Downtown Portland’s Biggest Food Cart Pod Is Closing at the End of June to Make Way for a Huge New Hotel

The end is near for one of Portland's biggest food cart pods.

As first reported by The Daily Journal of Commerce, the occupants of the iconic Alder Street pod between 9th and 10th avenues downtown were given notice today to vacate the property by June 30 to make way for a massive new luxury hotel.

In December 2018, the Portland Design Commission approved plans for a 35-story, 460-foot tall hotel tower, which the city is calling Block 216. It will be the fifth-tallest building in Portland, as well as the city's first five-star hotel, though the developer, BPM Real Estate Group, has not yet divulged the hotelier that will manage the property.

Block 216 rendering (Bureau of Development Services)

The pod is the latest casualty of Portland's hotel boom, which has seen the construction of several sky-scraping new buildings, despite indications that supply is outstripping the demand.

Related: Local's Guide to Luxury Hotels.

Last year, the smaller portion of the Alder Street pod, between 10th and 11th avenues, was cleared out in order to break ground on the 12 story, Marriott-branded Moxy Hotel. Both parcels are owned by the Downtown Development Group.

In a blog post last October, BPM acknowledged that the displacement of some of Portland's most iconic food carts—including the original Nong's Khao Man Gai—"has raised plenty of hackles in town." According to The Oregonian, the developer plans to include a food hall on the new building's ground floor.