NEWS ARCHIVE
7-29-01, The Tennessean
PORTLAND,
ORE., POLISHES ITS GULCH INTO PEARL
By
RICHARD LAWSON
Staff Writer
PORTLAND,
Ore. — On a chilly, drizzly afternoon, crowds of people mill around
Pioneer Courthouse Square.
Despite
the weather, there is energy. Some are waiting to catch a bus or one of
the city's light commuter trains that regularly pass next to the square.
Others are tourists checking out the sights. Still others are shoppers
on their way to the next store.
The
square is surrounded by office buildings, hotels, restaurants and shopping
that features Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue department stores.
This is the heart of a vibrant downtown that city leaders have fostered
for a decade or more through intensely planned redevelopment efforts that
focused on ensuring dense urban growth.
About
2,350 miles away, those who share a similar dream for Nashville's core
have taken notice.
Advocates
of urban development in Nashville and elsewhere point to cities such as
Portland as guides for their efforts. Through a Nashville Area Chamber
of Commerce inter-city visit five years ago, city and business leaders
grabbed a first-hand look.
''Portland
is a really well-done city,'' said Metro Planning Director Rick Bernhardt,
who praised the city's public transportation system. ''They have focused
on building a city that is highly livable.''
He
said some of what Portland has done is transferable to Nashville and some
isn't.
The
Nashville Urban Venture singles out the Pearl District, one of Portland's
hottest redevelopment areas, as an example of its plans for the railroad
gulch at the western edge of Nashville's downtown.
Sitting
in Portland's River District, an urban renewal area, the Pearl District
is a 20-block stretch of old rail yards and warehouses along the Willamette
River that bisects the city. Redevelopment includes new construction and
renovation of existing buildings that are filled with offices, cafés
and condominiums.
The district's growth is being fueled by a $56 million streetcar system
that began operation last weekend. Streetcar lines run a loop through
downtown that starts in the district.
Rich
Ford, a Portland real estate broker and developer, estimated that about
$300 million has been invested in the area during the past dozen years.
With Portland in mind, Nashville's gulch developer is creating a master
plan to guide development of commercial and residential development in
a 30-acre area, an effort that is expected to take 10 years and a $400
million investment. The venture already controls 22 acres and is attempting
to acquire the remaining property.
As
in Nashville, public-private partnerships have steered Portland's redevelopment.
The Portland Development Commission, similar to the Metropolitan Development
and Housing Agency in Nashville, bought property near the Pearl District
in the 1980s to initiate revitalization. It has invested $100 million.
Portland
developers credit the city's redevelopment success to an attitude about
planning and design that focuses on urban growth.
''It's
all about good planning,'' said Robert Ball, who is converting a 90-year-old
Pearl District warehouse into loft condominiums. ''This has worked for
a lot of years because of a lot of planning.''