Old Town/Chinatown News

[PacificNW]

Speaking of MC....I think a world class aquarium would be a good fit. I know the Oregon aquarium in Newport would shit their pants but a partnership could be worked out to the benefit of both. The conference rooms underneath the building could be used for offices, labs and "conference rooms".

[pdxman]

There seems to be tons of better uses for the MC than what its being currently being used for...paul allen? hello? He could win back portland(maybe) if he did something with the MC.

[zilfondel]

^^^ Agreed. MC = instutional (the citywide sports/rec center might work as well) use.

Public market needs to be downtown. Wonder if there would be any chance of locating it on a different block in Old town near the current Saturday Market? I believe that is by far the best location for it, because it has so much energy to build off that's already there. Kind of like dropping a box of dry instant milk into a bucket of water...

[65MAX]

Access via 4 MAX lines, autos/delivery trucks and soon Streetcar on Broadway, is superior here (MC) than any other spot being considered for a public market. The only drawback I see is lack of a surrounding neighborhood. But the Pearl was just railyards before it boomed. The same could be done for the Rose Quarter and in fact, that's exactly what the city has been trying to do for over a decade now. The time may be right for Rose Quarter to bloom (pardon the pun). A public market at the center could be the catalyst.

I think the "institutional" feel is a result of MC sitting in the middle of parking lots. Very monolithic. That would disappear if it was completely surrounded with housing and ground floor retail, maybe some hotel and office space too.

Just an idea.... but entirely feasibly.

[PDX City-State]

The only drawback I see is lack of a surrounding neighborhood.

But that's a pretty big omission.

The time may be right for Rose Quarter to bloom (pardon the pun). A public market at the center could be the catalyst.

Right--but only if it were part of a HUGE redevelopment that made the MC area look like a real neighborhood. Even then, I would support some type of amentity, but I think the Market should be near the restaurant community--downtown or somewhere on the close-in Eastside near reataurants and where people already go--people who care about food.
I really like Cab's idea--locating the market in the Central Eastside near the Esplanade parking lot.There's land, there's a normal street grid, there are all sorts of creative start-up companies, there could be a water taxi from dowtown, there are tons of restaurants nearby.

[65MAX]

Right, the plan for RQ is to do just that, make it an actual neighborhood, housing and all. I would also argue that RQ is closer to DT and Pearl restaurants than the CEID site.

I also like the site under the Marquam Bridge, but that has a lack of housing too, with less potential for future high density housing than RQ. Access is also more problematic there.

Either way, I think the CEID site AND the MC are both superior to Union Station for a market.

[zilfondel]

For better or worse, the Lloyd District and Rose Garden area will be flat-out last to be redeveloped in the city of Portland. CEID, the Pearl, SOWA/John's Landing, Milwaukie, Mall 205, even 15th & Weidler are going to build up before the great white ephalumps are.

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by zilfondel

For better or worse, the Lloyd District and Rose Garden area will be flat-out last to be redeveloped in the city of Portland. CEID, the Pearl, SOWA/John's Landing, Milwaukie, Mall 205, even 15th & Weidler are going to build up before the great white ephalumps are.

Pearl and SoWa, yes. But RQ and LC will likely be next to build up. Weston has a 32 story tower in progress for Broadway and Interstate, close to the Jumptown proposal. I really think once the Pearl is filled in, it'll jump the river, especially with the eastside streetcar in place.

[PacificNW]

I think you have to put the West End, and Goose Hollow in the mix.

[der Reisender]

i think we are far more likey to see close in development take off in goose hollow and west end as it has already begun, and weston has a 30+ story tower in development over there too, along with other projects that have been going on and the streets in these areas are better for people walking/biking etc., than Lloyd or RQ. there's just more already there, the only real incentive to build on the east side would be the many parking lots that are easy to remove

and i'd imagine that development would, even with the eastside streetcar, start over by lloyd center where there's a grid and retail and the like already, and expand down to the RQ and the river

[PDX City-State]

Another tower will be announced in the area soon. Many stories on a familiar site. It will be share a name with a famous drink. Still, that area has got a long way to go.

I would also argue that RQ is closer to DT and Pearl restaurants than the CEID site.

You're absolutely right--but that area is a mess. We Portlanders either drive through it or around it but rarely stop. It's car culture and needs years of fine tuning. It's just not right for a public market. The Central Eastside near clarklewis, bakery bar, etc is very up and coming. Plus, a lot of the innovative cooking is happening more and more on the close-in Eastside: Le Pigeon, Simpatica, Rocket (which opens this summer), Lastro, restaurant row on 28th, some new stuff opening on 12th this summer...restaurants on close-in Division. Larger downtown places are not likely to use the market--smaller ones will. There's a lot of momentum and the creative community has embraced the Central Eastside. It's Portland. The Rose Quarter may as well have been airlifted from Phoenix.

It's also a quick walk across the Hawthorne bridge from the CBD--The walk across the Broadway bridge is less scenic and lands you in a pedestrian mess. You could also incorporate a water taxi because there's a link to the water.

[brandonpdx]

Originally Posted by PDX City-State

Another tower will be announced in the area soon. Many stories on a familiar site. It will be share a name with a famous drink. Still, that area has got a long way to go.

The Cosmopolitan on Grand & Multnomah.

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by brandonpdx

The Cosmopolitan on Grand & Multnomah.

Grand and Holladay, next to the Cascadian Lofts.

[pdxman]

^^^Link, renderings?
EDIT: Nevermind, found a link-http://www.pdc.us/ura/convention_center/block45.asp

[PacificNW]

[PDX City-State]

I didn't realize this was old news.

[zilfondel]

Nice! I remember hearing Weston mentioning he wanted to build in the area about a year ago. Nice to know he wasn't just talking!

[MarkDaMan]

^From Weston's story on another thread...depending on the success of the Manhattan, and negotiating height increases with the city for 8000 sq ft or less buildings, this thing could be 'well over' 30 stories. PDX's new tallest?

[zilfondel]

Portland's tallest without garbage chutes! lol

This would have to be around 60 floors w/9' ceilings to make it, however. I'm a bit ambivalent about a 'tallest' being residential... but I guess if Melbourne can do it, so can we. =P

[MarkDaMan]

^I was weirded out by thinking Portland's tallest could be in the Lloyd.