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Downtown Portland Midtown Blocks Proposal
Downtown Portland Midtown Blocks Proposal
Downtown Portland Midtown Blocks Proposal
Blocks
Urban
Design
Proposal
from the hills
to the river
December 2014
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Midtown Blocks have long been
a gap in Portlands vision for a string
of parks running from the north
end of downtown to the south. The
City was never able to acquire the all
the blocks and has only built parks
on two of the eight blocks. The
rest are developed with a variety of
buildings and uses.
This report proposes abandoning
the north/south orientation of the
Park Blocks and, instead, using the
Midtown Blocks as a permeable
urban environment in which to
create the east/west connections the
central city needs.
These east/west connections
will draw a growing residential
population in the West End through
the Park Blocks to retail and jobs in
downtown.
This report proposes a phased
development that includes adopting
design guidelines that create a high
quality streetscape and identifying
three particular east/west streets to
be developed as easily recognizeable
pedestrian thoroughfares.
The Problem
What should be done with the
blocks between the North and
South Park Blocks?
While the original vision for the
Park Blocks was of one continous
string of parks from north to
south, that is not currently possibe
with buildings occupying most of
the remaining Midtown Blocks.
Therefore, the City needs to create a
plan for the future development of
these blocks.
The character of the Park Blocks
changes through downtown. The
South Park Blocks (area 1) are
very green, wooded, and have an
institutional character. The Midtown
Blocks (area 2) are intensely urban.
The North Park Blocks (area 3) are
shaded and somewhat unwelcoming.
While the original vision
concluded at the North Park
Blocks, contemporary visionaries
have endeavored to connect the
park blocks all the way to the
northernmost riverbank. This link
is interrupted by a stretch with no
parks (area 4), then picks up again
in the Pearl District with three
veery different styles of parks
interwoven into a mixed use urban
neighborhood (area 5).
Background
of downtown Portland.
Without the Midtown connection,
the Park Blocks have developed
independently, with different
characters and uses not as a spine to
downtown
CHANGING NEEDS
Portland has changed a great deal
since the proposal of the Park
Blocks in the 1850s. The age of the
ship and train has come and gone,
replaced by the personal automobile,
which dramatically changed the
fabric of downtown with its demand
for parking. Portland has installed
mass transit in the forms of buses,
streetcars, and light rail. The city has
expanded well beyond the east bank
of the Willamette River and is now
home to over 600,000 people.
EARLY VISION
The concept of the Park Blocks
existed even in the early years of
Portland. Lownsdale set aside a
string of blocks from his holdings to
be turned into open space. Ladd did
the same with his land to the north,
but Stark refused to contribute land
from his much smaller plat between
the two. As a result, there was
inevitably going to be a small gap
in the Park Blocks, but the City of
Existing Conditions
Most of downtown Portland and
the Midtown Blocks in particular, is
zoned for mixed use, meaning these
blocks must meet a variety of needs.
The Midtown Blocks are adjacent
to a residential neighborhood, a
retail core, a cultural core and within
walking distance of the office and
government blocks of downtown
and the densest neighborhood in the
city: the Pearl District.
It is a heavily studied area of
downtown, subject to many
plans, designs, and visions. The
Central City Concept 2035 and
West Quadrant Plan distill the
Existing Conditions
contrast, downtown Portland only
has two east/west MAX streets and
two bicycle streets (which dont
even run the whole breadth of
downtown).
RETAIL
The Midtown Blocks are flush with
a variety of reatil including regional
anchors and local businesses. The
streets are lined with restaurants
and shops and the area is a popular
place for developing hotels. The area
houses the Fox Tower and is a block
away from Pioneer Place Mall, both
of which host entertainment, dining,
and shopping opportunities.
ARCHTECTURAL VARIETY
This area of town includes a large
variety of architecture that spans
two centuries of development.
The level of investment in the
blocks and the popularity of the
area has ensured that several older
buildings have been preserved
and/or rehabilitated. To the north,
the blocks are characterized by
exteremly tall, modern construction.
HEIGHT
This are of downtown is part of the
red crescent, meaning it is where
some of the tallest buildings are
allowed to be built. Adjacent to the
Recommendation
While it is tempting to hold to
sentimental visions, Portland needs
to abandon the emphasis on using
the Midtown Blocks to complete
the Park Blocks, focusing instead
on developing more east/west
connections. While no plans have
necessarily recommended this for
the Midtown Blocks, the plans for
downtown and the central city are
very clear in their expectation that
downtown Portland will develop
more east/west connections.
Recommendation
in downtown and they will need
to cross the South Park Blocks to
get there. The Midtown Blocks in
particular, connect to the retail core
and should become more porous to
pedestrians, drawing them eastward.
FUTURE IMPACTS
The West Quadrant Plan proposes
two large projects that will directly
impact the Midtown Blocks. The
Green Loop will be a cycle track
that loops downtown and the
central city. Part of it will run
along the Park Blocks, therefore,
development in the Midtown Blocks
Proposal
A phased development of the
streetscape of Park Avenue and SW
9th and along adjacent blocks of
Salmon, Alder, and Stark.
Phase 1
Design Guidelines
Phase 2
South Midtown
Phase 3
Central Midtown
Phase 4
North Midtown
Proposed guidelines
1. Designate a design district or multiple districts around the Park Blocks and adjacent blocks of Salmon, Alder,
and Stark.
2. Emphasize facade improvements such as cleaning, painting, use of awnings and hanging signs, and
incorporation of lighting to highlight architectural details.
3. Remove curbs and use a paving pattern such as that of Director Park to create a more pedestrian environment.
4. Cretae uniform elements such as art, colors, street furniture, awnings , or paving that are applied to Salmon,
Alder, and Stark in order to highlight them with a different character from the other east/west streets.
5. Reduce Salmon, Alder, and Stark to one lane for cars and a smaller lane for bicycles, using a median to separate
the two. Return the extra space to the pedestrian realm.
6. Emphasize corners and install terminus and gateway structures.
Implementation
Form Based Code
The first phase of this development
is to create a new design district with
new design guidelines that apply at
two different levels: primary and
secondary streets.
The Midtown Blocks are an ideal
place to use form based code. This
would be a small scale exploration
of a new style of zoning for
Portland.
Form based code can be used in
conjuction with formal zoning and/
or traditional design guidelines,
providing a great deal of flexibility
for Portland to realize the ultimate
goal of a high quality streetscape
and porous pedestrian zone.
Funding
In a time of shrinking budgets
and diminishing confidence in the
Portland Development Commission,
Portland needs to approach funding
for this project creatively and not
assuming that PDC will continue in
its current form.
A primary source of funding for
this phased development will come
from the assessments collected in
each phases business improvement
district. Money collected by each
BID will only be used in that areas
boundaries and the BIDs will be
renewed or dissolved after a certain
amount of time.
Another way to fund development
in Midtown is with variable parking
rates. Downtown Portland charges
a flat rate for parking regardless of
day or time of day. Increase rates
during peak hours, days or events
and apply the additional revenue
to either a phase-specific fund or a
general Midtown development fund.
Additional money will be raised by
the sale of OBryant Square and
further money mau be available
from Parks and Recreation.
Key Players
Several parties will be involved in
the redevelopment of the Midtown
Blocks.
1. The Portland Development
Comission
2. The Bureau of Planning and
Sustainability
3. The Bureau of Transportation
4. Parks and Recreation
5. Property owners
6. Business owners
7. The Downtown Neighborhood
Association
8. The Clean and Safe District
9. Local planners, developers,
architects, landscape architects,
placemakers, and residents
Timeline
Though the Park Blocks vision has
been over 200 years in the making,
the reality is that redevelopment of
the Midtown Blocks needs to move
forward in order to stay ahead of
development in the West End.
Designation of a design district
and drafting of design guidelines
and form based code should be
completed in the next few years.
The City has already lost a chance
to enforce guidelines on the
Park Avenue West development,
which will create a small wrinkle
in the new fabric. It may be wise
to put a moratorium on new
development until the guidelines are
in place, though this risks stalling
development if the City lags.
The remaining three phases will
take decades to complete because
streetscape changes usually only
happen with new development and
the City will have to wait as that
occurs in its own cycle. Certain
beautifcation improvements such
as facade treatments and hanging
baskets can happen right away, but
it may take many decades to get
from a Salmon green street to the
Burnside crossing.
Kate Washington
December 10, 2014
ARCH521 - Urban Design Methods
Portland State University
Special thanks to Don Stastny and Patricia Gardner