The Future Is North

Posted on 07/22/08 7:00 AM

It’s a hardly a secret these days – the north and northeast parts of Portland are among the city’s growth drivers when it comes to homes and appreciation thereof. If this is news to you, take a look at how these areas have been holding up over the last couple of months. (click on the image to enlarge)

You’ll notice that both North and Northeast Portland among the top performers, growing at a pretty decent clip. While the Northeast neighborhoods such as Hollywood and Grant Park have long been residential havens, North Portland has largely remained a diverse mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial areas (it includes the Portland International Raceway, the University of Portland, and massive cargo facilities of the Port of Portland.) With significant parts of North Portland designated an Urban Renewal Area by the Portland Development Commission, “the Fifth Quadrant” has received substantial funding for infrastructure (MAX Yellow Line), “clean-up” and residential housing in recent years. For homeowners, this investment is starting to pay off, a trend that is likely to continue in light of the current re-zoning in the area. The section between NE 14th and 17th on Killingsworth was re-zoned from residential to commercial just last week, soon 2.5 miles of N Interstate zoning will be converted to to high density and commercial land.

Palms Motor Hotel on N Interstate - Photo Courtesy of Portland Ground

This is big news for Interstate because it means the currently rough and tumble strip of motels and gas stations may soon be home to fancy condo towers and their accompanying storefronts. The rezoning plan is built on the idea that since the MAX Yellow Line opened along Interstate in 2004, the area has huge potential as a new place where people can live, work and spend money while orienting their lives around public transit.

Here are some of the details for the proposed re-zoning that will effect N Interstate:

Rezones large sections of N Interstate from single-family homes to high density housing, i.e. condos
Certain sections of N Interstate will be rezoned from a patchwork of uses into commercial and central employment
That section of Interstate will be designated a historic “Neon Sign District”. New businesses will be encouraged to put up neon signs like the ones on the 1950s and 60s era motels along the road.
Allows buildings up to 100 feet tall to be built near the Prescott MAX station on Interstate, buildings up to 75-85 feet tall along the rest of Interstate and up to 65 feet tall in a “transitional buffer” zone between interstate and the swaths of single-family homes just east of Interstate.
Builders in the 85-100 foot height limit areas can apply to build up to 125 feet

Yes, there will be one or two issues around gentrification and maintaining the neighborhood’s character that need to be tackled, but most residents seem to agree that the downside risk is pretty limited. Determining the right residential product mix, avoiding overbuilding and determining appropriate height restrictions appear to be the more challenging issues if North Portland is to continue on a path of growth and move on to the next level.