On March 5, the Portland Design Commission unanimously accepted the Revised Primary Master Plan for the Lloyd Center Mall, pushing the massive project one small step forward.
The commission’s approval is defined by the city’s zoning code and limited to matters like infrastructure capacity for future development and transportation. They weren’t deciding building demolition, or approving what buildings will be developed.
The report from Portland Permitting and Development (PPD) focused on issues like whether certain thoroughfares within the development area would have fire access and ADA requirements for frontages and crossings. Another major issue was how to maintain sewer connections while demolishing the mall.
More: Should Portland Try to Save Lloyd Center Mall?
“A mind numbing amount of thought has gone into this on the part of the PPD, our bureaus, and the applicant,” said Design Commission member Brian McCarter, praising how much work had gone into the plan. McCarter read written public statements in support of the plan, like one calling the transformation of the area “from a less than penetrable megablock to an area with permeability.” Another praised the space as having the potential for thousands of new housing units.
Member Joe Swank expressed some skepticism about the plan’s ability to actually bring in retail, tourism, and entertainment. “My real concern is that there’s no real catalyst for anything associated with this,” he said. Swank acknowledged plans to build a music venue, but also said that the master plan did not necessarily lead to a robust commercial district in the area.
Commission member Sarah Vaz spoke to “how much Portland needs affordable and accessible public space,” and called Lloyd Center an important “third place,” i.e., a place to go besides one’s home or work. “People talked about the mall as a public asset to the community… the trick is that it’s a privately owned and operated building, and it has an outsized negative effect on the outside of it.” Vaz called the exterior of the mall “unfriendly and unsafe,” and said that the Master Plan “will vastly improve the neighborhood,” which she said was in need of housing.
“There is a lot of work that goes into this that, unfortunately, the regular community member does not see until later in the process,” said member Tina Bue. “It will create open spaces and neighborhood extensions,” she said. “I believe that Portlanders will create something new. It might not be in this particular space, but it will be something.”
Chair of the Design Commission Chandra Robinson noted, after remarks, that the Design Commission doesn’t approve what buildings go where. They decide whether a plan meets certain criteria.
Before a final vote Swank expressed skepticism once more. “There are multiple avenues for people to make their voices heard,” he said. “I do have concerns over the future of the master plan… This is a 30-plus-acre site, and it might just be vacant for years.”
Once the Design Commission’s appeals process is entirely completed, the development team could apply for additional land use reviews or building permits that would apply to specific parts of the relevant area. Those applications could come in over a series of years as individual parts of the Master Plan area are developed. Demolishing Lloyd Center Mall would require a separate demolition permit which has not yet been filed.
