Uploaded with ImageShack.us
pic from report above

My vote is for some sort of innovative mixed-use development involving lots of residential. Sounds kind of boring, maybe, but I think it would add the most-needed element to that general area: people living in the immediate vicinity.

By innovative I mean... whatever, really. Innovative design, maybe some co-housing, dedicated space for food-growing. Before the PPS building was built it was multiple blocks of single-family houses and apartment buildings -- seems like it would still be a highly desirable place to live, especially if the project was forward-looking while at the same time restoring the old street grid.

This is what I would like to see, if we couldn't keep the Beavers around because the city didn't own a good sized amount of land that would fit the stadium, why not purchase a lot like this one to hold on to so that we would have a space for a new stadium.

^ Plus, since its going to be a decade or more before anyone could actually get a new team, thats about how long it will take to plan and move the school district from their site and acquire it.

Just makes sense to me to keep the RQ area a sports and athletic dominated one. It just doesn't have enough things (programming to you urban planners) to keep it busy. Financially, its actually a success.

Yeah, I wouldnt want to live next to a freeway + onramp. Growing food there would likely be polluted by the massive amount of toxic fumes and grit coming off the trucks, trains, and roads. You'd basically be cramming people into an industrial area right next to a grain ship loading dock, separated from the neighborhood by I5. We have a lot of other areas that need to also develop residential... I'd like the city to try to funnel development to fill out the Pearl District, NW and downtown first.

Exactly, this would be a great chance for the city to plan for the future and be able to take their time with it to make sure it is done right, and if we are lucky the moving will happen in time for the city to score another minor league team and properly build a ballpark that can easily be expanded into a pro stadium.

Plus I also agree that this is a poorly planned area to stimulate any kind of housing options, therefore it makes sense to keep this area a sports/entertainment zone. I have no problems incorporating a entertainment district in that area that caters to the amount of sports and other events, but not every area in the city needs to be dedicated to housing.

How do you guys feel about Sam Adams pushing for a Costco to go into this area?

^ any way you look at it, it will be a direct and enormous subsidy to Costco corp. All retailer giants, like the faux-wholesale Costco, have strategic plans for markets. If they wanted to spend the money they could have built in inner Portland years ago, but that's not their business model because it's far too expensive and they know their customers are willing to drive a long distance.

If a Costco is subsidized into the inner areas a lot of local distributors and supply businesses would probably lose their niche markets and go out of business.

Costco would suck money out of our already stretched economy into the hands of Jim Sinegal, Jeff Brotman, the Seattle area, and its investors worldwide.

Costco, like Walmart and Lowe's and Ikea, make cheap consumer goods that are not sustainable in product quality nor distribution methodology.

Lastly, PPS does not want to move. I support PPS.

Actually, PPS says they're not wedded to the Blanchard Bldg. They don't care if they stay or go, as long as it's cost neutral to them. Seeing as they're closing some schools, they likely have several vacant alternate locations to move the functions out of the Blanchard.

How about a Costco with a stadium on top? :)

I hadn't heard that Sam wants a Costco in the Rose Quarter. Yikes.

I agree with the sentiments above about keeping it a sports and entertainment complex. Really, I think that's the only option that makes sense. I'm strongly in favor of creating neighborhoods close in - expanding inward rather than outward - and there's a lot of potential for that in inner SE, but take a look on a map and you'll see that this site is more or less stranded. It has connections to everything but immediate access to nothing. Putting a baseball stadium here makes a lot of sense.

Zilfondel, I certainly see your point. I wasn't thinking about the freeway being right there. However, if we're looking a bit farther into the future with our urban planning, there is a very real chance that peak oil will mean a re-purposing of our freeways. And yes, I know a lot of people find that hard to believe.

I don't think that a "sports and entertainment" program will do much for that area. In fact, I'm not even sure what that means -- something similar to what the Blazers were pushing right across the street? I like the idea of a giant public athletic complex (like the MERC proposal for MC), but who is going to pay for it? The Costco idea strikes me as horrific, if only for the traffic it will bring to what is already a clusterf*ck. And I worry that a Costco will lend weight to ODOT's crazy plans (multiple flyovers and demolition of several residential buildings) for expanding I-5 through that area.

Residential development is apparently in the running for the MC-and-vicinity plans as part of rebuilding the street frontage along Broadway between the bridge and Williams. The idea is that a big part of the reason for the failure of that area is that it is dead most of the time and there is no constituency of people for whom it is their neighborhood. And the urban design is, obviously, awful. I don't see how adding more of what is already there will be an improvement, but I guess i could be convinced. The baseball stadium seems most compelling to me.

Another component of a possible mixed-use project on the PPS site would be a "transit center" of some sort with easy connections between MAX and streetcar.

Kind of sounds like South Waterfront. ;)

Actually, Costco did attempt to build a store in NW about 10 or 15 years ago. It would have been at Nicolai and Yeon, on what is still to this day an enormous vacant lot. The neighborhood shot it down because of fears over increased traffic.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...14795&t=h&z=17

I think its a horrible idea. Big box stores fit the suburbs well, I don't see why we should subsidize them - or any retail - with tax dollars. Besides, there are a lot of Costco stores already in Oregon. If Costco wants to locate a store closer in, I'm sure they can buy land and develop it.

From an urban design standpoint, they are really not very pedestrian friendly.

Considering that the current PPS HQ isn't exactly adding a whole lot to the neighborhood... I can't see any reason that a sports stadium, located near a MAX station and near the central city, would really hurt. It would attract large amounts of people to the area, but not necessarily during rush hour (which a Costco would), and people would be much more likely to ride transit to get there. Also, it would help give a boost to any restaurants and retail co's in the area, as it would draw people in during the baseball season.

Also, consider this:

(quotes from wikipedia)

So the seasons basically would compliment each other. Baseball plays a LOT Of games, so you'll have bodies in the area more consistently through the year.

Paul Allen could help pay for it. Maybe we should also convince Phil Knight to buy a baseball team. They could be called the "Phil Knighters" or something, I dunno. :D

Let Phil Knight pay for it and call the team the Portland Knights. Or the Portland Swoosh. Or not. In fact, preferably not :)

Uncle Phil already bought a baseball team - they're called the Ducks.

(rim shot)

They just finished a store in Vancouver, off 192nd Ave.

And that thing went up like lightning, too! Those big box stores are like the borg, resistance is futile.

:haha: oh wait, that is kind of true....um, good for the Phil Knight Ducks.


In all reality, regardless how much I love baseball, I don't see Portland ever having anything more than a AAA team, simply because the cost that goes into running a MLB team would more than likely make Portland a subsidized and that is something MLB doesn't need, they need teams that make more money than it costs so that they can help cover the cost of teams that are losing money. Best example, the Pittsburgh Pirates are basically a welfare team for MLB, Portland would probably be in the same boat as the Pirates after the first few years.

But the baseball fan in me won't care and would love to be cheering for a Portland MLB team, so I have always been torn with that issue.

!!!!!!!

Wow. Really? Pittsburgh is such a sports town. I used to go to Pirates games when I lived there. I had a friend with season tickets right next to first base. God, it was great! If MLB can't turn a profit in sports town like PITTSBURGH!!! ...that's a shocker to me. Wow.

MLB Revenue Sharing

Here is an interesting little article for you that was written last summer talking about the Pirates and the MLB Revenue Sharing, which is where much of the Pirates, and a few other teams profits come from. The money is meant to be used to help poorer teams be better, but there is no clause saying owners can't pocket it and call it profit. Basically, MLB doesn't need more teams like this and I have a feeling Portland would be one of those team which would have a low player salary and basically hoping to make it with rookie talent. Or in other words, I heard Cubs fans at Wrigley when playing the Pirates yelling out to them something about just being the minor league team for the Yankees cause if you can prove yourself and get a high paycheck, you aren't going to be staying in Pittsburgh.

If I am not mistaken, I would say the Mariners kind of suffer from this too. I don't know the whole story but they were not able to keep an ace like Cliff Lee into sticking around.

Next idea for Coliseum: a soundstage
POSTED: Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 02:15 PM PT
BY: Nick Bjork
Daily Journal of Commerce
Tags: Memorial Coliseum, Portland Development Commission

When architect Gary Bastien received a call proposing the transformation of Veterans Memorial Coliseum into a gigantic soundstage, he thought the idea was farfetched. As principal of Tustin, Calif.-based Bastien and Associates, which designs film and television studios, Bastien says he knows that most such projects would not be feasible.

But then he heard about the unique nature of the coliseum: a large, oval, free span, concrete seating bowl supported by four 7-foot-diameter concrete columns.

A local team – with Bastien’s help – has a plan to convert the city-owned arena, used mostly for sporting events, into a media production center with three theaters and the largest self-contained, fully integrated urban soundstage in the world. The team says its proposed project would not only create jobs but also let the city avoid spending property tax dollars it planned to use to repair and upgrade the facility.

“I wasn’t familiar with this building at first, so I just wasn’t sure,” Bastien said. “But then I found out about the height of the building, the structural support and the fact that there are no columns within the structure.

“I’ve seen a lot of these types of projects and they don’t usually make sense. But the more I find out about this one the more it seems like an ideal structure.”

The plan – led by Portland residents Tim Lawrence, founder of Digital Works Productions, and Rob Cornilles, founder of consulting firm Game Face – is to transform the coliseum’s interior into three soundstages totaling 51,000 square feet. The redevelopment would also include three theaters: a live-performance theater with 875 seats and two screening theaters with 250 seats each. Additionally, there would be four stories of office space, as well as some storage space.

The redevelopment would cost approximately $81 million. Federal tax credits would provide from $25 million to $50 million, and private, out-of-state investors would supply the rest.

Since an effort successfully prevented Veterans Memorial Coliseum from being torn down to make room for a new baseball stadium, the city has looked for a way to increase the economic viability of the arena, which is used for minor league hockey and concerts.

Those discussions culminated last month, when city officials pitched the idea of using $20 million in Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Area money to upgrade the facility and make repairs. Portland City Council will make a decision at its June 22 meeting.

“We’re asking the city to keep any money (it has) set aside for the coliseum upgrades and use it for something like affordable housing,” Cornilles said. “We have an idea here that not only creates jobs and fits into the city’s industry clusters, but can be completely supported without public dollars.”

The city’s economic development plan is focused on six industry clusters. With popular shows like “Portlandia” and “Leverage” being filmed in town, the team believes that film and media should be a seventh industry targeted by the city, and this project should be part of that.

“We’re talking economic development here,” Cornilles said. “This building can go from a money pit to a revenue generator.”

But the plan has not been received well by the city.

“The mayor is very supportive of film, television and other media production in Portland, and he is certainly interested in projects that would further development of those industries as an economic driver in our city,” said Cary Clarke, the mayor’s arts and culture policy coordinator. “The proposal for a media complex and production facility in Portland is an exciting one, but the Veterans Memorial Coliseum is headed in a different direction and not available as a location for this kind of development.”

Clarke added that Mayor Sam Adams and the Portland Development Commission would be interested in discussing other possible locations for the proposed facility.

Cornilles and Lawrence said they’ve both had productive meetings with the mayor’s office and city councilors, as well as initial meetings with the PDC. They believe their idea should at least be considered.

“They can’t make a truly educated decision without all the information,” Cornilles said. “We want a chance to present our idea to the city and the public so we can show them that this thing can work.”

http://djcoregon.com/news/2011/06/07...-a-soundstage/