Multnomah County Health Department HQ | 144' | 9 floors | Complete

[pdxtraveler]

-------------------------

Original Post:


The rumored Multnomah County Health Dept building confirmed:
http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/482475

[RainDog]

Looks fairly uninspiring.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by pdxtraveler

The rumored Multnomah County Health Dept building confirmed:
http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/482475

Not a bad looking building.

[philopdx]

Good to see another little empty lot being filled.

[2oh1]

Yeah, it's good to see that lot filled. For me, the building is neither a like nor a dislike, but it's a Glad To See It Being Built.

[ablerock]

Originally Posted by pdxtraveler

The rumored Multnomah County Health Dept building confirmed:
http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/482475

A rendering and article from oregonlive.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/i...incart_m-rpt-1

Multnomah County Health Department headquarters: Project leaders release illustration, say building will cost $46 million

By Kelly House

Multnomah County’s new Health Department headquarters will be a bright, boxy structure with energy-efficient features...

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by ablerock

A rendering and article from oregonlive.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/i...incart_m-rpt-1

Not bad, not amazing... I like the lighter, brighter look in that part of town.

[NewUrbanist]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Not bad, not amazing... I like the lighter, brighter look in that part of town.

Oh good. STD testing and treatment next to the RAC and the Train Station. The PDC gave up this block for zero tax benefits to the River District. The density of services benefiting the homeless or at risk is a really disappointment welcome mat for travelers on the train/ greyhound. I wish High Speed rail would come to fruition - then perhaps we'd have a more profitable use at the blocks to the south and north.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by NewUrbanist

Oh good. STD testing and treatment next to the RAC and the Train Station. The PDC gave up this block for zero tax benefits to the River District. The density of services benefiting the homeless or at risk is a really disappointment welcome mat for travelers on the train/ greyhound. I wish High Speed rail would come to fruition - then perhaps we'd have a more profitable use at the blocks to the south and north.

I actually think these two buildings are well designed buildings and look good for anyone entering the downtown to see. Though there is still plenty of land around these buildings to develop. If high speed rail does ever happen, the station would end up over in the Rose Quarter to prevent it from having to cross the river which slows things down for high speed rail.

[pdxtex]

sitting in front a a junky ex con on the bus last week, he was relaying to his buddy who just got on the bus up in NW, "maaaan, you could get whatever you want in the commons (bud clark commons). there were drugs everywhere......) maybe its not in chinatowns best interest to continue to consolidate all social service agencies there. this site is also right next to the greyhound station. from the tribune

"In 2012, management at Bud Clark Commons issued 123 “concern forms” and took 262 pre-eviction actions against tenants. Through June 2013, 24 tenants had been evicted or left because of lease violations, and 28 had died. "

http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news...at-the-commons

[philopdx]

Hold on, drinking and drug use is explicitly *allowed* in the building? WTF? Have our policymakers gotten that dumb? $47 million? This sounds the remnants of a Great Society nightmare housing complex.

How about this gem: "In two years, only one resident of the commons has earned money from employment. Duke estimates that three or four have moved out to public housing."

So, put another way, 28 times as many people have died there than have gainfully worked.

I'm still ostensibly liberal on a lot of issues, but throwing money at people who don't really want to change and have them take advantage of the community's substantial sense of empathy makes my blood boil.

Just 'cause you're poor don't mean you're stupid. <southern grammar intentional>

[pdxtex]

portland's nanny state has gotten out of control if you ask me. im all for compassion and kindness but we have it down to a science here *sarcasm*....according to the little caption below that picture, that dudes been homeless since...............1977.........

[zilfondel]

Only about half of the population of the US actually works. You guys realize that, right?

Anyways, the entire point of getting people off of the street was so that they are less of a drain on social services than if they are constantly in and out of jails and the emergency room. As I understand it, some of the patients can rack up millions of $$$'s per year.

[PacificNW]

I agree with the point "of getting people off of the street".... argument. Anyway, I would much rather my tax dollar go to taking care of the community than the highest percentage of each dollar going to the U.S. Defense Department and Corporate subsidies. Now, what again, is the general opinion(s) of architecture and skyscrapers in Portland?

[pdxtex]

the architecture is fine and appropriate for the area. the way i see it, we have two opposing development agendas for chinatown being played out. neither of which combined will make a very cohesive and stable neighborhood. you have the lets turn chinatown into a lively club district train of thought and the lets continue to consolidate social services train of thought. so on one end of the spectrum you are catering to partiers and drinkers and on the other you are housing and helping treat the city's most needy, who may very likely have a substance abuse problem. if thats not a mixed message i dont know what is. i cant really blame the nightlife scene, thats just how chinatown has developed over the last few decades. but at the same time that neighborhood has pretty much gotten worse while the rest of the city has seen a huge building boom. i dunno, not every neighborhood can be perfect but the city of portland may as well scrap high density market rate housing plans if chinatown stays its current course. here you guys like maps, how about the crime stats for a 1/2 mile radius of nw 4th and davis that will paint a more clear picture of whats going on. http://www.portlandmaps.com/detail.c...13847%2C137891

[davehogan]

pdxtex: It's a dense neighborhood. Of course there will be more crimes there.

What I thought was interesting was how many of them were simply property crimes. 61% on the first map:

Larceny - The unlawful taking of property from the possession of another; includes pickpocket, pursesnatch, shoplift, and bike theft.

18% - Theft from Auto - The unlawful taking of motor vehicle contents or parts. Note: Theft from Auto (Car Prowl) is a Larceny. It has been separated from the Larceny category to more easily identify where these crimes occur.

It actually seems like good news that of the serious crime categories, about 80% of them fall into those two segments.

From part 2, 55%:

Drug Laws - Offenses relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, and manufacturing of illegal drugs.

I do think it's strange to want to mix nightclubs and social services, but there aren't many other uses that really want to locate in that area right now. With height and far restrictions it's got to be tough for a developer to decide to build there instead of other parts of the city that have been groomed for development like Riverplace, South Waterfront, the Pearl, NW 23rd, the CEID, the Lloyd Center, along the new Orange Line, the Interstate Corridor, etc?

It's like Gateway. It's a challenging area, and there are much easier ones, so why would a developer waste their time on the harder project that would seem to have more risk?

[tworivers]

I agree with the point "of getting people off of the street".... argument. Anyway, I would much rather my tax dollar go to taking care of the community than the highest percentage of each dollar going to the U.S. Defense Department and Corporate subsidies. Now, what again, is the general opinion(s) of architecture and skyscrapers in Portland?

+1. Finally, a voice of reason amongst the Clackamas-esque ranting.

If you really want to gain some insight into the complexity of homelessness, I recommend volunteering for awhile with one of Portland's social service agencies (aka the 'nanny state'). I virtually guarantee that it will make you empathize more (not just with clients, but also providers) with the herculean task faced by people on the front line, particularly when it comes to mental health services, which are grossly underfunded and overwhelmed.

I know nothing about the Commons, btw. It could very well be a dysfunctional morass. But I am very familiar with Janus, Outside In, and New Avenues For Youth -- somewhat less so with adult services provided by Central City Concern, etc. If you're interested in volunteering PM me and I'll connect you.

[pdxtex]

^^^here's the problem with the bud clark commons, its not managed very well. i also agree that in general a consolidation of resources or services is the most efficient way to access them, but in this case, addicts have been housed and their guests are not checked very thoroughly. you've basically brought the drug dealing around the bus station indoors and unsupervised, in a very nice building too! the city admits its a experimental approach, but id vote its turned into a mess. maybe from a policing perspective it made busting people easier, they are all at one address and not roaming around old town, but from a overall cessation standpoint, it doesn't appear to be too effective. the approach to chinatown is bipolar at best. here lets nuture a culture of drinking and excess yet right next door let treat the ill effects of a lifetime of drinking and excess, bad luck and what not. im on board with the idea to raise height restrictions in chinatown though. mix it up with some normal working folks too and maybe it will help even out the social keel a bit. i dont want to chuck every derelict in the river but im not convinced the city knows what it wants to do either....

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

^^^here's the problem with the bud clark commons, its not managed very well.

How much experience do you have with its management and the management of similar services?

It's easy for us to guess based on our lack of insight, but keep in mind that a guess is just a guess. This is especially true when the guess is based on secondhand information which may only paint one tiny part of the overall picture. I'm neither pro nor con here. I'm just making a point.

[pdxtex]

^^^you are right, i dont know beans about the buildings budget or who is overseeing day to day operations. the best i can offer is stats and my own observations of day to day street life in chinatown. but if the cops were called to the same address 900 times in a period of 20 months, you might consider that a nuisance property. had that been a bar, the olcc would have shut down your business and revoked your license long ago. so i guess if i were in law enforcement, and somebody asked me whether or not i thought things were "getting better" in that neighborhood, the only real metric i have are crime stats, and by the numbers chinatown is worse then ever.