South Waterfront News

[Derek]

Was that park always slated for future construction?

[MarkDaMan]

^Yep

[Derek]

I figured, I always thought the garage entrance was a little awkward.

[pylon]

Cha Cha Cha- soft opening this Monday (7/14), official on Tuesday.
Chairs and a long bar are located outside, just off the ped/bike path.

Lovejoy Bakers has a few Adirondack chairs along the same path.

The combo of morning sun, folks enjoying outside seating, and foot/bike traffic
going by reminds me of The Strand pathway vibe down in SoCal; a bit.

Looks like we're beginning to see enough "facilities" down there to support a proper pub crawl,
from Three Degrees at the top of the Riverplace (inc. their new-ish outdoor bar),
down to the wine bar going into the Ardea.
I wonder if urban planners ever factor pub-crawl-ability into their equations.

[downtownpdx]

Block 37 design not ready yet

GBD Architects' design for a six-story South Waterfront building needs more work to gain city approval.

Read more: http://djcoregon.com/news/2014/07/11/block-37-design-not-ready-yet/#ixzz37K1unR2K

[Derek]

Does anybody have full access to the article?

[pdxstreetcar]

So where are these new Zidell buildings going? Hopefully one will be between the Emery and Gibbs Bridge on that vacant lot which would fill that in, the other though?

[Derek]

^That's an awfully small plot of land, and the topography is funky too.

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by Derek

^That's an awfully small plot of land, and the topography is funky too.

???

That lot next to the Bridge/Tram is larger than the one the Emery was built on. And the topography is identical. That would be prime for Zidell's next building.

[maccoinnich]

I was cycling past the Benz Spring unit recently, and noticed the signage had been taken down. Curious, I checked Portlandmaps, and noticed it was sold earlier in the year, for $4.85 million. The concrete warehouse is only valued at $500k, so presumably this was bought with an eye to redevelopment. Does anyone know anything about this this?

More than anything else, I would be excited for this parcel to be redeveloped, because it would trigger a greenway review. A new section of multiuse trail along the river would link the Willamette Greenway trail to South Waterfront via the little used bike path behind the Old Spaghetti Factory. See Google Maps. Right now the officially designated route involves a very narrow path along the side of the River Forum building.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by 65MAX

???

That lot next to the Bridge/Tram is larger than the one the Emery was built on. And the topography is identical. That would be prime for Zidell's next building.

I'll have to have a better look. Maybe it just looks weird to me since it's elevated from the sidewalk.

[cronked]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

I was cycling past the Benz Spring unit recently, and noticed the signage had been taken down. Curious, I checked Portlandmaps, and noticed it was sold earlier in the year, for $4.85 million. The concrete warehouse is only valued at $500k, so presumably this was bought with an eye to redevelopment. Does anyone know anything about this this?

More than anything else, I would be excited for this parcel to be redevelopment, because it would trigger a greenway review. A new section of multiuse trail along the river would link the Willamette Greenway trail to South Waterfront via the little used bike path behind the Old Spaghetti Factory. See Google Maps. Right now the officially designated route involves a very narrow path along the side of the River Forum building.

I haven't seen anything about that specific site. Very interesting though. I did find a project called The Boathouse which is further south.

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog...hat-new-johns-landing-project-talks.html

Rumor has it that Cha Cha Cha in South Waterfront opens tomorrow (July 15th).

[pylon]

Originally Posted by cronked

...
Rumor has it that Cha Cha Cha in South Waterfront opens tomorrow (July 15th).

I was told that their happy hour menu will begin being offered this coming Monday, July 21st.
http://chachachapdx.com


btw, there's a Farmers Market in the SoWa, June-Oct, on Thursdays...
http://southwaterfront.com/farmers-market.html

and another, just an aerial tram-ride away, up on Pill Hill, Tuesdays...
http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/services/food-and-nutrition/farmers-market/

[RED_PDXer]

Tried to eat at Cha Cha Cha yesterday during lunch. The line was incredibly long! Ended up going to Bambuza, but just about everywhere we went was packed. Lots of people walking around and so many kids playing in the park. It really does feel much more complete down there now.

[PDX City-State]

Originally Posted by RED_PDXer

Tried to eat at Cha Cha Cha yesterday during lunch. The line was incredibly long! Ended up going to Bambuza, but just about everywhere we went was packed. Lots of people walking around and so many kids playing in the park. It really does feel much more complete down there now.

I was there this week and thought the same thing. It's easy to forget that the first buildings opened in South Waterfront only seven years ago. It has really grown fast.

[cronked]

Originally Posted by PDX City-State

I was there this week and thought the same thing. It's easy to forget that the first buildings opened in South Waterfront only seven years ago. It has really grown fast.

I ate at Cha Cha Cha last Friday and it was packed. Barely got a table. It is great that they have so much outdoor seating. Pearl Bakers also gets pretty busy. Wait until this fall when the dentist school is in session. We should see even more traffic.

Not sure if I mentioned this before but a friend of mine put her condo on the market recently. She received an offer that was above the asking price within 12 hours of it being on the market.

A realtor has purchased retail space in the John Ross building. I believe it is the space that faces the courtyard next door to the dentist's office. I heard the availability of condos in SoWa is still below 1%. The Montessori school has expanded and taken over the empty space next door which was the last retail space in the John Ross that is located on the streetcar line.

[PDX City-State]

Originally Posted by cronked

I ate at Cha Cha Cha last Friday and it was packed. Barely got a table. It is great that they have so much outdoor seating. Pearl Bakers also gets pretty busy. Wait until this fall when the dentist school is in session. We should see even more traffic.

Not sure if I mentioned this before but a friend of mine put her condo on the market recently. She received an offer that was above the asking price within 12 hours of it being on the market.

A realtor has purchased retail space in the John Ross building. I believe it is the space that faces the courtyard next door to the dentist's office. I heard the availability of condos in SoWa is still below 1%. The Montessori school has expanded and taken over the empty space next door which was the last retail space in the John Ross that is located on the streetcar line.

All great stuff! Ripping on South Waterfront has become a Portland past-time, but in a decade, it could very well be the epicenter of innovation for the entire city.

[cronked]

Here is a shot of the Zidell drive in theater that happened over the weekend:

http://bobcronkphotography.com/image/92268290588

if that link doesn't work, try this one:

http://bobcronkphotography.com/

[cronked]

I heard on Facebook that an amphitheater is being built under the Tilikum Crossing bridge on the west side. Has anyone else seen or heard about this? I may go down there tonight to check it out.

[davehogan]

Originally Posted by cronked

I heard on Facebook that an amphitheater is being built under the Tilikum Crossing bridge on the west side. Has anyone else seen or heard about this? I may go down there tonight to check it out.

I'd assume that's the drive in theater under the Ross Island mentioned in the previous post.