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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
News Homeless Center Hokey Cokey: Block U Again!
Posted by on Wed, Feb 13 at 7:05 PM
There’s probably no point my reporting on this, because someone’s bound to change their mind again in a minute, but the homeless access center in Old Town now looks more likely, once again, to be going on Block U. Not block 25.
The two agencies set to develop and run the homeless access center in Old Town appear to have struck a deal with the Chinese Community to switch their recommendation to PDC over which block might be best to develop on.
BLOCK U: “Option 2…”
Until recently, both the Housing Authority of Portland and Transition Projects, Inc. were considering Block 25 as the block they were most likely to develop. But this evening, at a meeting of the Portland Development Commission’s board of commissioners, TPI board member Deborah Kafoury and HAP’s Deputy Development Director Mike Andrews recommended switching the development to Block U, outside Union Station.
Kafoury and Andrews justified the switch because it would be cheaper for PDC to develop on block U: The development would not need to be as tall, meaning a cheaper wood frame concrete construction method could be employed.
If the center goes ahead on block U, TPI would be able to build 220 housing units over 5 floors, have a night shelter including 90 beds, and a courtyard for off-street queuing. The center would be built by HAP using federal new market tax credits, in the same way as the new Morrison building on Burnside, next to PGE Park.
Steven Ying, president of the CCBA, spoke in support of HAP and TPI’s new recommendation.
There’s a catch: The Blanchet House, which is on Block 25, will not be part of the new development. It will remain where it is, on the corner opposite the Old Town Lofts. Also, neighbors are less likely to be able to bargain with the city and PDC for cash for other old town projects, in exchange for letting the center go on block 25.
PDC’s commissioners now have to make a decision on a site, based on input from the community, in 2 weeks’ time, on the 27th of February. Portland City Council then has to make a decision a day later, on the 28th, on where to site the center.
On recent history, it’s now anybody’s guess.
Comments
PDC did a study on the area around block U a few years ago. It has good visuals:
http://www.pdc.us/pdf/ura/river_district/1-10.pdf
Hopefully Alexander and the rest of the neighborhood can stop talking about process now that they got what they wanted: a parking lot.
Maybe they could just build another Burger King downtown, anyone remember that?
Funny you should mention it, schting. I've noticed the PPI rent-a-cops wheeling their bikes in and out of the back door, lately.
Perhaps they've gotten hold of a key.
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I know Block U is the block bordered by 6th, Broadway, Hoyt and Irving, but if I didn't know that, is there a map where I could find this information? I didn't see anything on PortlandMaps, but I could have easily missed it.