The Burnside Blog
PDC Taking Steps to Buy Pearl Postal Site
The PDC Board of Commissioners meets today, and will decide to formalize its letter of agreement that would give the PDC’s executive director the right to negotiate the purchase the US Postal Service site, a six-block chunk of land that anchors ground zero for the USPS in the Portland area, severs Old Town from the Pearl District and chokes Ninth Avenue with gigantic delivery trucks during business hours.
In late February, the City Hall Budget Advisory Committee earmarked $31 million to purchase the land. And if rumors are correct, the postmaster general was in Portland last summer to negotiate but a certain high-ranking populist city leader failed to meet with him. (Who might that be?) In any event, the momentum is there.
The USPS site is the largest chunk of undeveloped land in the central city, and is of even greater importance now that the Pacific Northwest College of Art will occupy an adjacent building at 511 NW Broadway. Parks and Recreation already plans to transform a parking lot that fronts the 511 Building into an extension of the North Park Blocks, so it seems natural to extend green space on through to Lovejoy Street.
As for use, there are many rumors. Several years ago, the post office was a preferred site for a proposed Major League Baseball stadium. Now that Portlanders have grown tired of that idea, the playing field is wide open. There has also been talk of a corporate campus to expand the job base in the Pearl District, (which will soon dramatically expand north of Lovejoy as several office buildings are under construction), more condo towers, and even a college campus.
The city’s master planners have their wheels turning no doubt, and they should because the stakes are quite high. Redeveloping the post office could be the most important downtown project in a generation. If done right, it would connect the city’s oldest neighborhood (Old Town) to one of its newest (the Pearl) in a neighborhood that could soon be home to PNCA, new housing, and possibly a public market. So, what should it be?
By AN on Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 08:06AM PDT
They’ve been talking about this site for years. I bet you everything in my back pocket that this will always be a post office.
By Stephen on Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 09:57AM PDT
I think you just lost everything in your back pocket. From what I gather, PDC intends this site to be more business oriented which I’m sure would include housing. I believe this includes the extension of the N. Park Blocks. Possibly, there is room for a public market which might work on the Hoyt St. side.
I’m relatively sure the stadium idea is DOA. The initial excitement was generated by the Safeco and Seahawks stadiums, which in turn, have turned valuable downtown land into dead zones when not in use and traffic nightmare when in use.
By ericcantonaisgod on Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 02:54PM PDT
MLB in PDX is, and always will be, a stoopid f-ing idea. especially at this site. it would be a tremendous waste of space and resources considering our collective push for density.
extending the north park blocks is a no-brainer, even for city PDC. right???
could we lure some cool mega-huge corporate entity to this spot? someone in the nike/adidas/laika mold? oh, wait…
maybe we should parcel it up and give inexperienced GSD grads a shot at it.
By X-man on Friday, April 04, 2008 at 09:19AM PDT
Gee, let’s run tons of well-paying BLUE-COLLAR jobs out of town. Let’s force all of their city-based workers to commute to the airport in gas-guzzling, polluting cars. THEN, let’s build a suburban-style office park, because the movie Office Space didn’t teach us ANYTHING. Do these planners/speculators who want to force postal operations and their good jobs far away even know what those types of operations are like. I’ve lived in cities where those facilities are tucked far away from workers and the public -and it sucks for all involved. There’s a better solution, one that keeps USPS right where it is.
I've heard this talk and watched this maneuvering by PDC and others for years and it's total BS. THE ONLY FAIR SOLUTION: update/re-build the facility right where it is, with improved egress and main arterial access. If necessary, include a small new bridge or ramp like the one built in the industrial area just across the river to serve waterfront industry there.The rebuild should include reuse of the parking on the southside of the building and an addition ABOVE the existing structure, perhaps with low-cost (modular?) housing units or other industrial use (if noise levels prove prohibitive).
Sound crazy? Only if you have ZERO imagination. I’m not sure which is worse: the pretentious claims that Portland cares about blue-color jobs preservation or the fact that the whole office park idea is even being discussed. Duh, duh, DUH!
By Stephen on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 at 03:43PM PDT
Actually the USPS was going to move to the airport anyway, they weren’t forced out. The majority of mail is now delivered by air – not by train – the reason it was down by the train station. Do you honestly believe the Feds would do anything they didn’t want to do – especially at planner’s behest?
By Ron on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 09:32PM PDT
“certain high-ranking populist city leader failed to meet with him” – I cant wait for Potter’s term to run out.