The Oregonian - September 7, 2006
City Hall Notebook
By: RYAN FRANK
Food@Tram:
South Waterfront is a bunch of dust and construction workers now. But food is on the way. Good food, even. In case you don't read the fine print inside The Oregonian's Monday business section, The Daily Cafe @ The Tram will open in Portland's newest neighborhood late this year. The restaurant will take a spot in Oregon Health & Science University's building next door to the tram stop.
Craig Sweitzer, a principal at Urban Works Real Estate who worked on the deal, said it's a primo spot for the cafe given the number of tram riders and visitors to the OHSU building.
Sweitzer's the lead guy signing up South Waterfront retailers. He also does work for the Pearl District's lead developer, Hoyt Street Properties. The Daily Cafe, Sweitzer said, fits into their mold for locally owned independent stores. "We've had a lot of chains contact us," Sweitzer said. "So far, we've turned them all down."
In other words, no Big Macs in SoWa.
Killingsworth
Station, II The Portland Development Commission's second attempt at redeveloping a grassy lot into condos along the Interstate MAX line caught Commissioner Randy Leonard's eye.
And that is rarely a good thing for the PDC.
The city's urban renewal agency plans to lend developer Jim Winkler $3 million in property tax revenues to help get 51 condos built at Interstate Avenue and Killingsworth Street. About half the condos would be targeted as affordable in the project known as Killingsworth Station.
Leonard said he preferred the money to go to housing for poor working families. That's where Mark Rosenbaum, chairman at the Portland Development Commission, wants to set the record straight.
Rosenbaum, a close ally of Mayor Tom Potter, is hustling to improve the PDC's image at City Hall. Job No. 1 for him is to show the agency listens to city commissioners. For housing, Leonard, among others, have been clear: The PDC should focus attention on housing for the poor and families.
At Killingsworth Station, Rosenbaum said the loan would be tied to an apartment project that fits Leonard's goals.
Once Winkler repays the loan, expected in a couple of years, the money would help build apartments nearby on Interstate Avenue. The apartments would offer low rents and two- and three-bedroom apartments targeted at families.
Rosenbaum, by most accounts, has already improved the PDC's standing in City Hall. Keeping Leonard happy isn't a bad place to start.
Downtown in trouble?
The civic-minded folks at the City Club will debate that question Friday. Gil Kelley, Portland's planning director, and John Fregonese, a real-estate consultant, will be among the talkers. That might be a good session if you're curious about the panhandlers and empty storefronts lining Pioneer Courthouse Square. The yakking at The Governor Hotel starts at 12:15 p.m.
ryanfrank@news.oregonian.com | 503-221-8564
|
