Market hungry for bridge site

Multnomah County looks to sell Morrison Bridge property

By jim redden

The Portland Tribune, Jan 8, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (6 Reader comments)

JONATHAN HOUSE / TRIBUNE PHOTO

This surface parking lot at the northwest end of the Morrison Street Bridge would hold food booth pavillions under a plan proposed by the Melvin Mark Development Company and the Historic Portland Public Market Foundation.

Supporters of a year-round downtown public fresh-food market are entering the new year with fresh hope that it may finally have a home.

After years of searching for a suitable location, the Historic Portland Public Market Foundation is now focusing on a parcel of Multnomah County-owned property at the west end of the Morrison Bridge.

The county is currently using the just-under-three-block-long parcel as a surface parking lot. It has agreed to sell the property, however, and is expected to solicit development bids in the near future.

In a Dec. 22 letter to supporters, the foundation’s president, Amelia Hart, and its consulting director, Ron Paul, call the parcel an “incomparable opportunity” for the project.

“This county-owned property sits along the waterfront, central to downtown workers and shoppers, with abundant nearby parking and easy access by MAX to all parts of the region,” the letter reads.

According to Paul, the foundation has teamed with Portland developer and property owner Melvin Mark to propose building a high-rise tower with the market based on the ground floor and in two adjacent pavilions. The tower would be built in the block adjacent to the fork between the on- and off-ramps at the west end of the bridge, while the pavilions would be located under and to the sides of the off-ramps.

“It would be an iconic location for a feature that Portland is fast becoming known for — local food and produce sold directly by the people who grow it,” said Paul, stressing that the idea is more of a concept than an actual design at this point.

According to Paul, the tower would be owned by the Melvin Mark Development Co. Ideally, Paul said, the market would own the pavilions and rent the space on the first floor of the tower, but exact costs and arrangements have yet to be worked out.

“There are many different ways this can be done, including using tax credits,” said Paul.

The foundation has already acquired the rights from the New York-based James Beard Foundation to name the market after the late famous chef. Beard was born in Portland in 1903 and grew up shopping with his mother at fresh food markets that thrived in the area at that time.

Paul said the entrance to the market could include a statue of the rotund Beard.

“Visitors could rub his stomach on the way in,” he said.

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit