Blogtown, PDX Comments

And has anyone asked the most important question.... What would the McMenamin's brothers do?

Problem with the donation plan is that the city HAS money whereas the schools DON'T. And I doubt PICA, or anyone, would want a white elephant like WAHI without an additional $60 million to rebuild / remodel.

Here's the viability test: try giving it away.

Here's a good idea. Don't listen to a word Brian Libby has to say.

Why do the neighbors want a pool when the City has one 3 blocks away? http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder…
I'm all for neighborhood and community but doing expensive seismic on a brick building that all the bricks will fall off in the big one seems like a short sighted proposition.

PPS's policy of leaving buildings empty for extended periods of time is creating some really blighted sites around Portland. In our neighborhood, Portsmouth, the old Clarendon school building has sat empty for a couple of years now, accumulating weeds, broken windows, graffiti, &c. and sort of sending out creepy vibes in every direction -- including the park it's immediately adjacent to -- and just kind of generally degrades the place.

If anyone reading lives in Portsmouth and wants to come by and lend a hand, there's a volunteer clean up tomorrow morning at Clarendon, 9-12! Neighbors are trying to do their bit! But honestly, we'd like PPS to come up with a better long term solution. Thanks for covering the issue.

R- The Buckman elementary swimming pool is about the size of a bath tub. It sucks for lap swimming, can't hold swim meets, and isn't great for children's lessons. Despite its glaring deficiencies, it still gets a ton of use. If you have ever visited it during open lap swim you wouldn't have to ask the question. Besides, pools are how Parks makes their money for Rec centers.

The bigger question is why does the center require 185 underground parking stalls that is going to cost the taxpayers of Portland $6 million to build.

185 parking stalls to be dug in an underground garage underneath a historic building? Are they insane?! That would cost closer to $10 million than $6 million, and is a complete waste of money. PICA proved that point when thousands showed up for their opening ceremony concert, with no parking.

Sorry it's taken me a while to pin down the numbers on parking - it's a really good issue to raise. According to Parks and Rec, both plans call for parking lots of roughly 180 spaces with a construction cost of $7, 785,000 for the stand-alone option and $7.84 million for the build-in-WaHi option.

WHY NOT USE THE ADJACENT LOT THAT THE CITY ALREADY OWNES FOR ABOVE-GROUND PARKING? IT IS TRUE THAT THE OPENING TBA SHOW PROVED THAT THE AREA CAN ABSORB A LOT OF PARKING TOO. PORTLAND AS A CITY NEEDS A VENUE LIKE THE ONE WAHS COULD BE. THE TIME IS RIPE FOR PORTLAND TO BECOME A CITY THAT EMBRACES THE ARTS, THE PERFORMING ARTS ESPECIALLY- IT WOULD SURELY CREATE A LOT OF REVENUE FOR THE CITY IN THE LONG RUN.