City ready to replace crumbling Mt. Tabor facility

Council OKs plan that some think could be a candidate for Obama public works funds

By Steve Law

The Portland Tribune, Dec 17, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (7 Reader comments)

Courtesy of Portland Parks and Recreation

A rendering shows the possible new Mt. Tabor park maintenance facility. The City Council approved the proposal Wednesday.

Portland city commissioners agreed Wednesday to replace the decrepit central parks maintenance facility and nursery at Mt. Tabor Park.

The project, pegged to cost $63 million to $68 million, would upgrade the antiquated facilities used by more than 100 city employees to maintain the entire city parks system.

City Commissioner Nick Fish, who is about to take command of Portland Parks and Recreation, said the new facility is a perfect candidate for a “shovel-ready” public works project that might attract funding in an economic stimulus package promised by President-elect Barack Obama.

Mt. Tabor resident John Laursen, part of a large citizens committee that helped shape the project, described the working conditions as “like something out of Charles Dickens.” The complex of warehouse and office space on Southeast Division Street and 64th Avenue is considered unsafe and inefficient for workers and heavy equipment.

Use of the 13-acre complex dates back a century, when Mt. Tabor Park was created. It has been expanded in a hodge-podge fashion in the ensuing decades.

Some of the buildings lack proper heating and ventilation, and fail to meet modern standards for fire safety and access for people with disabilities. The complex is short on bathrooms and other amenities.

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