Albina Vision / Rose Quarter Redevelopment

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

...continues at KOIN.

“Parcel of land located within the Moda Center”?

What is the back story, why would Allen sell it? Almost seems like a way to make it easier to sell the franchise (to a different city?).

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

“Parcel of land located within the Moda Center”?

What is the back story, why would Allen sell it? Almost seems like a way to make it easier to sell the franchise (to a different city?).

I can't link directly, but if you go to Portland Maps aerial imagery zoom in on the Moda center and turn back to 1990, you can see that most of the land the Moda center was built on was surface parking lots for VMC that were owned by the city. Before it was realigned, N Williams used to run directly south from Ramsay Way. The parcel now being sold to the city looks to have been a warehouse, east of the old N Williams alignment.

Placing it all in public ownership allows for a property tax exemption.

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

I can't link directly, but if you go to Portland Maps aerial imagery zoom in on the Moda center and turn back to 1990, you can see that most of the land the Moda center was built on was surface parking lots for VMC that were owned by the city. Before it was realigned, N Williams used to run directly south from Ramsay Way. The parcel now being sold to the city looks to have been a warehouse, east of the old N Williams alignment.

Placing it all in public ownership allows for a property tax exemption.

Seems like other teams would do the same thing but my understanding is most pro sports stadiums/arenas are privately owned. It's the sweet spot, publicly financed, privately owned, owner reaps benefits for all events (not just their team; concerts, etc). And as for tax exempt, lots of owners don't even pay that. I recall stories that the Eagles in Philly owed the city tens of millions of back property taxes but they never collect because the owner would just threaten to leave town.

So then I guess, why here? Why now? If Allen sells Moda, they get nothing for non-Blazers activities, correct? Doesn't seems to make sense to save a little property tax money, if they even pay it. Especially when any renovation costs could likely be extorted from the public.

[maccoinnich]

Sources: Bhathal Family Lands Portland WNBA Expansion Team
The family, which owns the NWSL's Portland Thorns, will announce on Sept. 10 that women's professional basketball is returning to Portland in 2026.



The second time looks to be the charm for the effort to bring women’s professional basketball back to Portland.

After a previously planned WNBA expansion team fell through just before the finish line last fall, Portland is closing in on finally landing a team that will begin playing in 2026, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the plans. The Bhathal family, owners of the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, will lead the ownership group for the new team, sources say.

An official announcement from the Bhathals and the WNBA is expected on Sept. 10, sources say, with the team’s name and logo to be unveiled at a later date. It is unknown at this point whether they plan to revive Portland’s previous short-lived WNBA franchise, the Fire, which folded in 2002, or go with a different name.

...continues at Rose Garden Report.

[maccoinnich]

Also: last week's Planning Commission meeting includes a sneak peak at what the Moda Center's new signage and displays might look like. Staff presentation starts about 11 minutes in and the RIP City Management presentation starts about 26 minutes in:

• Video Link

[maccoinnich]

Seasons tickets now available at https://www.wnba.com/portland

WNBA reveals plan to bring pro women's basketball back to Portland



The WNBA will bring a professional women's basketball team to Portland in 2026.

The league announced its 15th team and its third recent expansion team Wednesday morning. The new team will play in Moda Center and will be owned and operated by RAJ Sports, which owns the Portland Thorns in the National Women's Soccer League.

"As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward," Women's National Basketball League Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in the league's announcement. "Portland has been an epicenter of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans."

The expansion brings the WNBA back to Portland more than 20 years after the city's last team failed. The Portland Fire played three seasons from 2000 to 2002.

Portland missed out on the league's last expansion round, when it added teams in San Francisco and Toronto. Negotiations with a prospective owner fell apart last November in part because of concerns over a playing venue.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal ($).

[maccoinnich]

The WNBA returns to Portland, billed as a ‘global epicenter’ for women’s sports



Ron Wyden’s voice boomed through Moda Center. The slender, 75-year-old U.S. senator could have been mistaken for an in-game host wearing a backwards hat and firing a T-shirt cannon.

“I’m not a gambler, but I know it’s a sure bet that Portland is going to be a slam-dunk success in the WNBA,” Wyden said. “I flew home from D.C. yesterday, but I’m not sure I needed a plane because I probably could have made it on my own power.”

Wyden was emblematic of the energy in the building: The WNBA is coming back to Portland. The league announced on Wednesday it is awarding its 15th franchise to the Rose City to start play in 2026, gathering influential figures from local sports teams; city, state and national politics; and sports business into a dimly lit Moda Center for a celebratory press conference.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[2oh1]

On Facebook, there was a post about suggestions for a name for the team.

One suggestion was "The Portland Swifts."

I doubt that's what the name will be, but I thought it was a great idea.

[maccoinnich]

Albina Vision Trust teams with Lewis & Clark College



Portland nonprofit Albina Vision Trust is teaming with Lewis & Clark College on a partnership to weave education into the redeveloped Lower Albina neighborhood.

This is the second big partnership for the nonprofit that was created to reestablish and reconnect the 94-acres neighborhood that was the historic hub of Portland’s Black community. The neighborhood was isolated and its residents scattered by the construction of Interstate 5 and Memorial Coliseum. Today the area is also home to the Moda Center and is known as the Rose Quarter.

Last year, AVT announced a partnership with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers called the Albina Rose Alliance. Both groups are committed to working together to reach the goal of a revived neighborhood.

This new Lewis & Clark partnership will build education infrastructure and programming for residents, students and visitors to build community-based knowledge and promote civic and community engagement, the groups said in a news release.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal ($).

[Derek]

I’ve got a bad feeling about this…

NBA exploring expansion but 'nothing predetermined,' Silver says

Asked about the sale of the Portland Trail Blazers by the Paul G. Allen estate, initiated in May, Silver said that, "It is our preference that that team remains in Portland. We've had great success in Portland over the years." Notably, Silver said that Portland, "likely needs a new arena, so that will be part of the challenge for any new ownership group coming in."

The Blazers have played in Moda Center since 1995, making it one of the league's oldest arenas that has not undergone substantial renovations. Moda Center upgrades begun with the aim of completion before hosting the NCAA Division I women's basketball Final Four in 2030, but are on pause during the sale process, per the Rose Garden Report.

Not much else in the article pertains to Portland, but this was pulled from a Q and A with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45749814/nba-exploring-expansion-predetermined-silver-says

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by Derek

I’ve got a bad feeling about this…





Not much else in the article pertains to Portland, but this was pulled from a Q and A with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45749814/nba-exploring-expansion-predetermined-silver-says

The real saving grace is the most likely other cities that would threaten Blazers are Seattle and LV, and both are strongly rumored to be getting expansion teams to be announced this summer. The next options are all smaller cities, unless of course Austin decides it wants a team.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by Derek

I’ve got a bad feeling about this…





Not much else in the article pertains to Portland, but this was pulled from a Q and A with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45749814/nba-exploring-expansion-predetermined-silver-says

I wouldn't read much into this, I am pretty sure Silver always says a team needs a new arena. The Moda Center has recently been renovated, and any major renovations needed can still be planned out.

[maccoinnich]

Rose Quarter grain terminal is sold



Story Highlights

• Silos LLC purchased Rose Quarter grain terminal property listed at $6.5 million.
• The site is part of Albina Vision Trust's 100-acre redevelopment plan.
• Previous owner Castle Arden faced environmental penalties for unpermitted operations.
• A Willamette River grain terminal once owned by The Louis Dreyfus Co. has a new owner.

A deed filed with Multnomah County shows an entity named Silos LLC purchased the Rose Quarter property at 900 N. Thunderbird Way. A sales price was not listed in the statutory warranty deed filed last month. The new owners were also not listed. Public records list SSBLS Services Inc. behind Silos LLC, which likely represented the buyer in the transaction.

The 3-acre site is directly north of the Steel Bridge and part of Albina Vision Trust’s long-term master planned redevelopment of the surrounding 100 acres of property.

....continues at the Portland Business Journal ($).

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

....continues at the Portland Business Journal ($).

Cool name, Silos LLC.

I'm assuming since we have no idea who the new owners are yet, that we have no idea to know if this is good, bad, or neutral news relative to eventual projects?

[sopdx]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

Cool name, Silos LLC.

I'm assuming since we have no idea who the new owners are yet, that we have no idea to know if this is good, bad, or neutral news relative to eventual projects?

Considering the previous owner was dealing in rubber tires that caught on fire several times, I'm thinking anything is an improvement.

Doesn't this property connect to several vacant properties to the north?

[maccoinnich]

Since I posted this yesterday the story has been updated to indicate that Project^ appear to be involved, which is very interesting:

Public records show Cascadia Community Impact Fund LLC, an entity tied to development firm Project^, entered into a Prospective Purchaser Agreement and Consent Order with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

The department's website says these documents are a "legally binding agreement between DEQ and the purchaser's or lessee's liability to DEQ for environmental cleanup of the property."

They are used to "facilitate cleanup and productive reuse of properties contaminated with hazardous substances."

The development firm's founder and CEO, Tom Cody, is also a board member with Albina Vision Trust.

Project^ did not immediately return the Business Journal's request for comment.

[maccoinnich]

1803 Fund acquires Portland grain silos in $70 million investment for Black community



The 1803 Fund, an organization working to advance Portland’s Black community, on Thursday announced $70 million in real estate purchases, including the site of the former grain silos near the Moda Center.

The organization, which was formed in 2023 with a $400 million pledge from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and wife Penny Knight, also announced it had purchased several blocks in the lower Albina neighborhood, the historic center of Portland’s Black community.

“These are thousand-year investments,” said Rukaiyah Adams, 1803 Fund chief executive, in a news release. “We are investing in Albina not as an artifact of the past, but as a promise to the future. Our goal is to build something enduring, grounded in the people who have always called this neighborhood home.”

The real estate sits on more than seven acres. The 1803 Fund expects the early stages of redeveloping the properties will generate hundreds of jobs and nearly $700 million in economic impact.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[Jakz]

Great news. Very curious if they are intending to save and reuse some or all of the silos.

Last time it sold WWeek reported that UP intended to straighten out the track there for safety/operations. So the tracks might be moved closer to Interstate Ave, which would open up that whole section of riverfront. Could build caps over the new tracks too before rerouting the trains to allow construction above the tracks that doesn't interfere with the (famously difficult) UPRR.

[downtownpdx]

Would be kind of cool if they preserved a little of the grain terminals. This could be like a GasWorks park in Seattle, on the waterfront, with some restaurants or something in the mix. A place to go before/after a Moda Center event. I’m just excited to see that view (hopefully) open up, at last.

[AdamUrbanist]

There are some very cool repurposed silo projects out there. Though seeing how things have gone at centenial mills this might be an uphill battle.

https://www.dezeen.com/2017/09/15/thomas-heatherwick-zeitz-mocaa-cape-town-art-museum-south-africa/