Zidell proposal upsets North Portland folks

Residents, college object to adding firm’s land to urban renewal plan

By Kristina Brenneman

The Portland Tribune, Nov 9, 2004, Updated Oct 30, 2009

University of Portland officials Ñ along with University Park residents Ñ are protesting a proposal by Zidell Marine Corp. to move its barge-making operations to their North Portland neighborhood, saying the noise and traffic “would be unbearable.”

UP officials have long sought to buy the 38-acre site now owned by Zidell for expansion of the school’s sports and academic programs. To the surprise of university officials and neighbors, however, Zidell last month asked the Portland Development Commission to include the environmentally contaminated site within the boundaries of the proposed Willamette Industrial Urban Renewal District.

The riverfront land, on the north side of the Willamette River below Waud Bluff and the UP campus, at 5828 N. Van Houten Place, has the potential for relocation of Zidell’s barge manufacturing operations or other uses, said Bob Durgan, vice president of development services for Andersen Construction. Zidell hired the firm to explore development of the Triangle Park property.

“The question is, Why did they leave Zidell out?” Durgan said. “Is it the right thing to do? You can’t discriminate against the Triangle Park property, because it meets the same criteria as other sites on the river.”

Jim Kuffner, UP’s director of administrative services, said: “We were taken aback by the late request. We had discussions with Mr. Zidell just recently regarding that land. If we are going to be able to continue to grow and attract quality students, we have to have a place to grow. To have an industrial user located down there É it would just be a bad situation all around.”

Although the neighborhood association took no formal vote at its Oct. 25 meeting on the proposed urban renewal area, Public Safety Chairwoman Judy Chambers said, “I can tell you right now, the neighbors are not pleased about the plan. There are more creative uses (for the site), like a park.”

Zidell’s barge-making operations are now located at 3121 S.W. Moody St., a part of the South Waterfront being converted to condominiums, retail and office space. The company is engaged in a court battle over the city’s proposed assessment to pay for the improvements.

By moving to the new urban renewal area, Zidell almost certainly would receive city financing to put in roads, lights, water and other infrastructure at the Triangle Park site.

The PDC and city planning staff earlier recommended that the Zidell site Ñ which is zoned industrial Ñ not be included in the proposed urban renewal area.

However, the PDC’s deputy director, Bob Alexander, said that may change depending on the recommendation of an advisory committee that will consider Zidell’s proposal, as well as the possible inclusion of other sites, over the next six months.

“We’ve said all along this district is intended to be urban renewal, and we’ve been consistent with our approach,” Alexander said.

The new urban renewal area proposal goes before the Planning Commission at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 9 in the former PDC office at 1900 S.W. Fourth Ave.

The proposal then goes before the City Council on Nov. 17 and Nov. 24.

Conversion has costs

The target urban renewal area, which traverses the river from Swan Island to Northwest Front Avenue, will be the third contaminated patch of land that the city’s redevelopment agency has tackled in the past five years. But it would be the first to keep its industrial status.

Two other urban renewal areas, the River District Ñ better known as the Pearl Ñ and North Macadam District Ñ now labeled South Waterfront and River Blocks Ñ were converted from warehouses and manufacturing.

The Pearl now is largely inhabited by retail stores and residential high-rises, with some industrial companies on the fringes. Construction has just started on several buildings, including condos, at the South Waterfront.

Over the past decade, Portland has converted more industrial land to other uses than any other West Coast city, almost 600 acres, ranging from 150 acres in the Macadam area to 100 acres at the proposed Cascade Station at the airport.

However, with its new Willamette renewal area covering Swan Island, Mocks Bottom and Northwest Front Avenue, PDC officials intend to clean up contaminated soil and reserve the land for labor and industry.

Creation of the new district is being driven by the possibility of persuading Siltronic Corp. to build its new 300-millimeter silicon wafer manufacturing facility in Portland, PDC officials said. Working under a compressed deadline, the city has packaged a number of incentives for Siltronic if it decides to build next to its current plant, at 7200 N.W. Front Ave.

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