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Last week’s tour of Portland’s most baffling vacancies (“Chasing Ghosts,” WW, Aug. 17) drew plenty of response. But one property drew the most curiosity by far: an item considering the emptying of the Portland Stake Tabernacle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-say Saints is already WW’s second-most-read story of the year. Perhaps that’s due to the explanation the church’s bishop gave for the closure: Mormons are fleeing Oregon. The numbers support his case. The church’s membership rolls statewide declined 1.5% in the past two years. “They’re moving to Utah and Idaho,” Bishop Dave Noble says. Here’s what our readers had to say:
Brad Schmidt, via wweek.com: “If published figures are accurate, and Oregon has about 155,000 Mormons, almost all 1.5% of the move-outs would have had to be in that same geographic area to account for the lack of need for a 2,000-seat church. The explanation provided by the church official appears to rely on tropes currently pushed by the political right and accepted as a truism by folks who don’t know any better. Isn’t it likely that a fair proportion of the reduced need for chapels results from Mormons who remain in Portland but simply no longer wish to attend church? This would be consistent with larger trends in the U.S. away from organized religion.”
CK, via Twitter: “Simply shocking that a conservative lot would be moving to more conservative areas. Shocking and unexpected!”
Big Biscuit, via wweek.com: “LDS authorities keep detailed records so I’m sure the migration numbers are pretty accurate. It’s sort of a ‘who cares’ story; right or wrong, the values of Portland’s government do not align with traditional LDS values, so there is going to be some movement. I also find it interesting that there was no time frame associated with when the stake used to have 2,000 people in attendance. Members I know were not meeting in person for a decent amount of time during the pandemic. Lastly, the growth of the LDS church is coming from outside of the United States as a trend. This reads like a real estate article to me with WW trying to put a political bent on it.”
Joelle Foote, via Facebook: “They pay zero taxes and their organization holds $16 billion worth in just land holdings, never mind the $100 billion in other investments. We need to start taxing all churches and religious organizations.”
aggieotis, via Reddit: “Church plus parking lot are 43,082 square feet.
“It’s zoned as R5, meaning you get four units per 5,000-square-foot lot, or six units if you have ADA and affordable units. So you’re looking at eight to nine lots with four to six units. So 35 to 52 units tops. Or, at a minimum, probably 17 units.
“So for the land alone they want $11.4M, or $220K to $325K per unit for the dense four to six units per lot. And $670K per unit for something less ambitious. Or a whopping $1.4M if everybody wants a lot to themselves.
“I think the price is a bit high given the zoning. While it is a prime location, seems like the price is too high unless they can work with the city to rezone it. Could make an awesome co-op community if done right.”
thenerfviking, via Reddit: “Since a church took over Portland’s historic pro wrestling venue my vote is…to rededicate the building to the noble art of sweaty, greasy men doing sweaty, greasy man hugs.”
FannysForAlgernon, via Reddit: “It’s zoned residential, which is a pity. I’d love to see this one become a McMenamins. It’s a bit small for their usual setup but would be better than the little ones nearby on Hawthorne at least.”
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