Note from Editor: This is our first posting from the Eliot News! 

The entire Eliot News is now available for download! 

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To download the entire Eliot News [16MB], click Here.  (*Please note, this is a large file so if you have a dial-up (slow) connection I wouldn't recommend you try to download it because it will take too long.)

Below is an excerpt from the Winter publication:

Around the Neighborhood

Several projects are springing up, or soon will be, in and near Eliot.  For the most part, these are larger scale projects that I expect will increase over the next few years.  This column is also going to be posted on a new Portland neighborhood web site being constructed by an Eliot resident.  Hopefully, that posting will include more text and graphics.  The site can be found at http://www.portlandneighborhood.com.  Eliot is listed under North Portland neighborhoods.

Projects underway include, the Mid-K Plaza at the old Raven Creamery site in Eliot and the Fremont Lofts, just west of Eliot on Fremont between Eliot and Mississippi.

Mid-K Plaza construction has been suspended.  It isn’t clear why although rumors are there are some financial problems with the contractor.  Mid-K still plans to relocate to the site, but doesn’t have a date set.

The Fremont Lofts are being developed by Ben Kaiser with Grand Central Baking as a major commercial tenant and 100 loft spaces with 50 residential units in a separate building on the site.  Presumable residents will wake to the smell of baked goods.  Ummm.  Construction is underway but the Kaiser Group web site http://kaisergroupinc.com/future.projects.html doesn’t have a target completion date.

Fremont Lofts Plan

New projects in the planning stage include two more Kaiser Group projects and the Fremont Place project on PDC land at the old King Mart site at Fremont and MLK.  The Kaiser projects include the Backbridge Station on the north side of Fremont at Vancouver and the Backbridge Lofts in Eliot south of Fremont at Williams.  The Kaiser projects have survived the permitting process and the Fremont Place project is beginning that process.

Backbridge Station Plans

Backbridge Lofts Plans 

Fremont Place Plan

Other News

Other developers and land owners are looking at projects in Eliot as well.  I believe once some of the pending projects are completed it will be easier to develop other projects and we could see a lot of construction if the Portland economy stays strong.  Sites being considered include the corner of MLK and Tillamook (the Signs and Banners site), the Harder Mechanical lot south of Billy Ray’s, and the vacant lot just north of Friends of Trees on MLK.  Development propositions at these sites all include multi-story housing structures, consistent with the underlying zoning.  High density residential zones actually require minimum housing densities, which result in multi-story buildings.  In other words, high density residential zones cannot be used for low-density housing, such as skinny homes or row houses.

In the past PDC has been instrumental ns developments along MLK.  PDC funding is a critical component of the Fremont Place project, but not so the others noted above.  PDC’s role has been to acquire and assemble land into a large enough parcel that it can support a project with minimal public subsidy.  It disposes of the land with conditions that it be developed consistent with input from local residents.  At a recent neighborhood PDC advisory meeting there was a lot of criticism of the design compromises that result from this process.  Specifically, there was concern that resulting development did not live up to community expectations.  In other words, it was more of the same instead of something that inspires both the community and future developers.  It was suggested that communities would be better served if PDC focused more money on fewer projects to ensure “inspiring” projects result.  This is not the way PDC works and I agree that the “PDC way” really isn’t working.  So here is an idea.  The streetcar in NW is supposed to come across the Broadway Bridge, go through Lloyd Center, and then down to the Central Eastside.  Why not have it loop up MLK then go east on Alberta and return to MLK on Killingworth and loop back down MLK to the Lloyd Center?  That would make MLK more of a “Main Street” and would better support the vacant land slated for high density housing.  What do you think?

Written by Mike Warwick