 
After close to seven years of seeking the ideal location, the Portland
Public Market has set its sights again on the near-perfect site.
Identified during the 2001-2002
feasibility study process, the
Federal Building at 511 NW Broadway (also known at the time as
the INS Building) was the first choice then and remains so to this
day. When it was constructed in 1915 it was Portland’s main
Post Office with marble floors and walls beneath ceilings that
measure over 19’ tall. Since it was built and used as a mail
facility, the loading docks and configuration of the building elegantly
provide the form and functions that the Market will require.
Six years ago, the Public Market was just beginning its development
process and the challenges the 511 Building presented seemed insurmountable:
seismic renovation, new plumbing, electric and mechanical systems,
how to develop the five upper floors of the property, among many
others. The Market’s advisory board took the then-safer path
of following PDC’s lead in exploring our second choice, Portland’s
Central Fire Station at Ankeny Square. After years of study and
research, and just as plans for revitalizing the entire Ankeny
Square area reached their conclusion, city leaders unilaterally
decided to keep the Fire Station where it is and not to move it
three blocks north to what has become known as the Import Plaza
block. With the fire station function remaining in place, the Market’s
opportunities at Ankeny Square summarily disappeared.
Then, in 2006, the Market explored the possibility of using Union
Station with architects Joseph Readdy and Peter Meijer conducting
a fatal flaw analysis of that grand 1897 icon. While not fatal,
the analysis articulated significant challenges for the Market
sharing space with Amtrak while they continued to use the train
station. The $40 million necessary to renovate the depot proved
daunting, as did the operational compromises that Union Station
would require the Public Market to undertake.
Fast forward to September of 2007: Melvin Mark Properties and Sera
Architects contacted the Market about becoming the anchor tenant
in their redevelopment of the 511 NW Broadway Building. Unfortunately, the
Public Market’s efforts
to secure that long-preferred site were superseded by the Pacific
NW College of Art's successful bid for an educational use transfer,
an option not available
to the Market.
At
their March 2008 meeting, the Market’s board of directors
unanimously agreed to intensify their efforts to engage Portland
in creating The James Beard
Public Market.
Our
site selection committee is continuing to investigate both new
opportunities and previously overlooked locations in light of
Portland's changing demography and food-buying habits.
Your support
of these efforts will be most welcome! Please talk with friends
and neighbors about the importance of the full-time, year-round
James Beard Public Market, and share your ideas by emailing Ron
Paul at ron@rpaulconsulting.com.
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