Centennial Mills Redevelopment | Proposed

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by cab

No we wont. Again, the arrangement that the goodman family has is cost prohibitive for developers and the family refuses to sell. The problem is simple these guys holding on to a huge amount of land DT. The only solution is to make surface parking too expense for them. To be honest its already too late to take advantage of this development boom. DT will get Park tower but thats about it. At least the rest of the city is growing. Poor DT, held hostage by one greedy family.

The Imperial Parking Group own a number of parking lots in Portland now that the bought City Center Parking from the Goodman Family, which isn't good news because this parking company will probably be more interested in keeping the lots they bought as parking lots.

The good news is the Goodman Family has moved into developing and the lots they kept are the ones that they want to develop in the future.
http://downtowndevgrp.com/property-d.../opportunities

[MarkDaMan]

Price tag for Centennial Mills redevelopment pegged at $115.7 million; hefty funding gap remains
By Elliot Njus | enjus@oregonian.com
on October 24, 2014 at 5:40 PM, updated October 24, 2014 at 5:42 PM

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/i...l#incart_river

Jordan Schnitzer's plan to redevelop Centennial Mills, the abandoned grain mill in the north Pearl District, would come with a price tag of $115.7 million — about $38.5 million more than the developer says he'll pay.

That leaves the Portland Development Commission, which owns the site, to consider whether to move ahead with the project and, if it does, how to close the funding gap.

The agency has already budgeted $16.2 million in urban renewal money for the project. Moving ahead would mean putting up more taxpayer dollars or paring back Schnitzer's vision.

Schnitzer's Harsch Investment Properties has been working for nearly two years on redevelopment plans for the site, where he has said he envisions a mix of office space, housing, retail and a restaurant.

The proposal identifies $20 million in "amenity" components that could be cut, including an event center, docks and a pedestrian bridge connecting the site to the Pearl District's Fields Park over a railway.

...

[MarkDaMan]

redevelopment pegged at $115.7 million

$115.7 seems like a pretty specific cost, wish they would release details and renderings of the potential development.

[PDXDENSITY]

Seems to me the developer probably could foot the bill for their vision... It sounds like a pity to lose some of those things from the redevelopment.

[RED_PDXer]

Many of the things on that list of "public amenities" are actually standard public improvements required of developments, such as bank restoration, capping underground parking, adjacent street improvements, greenway improvements, etc. It seems disingenuous to claim that every dollar put towards these things demands a public subsidy. I hope that PDC can negotiate the subsidy down, because this would be an awesome building to save.

[maccoinnich]

Just demolish it and sell the land off to the highest bidder. While it would be great to save the building, the redevelopment plan described in the report doesn't really propose that: only the flour mill and the feed mill are shown left standing. The vast majority of the project is new buildings, which while nice, have a huge opportunity cost. In order to fund the $38 million PDC contribution, money would have to be cut from one or more of the following projects:

• Old Town/Chinatown Action Plan: $52,000,000 budgeted primarily in the River District URA Commercial Property Redevelopment Loan line item. In August of this year, following briefings to the PDC Board, City Council accepted the Old Town/Chinatown Five-Year Action Plan and authorized related modifications to the System Development Charge Exemption Program, via Ordinance No. 186744. The Ordinance references PDC’s allocation of Tax Increment Finance resources for Old Town/Chinatown over five years to support the objectives of the Action Plan, to be funded by the River District and Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Areas.
• U.S. Post Office: $30,000,000 budgeted. Relocation and acquisition of the U.S. Post Office has long been envisioned by the general public, elected officials, and adopted City plans due to the opportunity to redevelop a large, signature site in North Downtown to better knit together the fabric of the city and provide improved connections to Union Station and Old Town/Chinatown.
• Union Station: $14,000,000 budgeted, including $5,700,000 for property management and $8,400,000 for property improvements. In March 2013, the PDC Board approved an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the Oregon Department of Transportation to provide match to a federal grant which is funding completion of preliminary engineering, design and environmental review for final phase improvements to the PDC-owned Union Station, including seismic/structural upgrades, American with Disabilities Act improvements, new mechanical systems, electrical service, fire detection and protection systems, and track and platform upgrades. This predevelopment work is anticipated to be completed by mid-2016 and will help PDC better identify the cost for final phase of improvements.
• 10th & Yamhill Garage: $13,250,000 budgeted for improvements to the City-owned Smart Park Garage. In 2010, per the Downtown Retail Strategy, PDC entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for redevelopment of the 10th & Yamhill Smart Park Garage site and partnered with a development partner on predevelopment work through 2012. That MOU has since expired. In May 2011, City Council authorized an IGA between PDC and the Portland Bureau of Transportation for up to $5,000,000 for the 10th & Yamhill garage improvements as part of the City’s support of the State of Oregon’s loan to SoloPower Inc. To date that loan guarantee has not been required by the State of Oregon.

I know I would certainly rather see investment in Old Town / Chinatown or redevelopment of the Post Office site.

[downtownpdx]

The proposal identifies $20 million in "amenity" components that could be cut, including an event center, docks and a pedestrian bridge connecting the site to the Pearl District's Fields Park over a railway.

I think this could be such a great waterfront spot -- I wish they'd wait a few years while the neighborhood grows around it and the project becomes more financially viable, rather than go forward with some half-assed, scaled down version that doesn't live up to its potential.

[maccoinnich]

Exclusive: Riverside development aims to be a gateway to the Pearl (Photos)




No doubt about it: Centennial Mills could be a huge development project for Portland, one that could revitalize a long-dilapidated and off-limits waterfront property and connect it to the posh Pearl District while at the same time preserving some of the Rose City's iconic past.

There is also no doubt that the 12-building Centennial Mills complex is in sad shape. During a tour this week in anticipation of Harsch Development Properties' Oct. 29 presentation before the Portland Development Commission on a $115 million development proposal, the Business Journal got a glimpse of the condition that Centennial Mills is in.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal, with lots of interesting shots.

[PDXDENSITY]

I hope it's done right and not pushed through as a shell of the former plans. The north waterfront there needs a lot of love, and Portland should be bending over backwards to integrate it.

[innovativethinking]

Tremedous potential here. Hope something significant gets built

[PDX City-State]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

Tremedous potential here. Hope something significant gets built

The problem is they had one of the most creative developers in the country in Lab Holdings who went through public process, won the bid fair and square only to have the rug pulled out from under them by PDC. If you remember, this was going to be some type of food-focused project, but the developer was told to change the entire plan to make it an office building--after the public process. Surprising there wasn't more outrage over this as the entire thing seemed fishy.

Now it's in the hands of an Old Portland developer not known to have ever done anything creative or interesting. I think this could still be an okay project, but there is no vision for it compared to what could have been.

[PDXDENSITY]

Originally Posted by PDX City-State

The problem is they had one of the most creative developers in the country in Lab Holdings who went through public process, won the bid fair and square only to have the rug pulled out from under them by PDC. If you remember, this was going to be some type of food-focused project, but the developer was told to change the entire plan to make it an office building--after the public process. Surprising there wasn't more outrage over this as the entire thing seemed fishy.

Now it's in the hands of an Old Portland developer not known to have ever done anything creative or interesting. I think this could still be an okay project, but there is no vision for it compared to what could have been.

Are you saying there was corruption to get this in the hands of a local developer?

[PDX City-State]

Originally Posted by PDXDENSITY

Are you saying there was corruption to get this in the hands of a local developer?

I have no idea about that. I'm not privy to any information that hasn't been covered already--Just basing my comments on what I've read. See link below.

I just remember reading about the proposal and being very excited about the vision from Lab as it was something that seemed very aligned with Portland's DNA.

Then again, the economy was in tatters then so that probably had a lot to do with it too. Pretty much anything in the works in 2008 ended up not happening.

http://www.neighborhoodnotes.com/new...erest_emerges/

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by PDXDENSITY

Are you saying there was corruption to get this in the hands of a local developer?

Thats an interesting hypothesis. The PDC did pull the rug out of the developer, it was even posted on the forums here.

It was part of the city's refocusing of PDC's mission to supporting jobs instead of just real estate redevelopment and increasing the tax base.

Article post back in 2010 by tworivers about the PDC reneging on the deal.

“Our team got involved in this project because of our expertise in creating unique public spaces,” Lab Holding President Shaheen Sadeghi said in a letter about the current state of the project. “Centennial Mills is a beautiful complex with potential to become a landmark for Portland. We are afraid that PDC’s new direction will severely limit this potential.”

Story about 2013 lawsuit against PDC.

Some video of Charlie Hales back in April talking about the CM design charrette.


FYI, this thread dates back to 2006! It was really, really hard to find the concept images for the project, as the www.centennialmills.org website is no longer.


Bikeportland


DIRT Studios (apparently they did the concept renderings/plans etc)

[zilfondel]

Oregonian slideshow today...

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/i...l#incart_river

[2oh1]

This is probably going to be a very unpopular thing to say here, but, I thought the previous plans to turn Centennial Mills into a market were a mess, and if this latest plan has a focus on retail, I have serious doubts about its potential. If Centennial Mills were located at the proposed location for James Beard Market, it'd be a home run. But at the north end of the Pearl yet cut off from the Pearl by 2 sets of train tracks and 4 or 5 lanes of Naito... plus a park and awkward street connections...? The nearest parking garage is far enough away that I don't think people would use it. The nearest streetcar stop is far enough away that I don't think people would use it. If the idea is to turn Centennial Mills into some sort of amazing destination, it's going to need a lot of parking because there's no foot traffic even on sunny days, and how much of the year can we depend on weather like that?

I'd love to see Centennial Mills saved, and I'd really love to see that waterfront put to public use, but that location is brutal. It's so near yet so far. I can definitely see housing use there, and office use. But retail is going to be one heck of a challenge, and I just don't think the price tag for the project can be justified.

[tworivers]

I think the plan that Schnitzer has chosen is the best of the bunch. I like the housing component. It makes sense to fill in that whole stretch of riverfront with housing from Albers Mill to Riverplace. I can see how it could seem like a stretch now to include retail, but in another decade when the Pearl and Conway are built out I can envision this development -- with a "sun deck", river access, and pedestrian bridge over Naito -- being perceived as a very central amenity. I could also see a streetcar line (even though it's not in the SSP as such) running from South Waterfront down Naito to Riverplace and up to Conway, along with a vigorous program to activate Naito and the riverfront. Especially if the James Beard Market gets off the ground...



On the other hand, if the required subsidy for the Mills were to, say, hold back the post office blocks from redevelopment I'd definitely prioritize the post office.

Lastly, didn't Schnitzer previously state that he planned to put in a ton of onsite parking?

[Derek]

The only thing I dislike about that drawing is that they removed the PPB horse stables. I'd hate to see that moved somewhere else.

[urbanlife]

I am gonna say it, they should convert the building into an aquarium because I want to see Portland get a real aquarium and why not this building.

[bvpcvm]

Originally Posted by Derek

The only thing I dislike about that drawing is that they removed the PPB horse stables. I'd hate to see that moved somewhere else.

Didn't they move the actual horses to somewhere like Mulino? I'm sure I read that some time in the summer.

edit: never mind. Can't find any reference to this happening. Where did I hear this??