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  #61  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2007, 8:45 PM
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MarkDaMan MarkDaMan is offline
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^no, that was tax abatements for the Alexan to include 'affordable' studios (about $850 a month) on the lower floors. Now $850 a month (supposedly that was to be total expenses including utilities) would be right up my alley and still allow me to keep saving for my own place, but I guess since I'm not destitute, making a little below the median income in MultCo, I guess Randy didn't think it important to ensure there is housing in the central city I could afford too, as either I make too much, or too little.

The reality is, is that with luxury housing taking over, we have to build 'affordable' middle income housing too. People, especially people on the city council think affordable housing should be reserved for the single mother cashier at Safeway and not for the 'creative class' mass that really makes up much of the vibrancy in this city. I also worry that the city councils new budgeting powers will cause the PDC to flop. The point of the PDC is the increase the value of the neighborhood, the increased property tax collection from the increased values pays back the money it took to improve the district. However, if a bunch of affordable housing for the lowest on the scale is erected, and neighborhood amenities are neglected, the PDC wont function correctly. Businesses wont move in to serve those that have nothing to spend, the quality of the buildings will be less, the neighborhood would become more of a welfare district, than a vibrant mixed income district. So, it's time to understand affordable housing isn't just for those that make 50% or less of the median income. Unfortunantly for me, the Alexan now will probably start at about $950 for a studio, not including utilities.
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  #62  
Old Posted Jun 22, 2007, 11:16 PM
PDX City-State PDX City-State is offline
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Randy is a policy wonk--he gets really caught up in the details. At the same time, Portland is very lucky to have him at times.
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  #63  
Old Posted Jun 23, 2007, 2:32 AM
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I actually think Randy is great and very much has the best interest of the city at the forefront of his mind. Most of the time I appreciate his brusque, bull-in-the-china-closet style.

In this situation, though, I think he f'd up big time. At the very least, they should have let the project go forward (which I believe is what Potter wanted), after so much time had been put into making it work, and then looked more closely at future PDC projects. The Oak seemed like the classic number-bending catalyst project that the PDC is there to facilitate. Now we have a nice vacant lot to look at for who knows how many years...
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  #64  
Old Posted Jun 23, 2007, 3:58 AM
zilfondel zilfondel is offline
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I don't know, I think the city and PDC both realize the need to get middle-income housing built. I have read tons of articles on the subject in Portland, with many quotes from city commissioners and PDC officials.

Also, Vancouver BC is held up as a planning model, where they typically require 30% of res units built to be 'affordable' - but their distribution is on a sliding scale of low to high end of 'affordable.'

However, I def think Randy fucked up on the Oak Tower, except for the whole union wage dealio.
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  #65  
Old Posted Jun 23, 2007, 5:51 PM
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Agreed--but I think that most people on this forum are more upset about not having a shiny new tower than affordable housing. There is no way a 49 million dollar tower would equate to affordable housing.
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  #66  
Old Posted Dec 24, 2008, 7:49 AM
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I was sitting in a little diner like restaurant and some plow drivers were sitting next to my table complaining there just isn't anymore space to move the snow...popped into my head while I was tooling around...Randy's hole could handle the load!!!

Anyone know if the PDC is still working on this project?
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  #67  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2013, 7:08 PM
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March 20th, 2013 NIGEL JAQUISS | News
Willamette Week

3rd & Choke

A bungled land deal costs the city $5 million—with taxpayers on the hook for the next 293 years.

Quote:
At the corner of Southwest 3rd Avenue and Oak Street lies an empty, weed-filled lot that may be the most costly dirt in the city’s history.

The lot is on its way to costing its owner nearly $5 million—more than four times what it’s worth. Despite the land’s prime location, there are no plans to build on it. And the owner’s financial obligations last another 293 years.

That’s not a typo—293 years, as in nearly three centuries.

Who got stuck with such a loser of a deal?

That would be you.

City of Portland taxpayers are on the hook for the land and its growing costs, thanks to an overly ambitious—and ultimately failed—plan to build a 26-story condo tower on the site.
Read the rest (free)
http://www.wweek.com/portland/articl...3rd_choke.html
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  #68  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2013, 8:20 PM
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I still to this day look towards where the Oak Tower would have been when crossing the Broadway Bridge and think how great it would have been (and worth a PDC sweetheart deal for Trammell Crow) to have a 26-story point tower full of new residents in that spot. Major skyline impact, too. And the design was nice. It's now "Randy's Hole".
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  #69  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2013, 4:26 PM
pdxtraveler pdxtraveler is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tworivers View Post
I still to this day look towards where the Oak Tower would have been when crossing the Broadway Bridge and think how great it would have been (and worth a PDC sweetheart deal for Trammell Crow) to have a 26-story point tower full of new residents in that spot. Major skyline impact, too. And the design was nice. It's now "Randy's Hole".
Yeah, I never felt the PDC was too out of line on this either. That is why I have always disliked this thread's title. It was Randy who screwed this NOT PDC.
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  #70  
Old Posted Mar 25, 2013, 5:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pdxtraveler View Post
Yeah, I never felt the PDC was too out of line on this either. That is why I have always disliked this thread's title. It was Randy who screwed this NOT PDC.
True enough, I've changed the title.
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