The Burnside Blog

Posted By Tim DuRoche on 01/28/2009

IF I WERE KING OF THE (URBAN) FOREST (part one)
The Burnside Blog recently asked a number of folks involved in development, architecture, policy, preservation, and other fields related to once and future Portland if they could answer a few questions. Pure conjecture, part fantasy, with a prescriptive dose of reality thrown in. This is the first in a series.

Mark Edlen
Edlen is managing principal with Gerding Edlen Development , the folks who brought you the Brewery Blocks, the So. Waterfront, South Park in LA and Washington’s Bellevue Towers and more than any other local firm have helped raise awareness of sustainable development and green building to cocktail-party/TriMet conversation levels. They’ve proved that Green Dividend thing: “building green is not just the responsible thing to do but also the competitive thing to do.”

1. Imagine you’re the Mayor of a Portland-like City. You’re in your First 100 Days and you’ve been given $500-some million for public infrastructure and economic stimulus and a big bright greenlight, and full public confidence and support to jumpstart major projects. . .what do you do first?

I think we have the opportunity to have a significant impact on the existing built environment, and of course k-12 and higher education need all the help we can give them. As such, I would look to retrofit as many K-12 and high education buildings in Portland as possible. The first priority would be energy conservation through installing new glazing, mechanical and electrical systems. The second would be seismic upgrades and roofing. And the third would be to install storm, grey and black water treatment systems and I would then look to reuse the treated water for grey water, irrigation and process water.

2. If you had unlimited funds and a full-pass to develop, rehab, preserve, and/or build, what would you do, where, and why?

Again, I would first retrofit as many buildings as possible to make them truly sustainable and energy efficient. Could we do enough buildings so that we could work together with PGE and shut down the Boardman [Coal-Fired Power] facility? Second, I would focus on new schools for Portland Public and other Portland districts and then I would look to work with PCC and PSU to make their campuses the most sustainable in the country if not the world and to create truly exciting campuses to attract the brightest teachers and students from around the world.

3. Back to Reality: what development area or neighborhood (No. Pearl/Centennial Mills, Downtown, Old Town/China Town, Burnside Bridgehead, NW Industrial—Con-Way, Burnside-Couch couplet, etc.) are you watching the most closely? And why?

The University District for the same reasons stated above, West End as its time has come and Old Town/China Town. With the new north/south rail both the University District and Old Town will be changed dramatically!

Stay tuned—NEXT UP: Architect Rick Potestio