The 10-acre site Portland Public Schools now occupies just
north of the Rose Quarter could become a Costco, as The Oregonian
reported earlier this month.
Or the school
district’s headquarters—known as the Blanchard Education Service Center—and the
area around it could have a much more novel reincarnation as the new home to an
“urban winery,” a world-class skateboard park, a culinary center, 400,000
square feet of hotel space or a 2,500-seat concert hall.
On Monday night, the Portland School Board approved a new memo of
understanding with city officials to explore all those redevelopment prospects
for the $7.6 million parcel with the Portland Development Commission. Any
drastic plans would require rezoning, fairly significant transportation changes
and a lengthy public process. But in a wide-ranging October report, city
officials and consultants from three architecture firms (SERA, Mithun and DAO)
developed six general concepts for the site and its surroundings. Here are
those six ideas and what they really mean.
1. Entertainment If Portlandia
is right that we’re the city where young people go to retire, this concept
could be our new Leisure World.
Possible
key elements: A public plaza
and sculpture park overlooking the Willamette River; a 2,500-seat entertainment
venue; a roller-derby arena; indoor fields for soccer, lacrosse and Frisbee; a
rock-climbing gym and a skate park; local restaurants, breweries, vintners and
coffee shops.
City description:
“A smaller-scale district that hosts a variety of local entertainment venues
and attractions that appeal to the unique Portland demographic. The big idea
for this district is to execute an entertainment district that celebrates ideas
and activities that ‘keep Portland weird.’”
2. “Incremental Industrial” This may sound
like a new Central Eastside Industrial neighborhood, but analysts say it could
also resemble San Francisco’s South Park, which was home to several dot-com
companies in the 1990s.
Possible key elements:
An “urban” winery; a culinary center; rooftop basketball courts; 20,000 square
feet of communal shop spaces; 400 live-work units; an independent local film
company like Laika.
City description:
“If [an] urban winery, vertical farm or other regional culinary center can be
attracted to the locations shown, these amenities will draw from and support
the Rose Quarter.”
3. Big Box Mixed-Use The original idea
included two big-box stores. Unlike suburban sites, these retailers would have
housing and open greenspace above them, plus bike and pedestrian bridges
connecting the stores to city streets.
Possible key elements:
The basement at PPS’s headquarters could become one big-box store, potentially
leaving space for PPS offices above; additional hotel space with ground-level
restaurants; and short-term rental trucks for shoppers to haul purchases from
retailers.
City description:
A “model of progressive urban Big Box mixed-use.”
4. Employment Incubator In a city with 10
percent unemployment, the idea is to grow jobs in keeping with Portland’s
small-business credo.
Possible key elements:
Flexible office space for small businesses that don’t need or can’t afford
Class A or Class B office space; shared parking, conference rooms and
utilities.
City
description: “A compact
employment district that supports a variety of business sizes and types.”
5. Research and Development Office and lab
space for an unspecified R&D company or companies, along with a new,
expanded hotel.
Possible key elements:
A central open-space zone and retail
pavilion; 429,000 square feet of hotel rooms; 525,000 square feet of
unspecified “laboratory” space; and 50,000 square feet of retail.
City description:
“A series of open spaces are linked together and to the larger community,
defining a number of subneighborhoods within the development.”
6. Mixed-Use Residential A futuristic plan…only if a development idea
introduced in the aughts is considered forward-looking. The proposal calls for
commingling retail and residential space.
Possible key elements:
More than 1,200 residential units; lofts; and a mass-transit hub connecting
light rail to the Portland Streetcar.
City description:
“A variety of residential types” with density and retail along Broadway.
So where would BESC employees stay during construction? The Marshall hotel? Maybe they could room with the Cleveland students who will enjoy an extended stay there while their building is also rebuilt.
I would be PSYCHED for option number one. A venue for a lot of portlands alternative sports would be amazing.
Adult Hide & Seek league headquarters NOW
costco, costco, costcoooooooo! im tired of rolling out to the sticks to buy bulk beefy jerky and toliet paper.
Nice piece, but they’re all missing the big picture. Combined with the City Water Bureau’s “yard” just to the north, it’s the perfect place for that baseball park we’ve been thinking about all these years. Check it out @ PortlandMaps.