I've never even been in that area, seems like the site proposed for EX zoning "central city employment" is really lacking good exposure to circulation routes - its really isolated in its location.
Here's a link to the zoning code description:
http://www.portlandonline.com/planning/index.cfm?&a=64432&c=36238
Walk Score gives the intersection of
60th and Halsey a 75/100.
There really isn't much retail or non-industrial employment on that side of the freeway, either. There isn't much of anything there, except for on Sandy & the Hollywood District. Rezoning along Glisan to allow mixed-use ped-oriented commercial is a really good step, IMO.
JordanL- many areas of Portland have seen redevelopment, new infill, and increased density and retail without huge investments by the city. Most of the retail streets (Burnside, Hawthorne, Belmont, Alberta) have actually not seen any PDC dollars spent on them, although the
storefront improvement program have helped many parts of the city, but this area needs whole new buildings, not just a new window or signage.
Also, this isn't going to become a vertical suburb, as they downzoned part of the residential from R1 to R2, which only allows 21 units/acre (garden apartments, townhouses, duplexes, etc). However, viewing the area on live local tells me that much of the housing is WW2-era housing, relatively low lot coverage, not in the best of shape. I would bet that in 20 years many of these houses are going to be replaced.
But you're right, it needs a lot of amenities. But I'm sure it will see attention in the future. Interestingly, looking at portlandmaps, many of the properties in the area are eligible for property tax exemption due to transit proximity, and the land values are rising quickly - while the houses themselves are dirt cheap!
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