Old Town / Chinatown Development
Prosper Portland owns two properties in the heart of Old Town/Chinatown that are key to implementing the vision of the Five-Year Action Plan for the neighborhood: Block 25 and 4th & Burnside.
Block 25
- Owner: Prosper Portland
- Location: River District Urban Renewal Area
- Size: 0.62 acres (26,980 square feet)
- Current use: 116 surface parking spaces leased to Northwest Natural Gas Company for weekday employee parking; and available for weekday evening and weekend parking to support the Lan Su Chinese Garden, the Entertainment District, and nearby businesses
- Zoned Central Commercial with Design Zone Overlay (CXd)
- Subsurface conditions: Investigations have determined environmental concerns including petroleum-contaminated soils, possible drywells, and underground storage tanks. Prosper Portland will conduct additional investigations to develop strategies to avoid, remediate, or mitigate these conditions during site development.
- Included on New Chinatown / Japan Town Historic District
NW 4th & Burnside
Contact: Bernie Kerosky, email or 823-3459
- Owner: Prosper Portland
- Location: northeast corner of the intersection of NW 4th and W Burnside, just east of the new Hoxton Portland hotel, in the River District Urban Renewal Area
- Size: 7,762 square feet
- Zoned Central Commercial (CX)
- Included on New Chinatown / Japan Town Historic District
Community Engagement
Prosper Portland is engaging stakeholders to identify community goals and benefits for these two properties. We encourage you to get involved!
Prosper Portland, with the assistance of JLA Public Involvement, needs to hear from key stakeholders in the community such as property owners, business owners, residents, and those with historical or cultural connections to the neighborhood to help identify community goals and benefits and any potential unintended consequences or disparities that should be mitigated or avoided as part of these redevelopment projects. Community conversations and open houses about redeveloping the two properties are happening soon. We need your input to make sure these developments are successful in achieving Old Town/Chinatown’s vision.
Our goal is to select one or more developers for the two properties by the end of June 2019. We will select the developers based on their ability to implement development plans that satisfy the goals of the Old Town/Chinatown Five-Year Action Plan and achieve the goals and benefits identified by the community through our outreach process.
Survey
We invited community members to share their thoughts on the community goals and benefits for two redevelopment opportunities in Old Town/Chinatown.
Public Open House
Community members attended Open House #1 on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at Prosper Portland.
Focus Groups
Focus group meetings took place in November and December 2018 with key stakeholder groups.
- Chinese Community (East side) – November 19, 5:30-8 pm at Asian Health and Services Center
- Chinese Community (West side) – November 20, 5:30-8 pm at Prosper Portland
- Residents and General Public – November 26, 5:30-8 pm at Prosper Portland
- Japanese Community – November 29, 5:30-8pm at Prosper Portland
- Old Town Community Association – December 5, 5:30-8 pm at Prosper Portland
For more information please contact Adrienne DeDona, Community Outreach Specialist, adrienne@jla.us.com or (503) 235-5881.
Project Process & Timeline
Learn about community needs and priorities; gather feedback about community engagement approach
Identify community goals and benefits to be included in the Request for Proposals
Share feedback from focus groups; gather feedback on community goals and benefits
Review feedback; determine selection criteria for development proposals
Review development proposals; select a preferred developer for each site based on selection criteria
Introduce selected developer(s) and present development proposals
About the Action Plan
The Old Town / Chinatown Five-Year Action Plan launched in 2014 as a partnership between the City, Prosper Portland and Old Town/Chinatown. The plan had three primary objectives:
- Attract new neighborhood investment to activate key properties and improve district connectivity.
- Promote business vitality by increasing employment and retail activity.
- Align resources and build local capacity for improving district livability.
In 2019 Portland City Council approved a five-year extension to the original Plan, which maintains the original focus on neighborhood investment, business vitality, and district livability, while seeking to capitalize on the progress made since 2014. It prioritizes public safety and livability (specifically related to homelessness and sanitation), housing, parking replacement, and seismic upgrades.
