May 20, 2004
Quick Update On Fire Station #1 Relocation
Sitting around in draft form was an entry (actually, just a set of links to remind us) we forgot to come back to and actually post, about the relocation of Fire Station #1 from its current location near Ankeny Plaza to a site north of Burnside.
Last Friday, there was an Oregonian editorial urging the Portland Development Commission to avoid condemnation proceedings for the new site:
The Portland Fire Bureau wants to turn that new station into a safety-learning center where busloads of schoolchildren could visit. Many other dreams, including the possible location of a public market, could hinge on that first domino -- the fire station's relocation -- falling into place.
But that domino is controlled by the Naito Corp., which sees the future of the area differently. The company thinks there are other options for relocating the fire station, too. In any case, the Import Plaza building has great meaning to the Naito family, because it is where the family business began.
Curiously, the last fact is one that either has not been reported very much, or is one that we somehow managed to miss. It certainly helps explains some of the reluctance on the part of that half of the Naito family which has balked at selling. It also makes this a much more tricky situation, since that location was identified as the best new location from which to provide the services offers by Fire Station #1.
And this past Sunday, Oregonian architecture columnist Randy Gragg examined the entire proposal involving the relocation, development at the new site, and development at the old site.
Gragg questions the lack of overall vision for the development around the site north of Burnside, in contrast to the clear vision for the Ankeny Plaza area, which includes the Portland Public Market proposal. We're not entirely convinced that a "grand vision" is needed for the new site as much as one is needed for the old site, but the concept of doing more to link the two areas through planning and design is sensible. Then again, we're pretty sure that's already intended.