The Portland Development Commission has released their first draft of a new downtown urban renewal district including large sections of the South Park Blocks near Portland State University, and areas around PGE Park and downtown. The proposed area also includes most of the Con-way Inc. freight transport company site in Northwest Portland and the current location of Lincoln High School.
To be named the Central City Urban Renewal District, the area would receive development funds to better link the Goose Hollow neighborhood with downtown, including an investigation of ways to deal with Interstate 405 which creates a barrier that complicates travel from the westside from the core of downtown.
The commission believes urban renewal projects could help double the assessed values of properties within the 325-acre district over 33 years. Without adding a new district, the assessed property values would rise from $917 million to $2.35 billion. With a new district, the assessed values could reach $5.1 billion, according to the commission.
These districts operate through a program called tax-increment financing. Through tax-increment financing, programs pay off bonds that fund projects within urban renewal areas. As property values rise, the increased tax revenue pays for the bonds and other projects.
Over the past ten years the strategy has helped boost property values by 195 percent in the River District, 268 percent in the North Macadam area and 47 percent in North Portland’s Interstate district.
These developments would include an extension and expansion of the previous urban development areas of the South Park Blocks. The South Park Blocks development center has received funds since 1985 for renovations and developments including the improved downtown transit mall and upgraded transit service to provide traffic for the downtown retail core, providing new and updated open spaces for visitors, residents, and downtown workers including parks and fountains, as well as preserving affordable housing for low and middle income residents in support of a sustainable mixed-income downtown residential neighborhood.
If the Portland Development Commission’s board approves the changes, the Portland Planning Commission and the City Council would need to sign off on the project as well. The final approval could take place by 2011.
Check out this PDC video overview of the areas under consideration for the new Urban Renewal District or download a PDF map of the same info.
