TriMet reviewing private proposal to develop Portland-Milwaukie light rail project's Tacoma Station
Published: Tuesday, May 03, 2011, 5:34 PM Updated: Tuesday, May 03, 2011, 5:59 PM
By Matt Buxton, The Oregonian
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Baysinger Partners
The proposed layout of the Oregon Worsted plan for the Tacoma Light Rail Station.
When
federal funding for the Portland-Milwaukie light rail project was slashed last year, one of the many cuts along the line was at the
Tacoma Station, the rail's southernmost stop in Portland.
A planned 800-stall park-and-ride garage was cut down to a 320-stall surface lot, but that could change this week as
TriMet is in the final stages of reviewing a proposal by the owner of the 7.8-acre site to build a 320-stall parking garage. In return,
Oregon Worsted would get the opportunity to build an adjacent 60,000 to 100,000-square-foot retail space on the property.
Oregon Worsted would foot the bill for the construction and lease the garage, which could be expanded to 800 spaces if needed, to TriMet. For TriMet, it would mean the agency could avoid the cost of building the on-surface lot altogether and send funds to other places said Peter Stark, an architect who represents Oregon Worsted on the proposal.
"We see it as a win-win-win," he said, adding that it could add value and popularity to the stop.
Mary Fetsch, spokeswoman for TriMet, said the agency is in the process of reviewing the proposal and would likely have a decision later this week. But she said the proposed cost to lease each parking space, estimated to be $220 to $240 per stall per month, is about twice what TriMet would typically pay.
Stark said that the proposal was primarily designed as a first step in opening up a dialogue with TriMet. He said Oregon Worsted, which owns
Mill End fabric stores, has been interested in developing the site into a retail location for some time and that the federal cut represented an opportunity for a public and private partnership.
With Oregon Worsted footing the bill for construction and donating the value of a chunk of land for the TriMet station, Stark said that the proposed partnership could yield anywhere between $15 and $45 million in value to the public agency.
"The original thing was a parking garage that generated no revenue and no jobs," he said. But with the retail proposal "you have a private owner paying property taxes, payroll taxes and it appreciates in value."
At this point, Stark said the proposal calls for a single retailer to occupy the space, which would have its own garage parking separate from the proposed TriMet structure. At this time, Oregon Worsted plans on putting in a Mill End store, but has received interest from other retailers.
"There has been serious interest from two -- possibly three -- grocers in the area," he said, "and we're continuing to pursue that. If we're able to get a green light from TriMet and proceed with this, we would start to seriously discuss other opportunities other than Mill End."
He said Oregon Worsted is flexible and willing to work on the plan, but he's optimistic that they've "come to a solution that would benefit everybody."
- Matt Buxton; On twitter: @SEPDXreporter; And don't forget to check out the O's Southeast Portland website.
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