The city wants to spend $600,000 to spiff up this dock. A new lawsuit contends that’s probably illegal—along with millions in other planned improvements. Jason Desomer Portland Parks and Recreation did itself a solid last year: The oft-cash-strapped bureau ramped up the fees it charges developers to pay for the strain brought by new workers […]
Build Out
Posted inBuild Out
The Central Eastside’s Vanishing Borders
Diving into the Future of One of Portland’s Most Rapidly Changing Areas
Diving into the future of one of Portland’s most rapidly changing areas.
Posted inArchitecture
Equity and Aesthetics Should Mix
Historian Reiko Hillyer Talks Density, Affordable Housing, and Equal Access to Public Space
Historian Reiko Hillyer talks density, affordable housing, and equal access to public space.
Posted inHousing
Kevin Cavenaugh’s Art of Risk
The Guerrilla Development Owner on Bringing Thoughtfulness, Creativity, and Risk into Portland Development
The Guerrilla Development owner on bringing thoughtfulness, creativity, and risk into Portland development.
Posted inFood and Drink
Location, Location, Location: The Portland Made Real Estate Survey, the Central Eastside, and You
It’s been mentioned on Blogtown before, but I’ve been watching the O‘s series on the Central Eastside with some interest, as the city contemplates how to handle the march of change in the area. At the crux of it is a balancing act between attracting and housing companies that provide high-wage office jobs, as well […]
Posted inNews
Coming Tomorrow! Mayor’s Office Sets Proposed Rules for Airbnb’s Expansion to Apartments, Condos
Enjoy the following sneak preview from tomorrow’s Mercury—an abridged version of our lead news story. Read the whole shebang once we hit newsstands tomorrow! illustration by ryan alexander-tanner Mayor Charlie Hales’ office plans to release proposed rules for a controversial expansion by Airbnb to multifamily buildings by the end of the month, the Mercury has […]
Posted inPortland
Here’s What Four Decades of Gentrification in North and Northeast Portland Looks Like
In this week’s Hall Monitor, I wrote about the first of four scheduled community forums meant to help city officials spend an extra $20 million on affordable housing in the Interstate Urban Renewal Area—a snaking swath of land (born in 2000) that’s done, by some measures, more harm than good to Portland’s traditional African American […]
Posted inNews
Fritz Slams Funding for Old Town Redevelopment Plan: “It’s a Shell Game”
It’s been well-known for months that a neighborhood-sponsored plan to redevelop Old Town and Chinatown—relying on infrastructure waivers to hopefully spur construction of 500 “workforce” housing units—would divide the Portland City Council along some immutable fault lines. When the Oregonian first reported on the plan back in March, two commissioners—Nick Fish and Amanda Fritz—stood ready […]
Posted inDrunk
Next for the Wrecking Ball… Iconic Dive Bar Club 21? Someday?
It’s entirely tentative—not even a Formal Project yet. But a developer’s well-developed push to build a large apartment complex around and atop the site of one of Portland’s iconic dive bars—the lodge-looking, historic landmark Club 21—appears to be gaining a bit of notoriety in a town spooked, of late, by harrowing tales of demolished history […]
Posted inNews
The PDC Wants Someone to Take Another Shot at Fixing Up Old Town’s Grove Hotel
Months after a plan to redevelop Old Town’s woebegone Grove Hotel crashed and burned—with the would-be developer placing the blame on neighboring Right 2 Dream Too—the Portland Development Commission has decided to dip its hook back into the water and see if any other fish might bite. The urban renewal agency today has posted a […]
Posted inNews
Oregonian: Dissent Kills Deal for Trader Joe’s in NE Portland
Just hours after quoting a “top Majestic Realty official” saying he weighs the controversy over a new Trader Joe’s at NE Alberta and MLK “every day”—part of a story exploring a lobbying rules technicality with the city’s urban renewal director—the Oregonian is now reporting the deal is off the table. And it’s because Trader Joe’s […]
Posted inArtsy
Arthouse: PNCA’s Freshman Dorms Are Fancier Than Yours
Much has been made lately of Pacific Northwest College of Art‘s (PNCA) expansion, which will make the North Park Blocks something of a hub for what can finally be considered the makings of a real campus. Located in the former (but still owned by the Powell family) Powell’s Technical Books building on NW Park and […]