Centennial Mills Redevelopment | Proposed

[Okstate]

I read about it in the Pearl's version of neighborhood notes then couldn't find it online so no article post. I do remember the article said Lab was in town sometime about a week or so ago really checking things out in the area.

[bvpcvm]

Here's a link to a design review notice, including very vague drawings, dated 11/16/2009. Looks like, despite the economy, this one isn't dead yet.

[tworivers]

Much as I like the idea of the adaptive re-use of Centennial Mills, I have a hard time imagining the food-centered program succeeding. I hope I am wrong, but it kind of smacks of the same sort of forced-ness of the "public market" efforts and that horrible "Little Italy" idea that floated around for awhile for the Skidmore Fountain area. Inorganic, no pun intended.

[PDX City-State]

Originally Posted by tworivers

Much as I like the idea of the adaptive re-use of Centennial Mills, I have a hard time imagining the food-centered program succeeding. I hope I am wrong, but it kind of smacks of the same sort of forced-ness of the "public market" efforts and that horrible "Little Italy" idea that floated around for awhile for the Skidmore Fountain area. Inorganic, no pun intended.

This is different for several reasons. First, these guys are very experienced developers, unlike the hapless team behind the Portland Public Market. Plus, there is a need for space that caters to the food-related industries. The only issue I see is that this puppy is a ways from downtown.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by PDX City-State

The only issue I see is that this puppy is a ways from downtown.

It'll be in the "urban outlands".

The streetcar will get people most of the way there. There will be a couple of nice stroll-there options, including the west-side riverwalk- one of downtown's nice little features.

Maybe even have a ferry service that operates during certain times/events that connects the food-oriented Centennial Mill project with the entertainment-oriented Rose Garden project.

[tworivers]

So is the Fields Park delay tied in with this because of the bridge?

‘Rotten’ pilings slow Centennial Mills
POSTED: Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 12:23 PM PT
BY: Eli Segall (DJC)

The Centennial Mills waterfront project in Portland could face delays over a damaged wharf, as the developer expects to spend a lot of time and money fixing “rotten” pilings.

Shaheen Sadeghi, principal with project developer LAB Holding LLC, said in an interview Thursday that project consultants have found the pier is more damaged than previously thought. The findings were completed in recent months, he said.

The 10 buildings at the site, located on the west bank of the Willamette River between the Fremont and Broadway bridges, are in “good shape,” Sadeghi said. But the pier needs “substantial work.”

He said the pilings are “rotten,” and the cost of repairs is “going to be a big number,” though he did not give a specific estimate. In addition, since the wharf dips into the Willamette, fixing them could require state and federal permits.

Sadeghi couldn’t immediately confirm who has jurisdiction over the river, but said any potential repairs would be covered by extensive government regulation, largely because of the need to protect the river’s natural habitat.

“It could take a while,” said Ryan Aeh, project manager with Costa Mesa, Calif.-based LAB Holding. He said the situation “adds to the uncertainty of when we could break ground.”

According to a Daily Journal of Commerce article in March, the sprawling commercial project was slated to be finished in 2011. It also said LAB hoped to execute its Development and Disposition Agreement with the site’s property owner, the Portland Development Commission, by this past summer.

Aeh said Thursday that the company hopes to finalize the agreement by the end of March 2010, to break ground in “early 2011,” and finish construction by 2012.

Nevertheless, LAB hopes to turn the former industrial site-comprised of warehouses, grain elevators and a seven-story flour mill, all built between 1910 and 1940-into a culinary attraction, with restaurants, a farmer’s market, wine shops and even light food manufacturing.

An open forum was held Dec. 2 to review and discuss project plans, and another, similar forum is scheduled for Jan. 19, at the Bridgeport Brewery.

Sadeghi and Aeh both declined to give an estimated project cost, though Sadeghi noted it’s been estimated at $55 million.

[tworivers]

Hey, can anyone commit to going to the forum on Tues the 19th and giving us a report-back? I'll be at work, unfortunately.

http://www.centennialmills.org/

[Eco_jt]

Hey, can anyone commit to going to the forum on Tues the 19th and giving us a report-back?

Wish I could go too, but unfortunately I have to work...maybe I'll try to be sick that day

[PacificNW]

Curious to how this project comes along considering the news concerning the Rose Quarter/Jumptown project..

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by tworivers

Hey, can anyone commit to going to the forum on Tues the 19th and giving us a report-back? I'll be at work, unfortunately.

http://www.centennialmills.org/

I'm going. It's my day off!

[mmeade]

I went already! That forum was last January...

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by tworivers

‘Rotten’ pilings slow Centennial Mills
POSTED: Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 12:23 PM PT
BY: Eli Segall (DJC)

.......... An open forum was held Dec. 2 to review and discuss project plans, and another, similar forum is scheduled for Jan. 19, at the Bridgeport Brewery. .........

So is this article wrong?

[mmeade]

Apparently one of us is. Looking at the website, the date listed is 2009. It could be a typo, or it could be that they haven't updated in a year. I know that the forum I went to last year sounded exactly like the one described on the website...

Originally Posted by centennialmills.com

January 19, 2009, 5:30 – 7:30 pm at Bridgeport Brewery

Please join us along with the Centennial Mills development team, LAB Holding LLC and Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, and The Fields Park designers, led by The Office of Cheryl Barton, for a public open house and presentation to review the following significant project updates: schematic design of the Centennial Mills Redevelopment; updates on The Fields design; and design concepts for the pedestrian bridge linking the two projects.

[65MAX]

The DJC often has wrong or outdated information, so I'm guessing the reporter probably misread the Centennial Mills website.

[Eco_jt]

I'm on the Neighborhood Association and their is another forum on the 19th, 2010 at 5:30, info posted to the PDNA http://www.pearldistrict.org/news.asp website and Neighborhood notes http://www.neighborhoodnotes.com/eve...ark_open_house

[tworivers]

Oh, weird. I didn't even notice the year 2009 on the website. I originally saw a notice about the upcoming event in the Oregonian (where it was listed as being on Wednesday, January 19th, 2010) and then checked in a little too briefly with the website. It would be nice if they'd keep it updated, huh?

Bikeportland had a story about the Mills today.

Zilfondel, I look forward to hearing about the presentation!

[zilfondel]

I accidentally went last night. Nobody was there!

[tworivers]

Any reports?

Also, the water taxi/kayak dock idea seems important to the concept. Why would it be so difficult at C Mills when a dock was built just a few years ago for the kayakers at Water Ave?

Having a waterfront streetcar line from the existing line down Naito to the condos north of the Fremont bridge would also help a project like this be somewhat Pike Place-ish... unlikely, though, I guess.


Centennial Mills developer calls project the ‘anti-mall’
POSTED: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 12:24 PM PT
BY: Nathalie Weinstein (DJC -- story here)

LAB Holding founder Shaheen Sadeghi made at least one thing clear Wednesday night at an open house for the long-planned Centennial Mills project: his plan for a mixed-use center at the site of the former flour mill is not a mall.

“This project is the anti-mall,” Sadeghi said. “There will be no national tenants. The ambience will not be upscale like a mall. This project is about incorporating the existing urban fabric of Portland.”

Rather than extend Pearl District shopping, Sadeghi envisions reusing the mill to create a lively public arena with an emphasis on Portland’s foodie culture. The idea would be for Centennial Mills to provide a much needed connection to Portland’s riverfront. Such a vision has been a long time coming, and could face a bumpy road ahead.

“We will soon be entering a complex regulatory process,” said Ryan Aeh, project director with LAB Holding. “Permitting for working in the water at the site is one of the biggest unknowns and challenges facing the project. The big goal is to connect everyone with the river.”

The good news, according to Sadeghi, is that the project will require little to no new design. LAB Holding has been working with architecture firm Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle to plan how to reuse many of the remaining buildings. A prominent design feature will be the opening of a former grain elevator to allow the public to cross through it to a boardwalk made from old wood collected at the site. The grain elevator will also house locally owned shops and restaurants.

“I see this project becoming an iconic location like Pike’s Place in Seattle,” Sadeghi said.

Sadeghi would like to see Centennial Mills incorporate a boat launch for kayakers and water taxis. But regulatory concerns at city, state and federal levels make such plans challenging, according to Steven Shain, development manager for the Portland Development Commission.

“We’re confident we have a plan to work our way through regulatory concerns to realize this vision,” Shain said. “Typically, developing along any waterfront requires sensitivity to regulatory concerns. Some say the best thing is for people to stay away from the river, but another camp says we should embrace it.”

LAB Holding plans to finish schematic design and start discussing a disposition and development agreement with the PDC by this spring. Construction could start next year.

[zilfondel]

I tried going, but they wouldnt let us in. They turned quite a few people away, as the tiny room they rented at Bridgeport completely filled up. I was pretty pissed.

[2oh1]

“I see this project becoming an iconic location like Pike’s Place in Seattle”

They're either crazy, stupid or snake oil salesmen. I love the concept of what they're trying to do here, but those unrealistic expectations do no one any good. Pike Place is in the center of downtown Seattle. Centennial Mills is in a deserted part of our city between the Broadway and Freemont bridges.

http://maps.google.com/maps?geocode=...,217.08,,0,5.3

How long do we think it'll be before the north end of the Pearl connects with this area in a meaningful way? I'm not just talking about a park connecting the two. I'm talking about the north end of the Pearl becoming an actual neighborhood. A decade? Without that, I don't think a market at Centennial Mills has a chance. In the meantime, who would go to a market at Centennial Mills and how would they get there?

If Centennial Mills was located somewhere near the Rose Quarter along the MAX line, I'd say it could really be a success. But on its own, with nothing around it except for maybe some future condo projects (Edge anyone?)... I don't see this project happening and I fear it's wasted effort.