Representatives from the Portland Development Commission and Lents are available to provide insight and information about the proposed project. The PDC's vision is to develop the Town Center area into a major commercial project on the two blocks bordered by 99th and 92nd avenues, Foster Road and Reedway Street. There is also 60 acres of land bordering the I-205 freeway that may possibly be included in the development plans.
"I think we have a lot of good folks in the community really engaged in this and ready, chomping at the bit to quit planning and start doing" something," says John Southgate, development commission project manager for the urban renewal district, who added, "a community-based vision of what Lents should look like" is within reach.
The area has long been a targeted one for redevelopment as the centerpiece of the city's urban renewal revitalization effort, but previous efforts to do so have stalled. The city could spend as much as $75 million in tax revenue generated from increased property values over the 15-year lifetime of the 2,472-acre district of commercial, industrial and residential land. The amount of money spent could increase if the area attracts development and thus increases the district's tax base.
Since it was created in 1998, the Lents Town Center Urban Renewal area has undertaken several planning projects to identify specific projects and layout implementation strategies. One of the key objectives of the plan is to provide support for the revitalization of commercial and residential areas in and near the existing Lents neighborhood. The plan also calls for stimulating business development and investment in the area.
Since the district was implemented in fiscal 1999-2000, the area has begun to show signs of life now that construction has begun on a $3.3 million, 24-unit apartment project. Additionally, the land along the I-205 is seen as prime for job producing development, including the possibility of building a baseball stadium should the city be able to entice Major League Baseball to site an expansion team there, and secure funding for the ballpark.
After public input is received at these two meetings, the Lents Urban Renewal Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on July 8 at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 4244 Southeast 91st Ave., from 7-9 p.m.
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