July 15, 2010
The Portland Development Commission has released a Request for Interest (RFI) to solicit development teams and concepts for portions of the Burnside Bridgehead site in the city’s Central Eastside Urban Renewal Area. The RFI is a concrete and crucial first step in the implementation of the Burnside Bridgehead Framework Plan (10 MB PDF), which was created through extensive research and collaboration among members of the greater Portland community and various consultant groups as a tool to ensure that redevelopment meets the vision for the site.
“The wheels are turning,” said Trang Lam, PDC Senior Project Manager. “The Framework Plan honors the existing character of the district, and we are aligning that approach with the RFI to spark immediate, transformative redevelopment that will catalyze and identify the Central Eastside as an attainable, productive, and sustainable district.”
The four-acre, four-block Burnside Bridgehead site is an essential component in the city’s work to energize redevelopment, stimulate job creation and generate tax increment in the Central City. The Framework Plan calls for a mix of uses – commercial, employment and residential – that activate the site, build on its unique character, and provide opportunities for the community to gather.
An optional pre-proposal site visit will be held Wednesday, July 28, 3:30-5:00 p.m. at the Burnside Bridgehead site, to give interested parties an opportunity to tour the site, ask clarifying questions, and meet each other and PDC staff. RFI responses are due Tuesday, August 31, a timeframe that the PDC project team hopes will allow interested teams to prepare thoughtful approaches for the site.
