June 14, 2004
Advisory Committee Pushes PDC For More Ideas On Burnside Bridgehead
Seeks RFP For Projects Beyond Existing 'Big Box' Retail Concept
At last month's meeting of the Central Eastside Urban Renewal Advisory Committee, the Portland Development Commission offered its first presentation on the so-called Burnside Bridgehead Revelopment Concept. After weeks of speculation, it was the public's first chance to learn more about a project rumored to involved a Home Depot as its anchor tenant.
According to PDC last month, the four questions which needed to be answered were: Is the scale of the concept appropriate for the site? Are the mix of uses appropriate for the area (office, retail, housing)? Is a large format retailer an appropriate use? Is Home Depot an appropriate anchor retailer?
At the time, PDC indicated that these questions could not be answered without further research, part of which would be a pair of analyses on the market impact upon existing local business in the area and the traffic impact of such a development.
This evening, members of the URAC formally requested that PDC issue a Request For Proposals seeking further concepts for redeveloping the 5 1/2 blocks dubbed the Burnside Bridgehead, in an attempt to expand the available options beyond the apparent fixation on "big box" retail. As part of this decision, the URAC urged that the public have the opportunity to be involved not only in the eventual decision on the project itself, but in formulating the criteria to be included in the RFP.
Prior to passing a resolution asking the Development Commission to issue such an RFP, representatives of PDC provided an update on the current state of the project. They provided two handouts: Answers to fourteen questions asked of PDC about the project; and a draft of objectives and criteria (pdf), described as "aspirational in nature," broken down into the four areas of urdban design and master plan, community benefit, transportation, and PDC participation.
Contractors for the market and traffic impact analyses have been selected, with ECONorthwest chosen for the former and David Evans and Associates and Rob Bernstein chosen for the latter. These analyses -- intended to judge the impacts of various potential "big box" retailers -- are expected to be completed in six to eight weeks.
URAC conversation following the PDC update almost immediately turned to questioning the wisdom of having only one proposal and approach to the Burnside Bridgehead project to consider, and discussion on how best to expand the options before the process goes much further. With apparent support from representatives of PDC, the Committee decided to ask PDC to issue a formal RFP seeking proposals, using the draft objectives document as the starting point for developing the criteria for it.
PDC's executive director, Don Mazziotti , would need to approve the issuance of an RFP, but a decision to do so does not need to come before the full Portland Development Commission.
Under the intended timeline hased out at this evening's meeting, if Mazziotti approves the issuance of such an RFP, the next meeting of the Central Eastside URAC, scheduled for June 12, would be structured as a workshop or open house to allow the public the opportunity to offer input on the project criteria to be included in the RFP. There was also discussion (and, we think, general agreement) that any draft material related to generating the RFP would be posted online by PDC prior to that meeting, to give the public time to examine it beforehand.
Those interested in keeping up to date with this suddenly-revised process for consdering redevelopment of the so-called Burnside Bridgehead should keep an eye on the Central Eastside Urban Renewal Area page at PDC's website.