Broadway Corridor (Post Office Redevelopment) | Proposed

[tworivers]

This spot doesn't seem that great to me for a stadium, personally. I'd rather see an extension of the Pearl residential vibe.

The PPS site seems like a much better location. Close to what the city wants to be an "entertainment district", next to Interstate MAX, future streetcar, interstate access, maybe less of an impact for the necessary parking garages?

I have trouble imagining the Pearl welcoming the chaos and cars that a stadium would seem guaranteed to bring into the area on a regular basis.

I also think the Burnside Bridgehead is a better location for Columbia Sportswear, should they move back to the city, than PPS...

[PacificNW]

I agree that the PPS site is the top choice but I understand that Columbia Sportswear is looking to place their headquarters complex there....

[MarkDaMan]

^no, not really. Columbia applied for a tax break because the North Portland district that allows the break is set to expire, so they can apply for the tax break before the district expires and hold onto it for several years. They are just being smart and making sure all options are open. From my understanding, even if they did purchase the PPS site, it would eventually be turned into a vertical campus as opposed to the sprawling mess that is PPS.

[PacificNW]

⤴ Mark, I am sorry that I wasn't more clear. I did mean that Columbia was looking at the PPS site....not occupying their buildings but building their own. Sorry.

[Okstate]

I think a MLB stadium would vibe perfectly with the Pearl. Denver's LoDo & Rockies stadium are in perfect harmony together. I personally think that stadiums within a city's downtown really make it feel like a bigger city. Just my psychology. Throw in an ESPN Zone and some more sports bars in close proximity alongside restaurants with rooftop seating to get a glimpse of the action in the ballpark (similar to Wrigley's nearby rooftops) and you've got one heck of a vibe going on.

[WonderlandPark]

I say stadium on the other side of the river, on the schools site. It would be a tight squeeze to get a stadium in there. it would require a tall parking garage (the team would demand parking, no way a stadium would get built without it). Plus it is far from MAX. It would look fantastic sited there, but it just isn't the right place IMO.

[cab]

Its not far anymore. The new MAX line will go to union station. But I do agree it would be better off at the school site.

Id like to see the PO turned into Portland Central Park. For a city made up of so many parks, Downtown doesn't really have a large park close in. Think Portland's version of the new park in Chicago.

[tworivers]

Id like to see the PO turned into Portland Central Park. For a city made up of so many parks, Downtown doesn't really have a large park close in. Think Portland's version of the new park in Chicago.

Yeah!!! It would be great to have the N Park Blocks end in one enormous park, with interactive and ambitious public art. Maybe with some sort of ultramodern observation tower rising out of that corner where the Lovejoy ramp meets the bridge. Just dreaming...

I do wonder if people would consider such an idea superfluous, considering the Fields park being planned a few blocks away.

[cab]

Ask Chicago. That monster of a new park they built is amazing looking. That location would be a fantastic intro to PDX from Union Station. Why not a strolling park with pond and botanical garden, a place to get away from the city.

[brandonpdx]

that's what I want - a big park where one can get lost and forget that they're in the city.

[PDX City-State]

that's what I want - a big park where one can get lost and forget that they're in the city.

Agreed...but first we need a city. We don't need more spaces in Portland's gap-tooth smile of a skyline. Personally, I'd like to see some tall towers and and extension of the north park blocks as far as possible. That way we could have our cake and....you know...eat it too!

[MarkDaMan]

Can you imagine the public backlash if another park is built in the Pearl? You'd need developers to shoulder a larger cost of acquiring and developing the land into a park, possibly through a partnership allowing taller towers on the ajoining blocks before you could get any sort of public support. As much as I love the Pearl, I think most Portlanders would prefer two or three parks in underserved neigborhoods for about $3-$4 million each, versus a $10-$15 million park in an already park served section of town.

[zilfondel]

It would be cool if the new park also sported one of these guys:

• Video Link

As sort of a techno-artistic/community installation. It'd jive well with the new DeSoto project and 1st Thursday. If Finland can pull something cool like that off...
http://citywall.org/pages/about

[Sioux612]

[pdxman]

I know most people here like the PPS site but the post office site would give so much character to that area(if it were designed right). Think of the night life it would bring to old town and the energy it could create. Granted traffic would be heavier, i would rather spread the congestion around instead of clogging the rose quarter even more. Just think of a typical friday rush hour in the RQ then add a blazer playoff game(thinking positive) then add a baseball game with a 30-40,000 crowd!! That area would be a mess even with improvements...thats my two cents

[SKgottime]

Originally Posted by brandonpdx

that's what I want - a big park where one can get lost and forget that they're in the city.

We already have this; it's called Forest Park.

We'll have something more akin to NYC's Central Park once the Central Eastside bulks-up, and we remove the I-5. With high-rises on either side, the Willamette River, the Eastbank Promenade, and Waterfront Park together could become Portland's Central Park.

Cheers!

[Leo]

Well, now that all the baseball fans have reiterated their two cents on this old topic, I'll reiterate mine, just for fair balance...

Extending the North Park Blocks would be a grand idea. Building a stadium would be a terrible idea. I live right there and would hate to deal with the noise and pollution caused by a stadium. I also think the circus atmosphere of a stadium would be completely out of character with that neighborhood. I'd rather keep the post office than get a stadium.

[brandonpdx]

Originally Posted by SKgottime

We already have this; it's called Forest Park.


Cheers!

to clarify my statement: I want a big park in the city. we can talk semantics, because I’m sure people will argue that Forest Park is in the city (technically it is) and one can certainly get lost there and forget they’re in the city. However, when I say in the city, I mean in the city. A park surrounded by skyscrapers. A park downtowners can visit on their lunch break.

ala Luxembourg garden in Paris, St Stephan's Green in Dublin or St james in London.

[sopdx]

A continuation of the North Park Blocks yes, surrounded by housing, offices, yes, but we've got a tremendous amount of parks downtown. Nothing on the scale you mentioned but they are spread out well throughout.

[sopdx]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

Sten’s vision clears hurdle
Proposed PDC budget locks in homeless, housing, other projects
By Chris Lydgate
The Portland Tribune, Feb 26, 2008

If you blinked, you missed it.

• $31 million to purchase the six-block post office at Northwest Broadway and Hoyt Street from the U.S. Postal Service.

chrislydgate@portlandtribune.com
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/...97283419055700

Great news - especially this.