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The city of Wood Village has hired a consulting firm to explore advantages of an urban renewal district to encompass the former Multnomah Greyhound racetrack site on Halsey Street.
The City Council approved $20,000 for Tashman Johnson LLC to study the viability of such a district to spur development in the city. Neighboring cities such as Gresham and Troutdale have established urban renewal zones in recent years to stimulate investment in blighted neighborhoods and dormant properties.
The long-closed greyhound track is a primary target for revitalization, said Mayor Dave Fuller, given its prime location at the busy 223rd Avenue intersection adjacent to the Wood Village Town Center retail complex. City leaders have discussed the urban renewal district concept for several months.
“It would give an incentive for someone to come in and redevelop parts of the city, primarily the dog racing area,” he said. “Hopefully, this study will give us some ideas and show us how to implement” a plan that could lead to fresh development.
City officials have worked for years to encourage a suitable use for the former racetrack property. Fuller was among those who supported a plan by two Lake Oswego businessmen to establish a casino and entertainment complex at the site. However, the developers didn’t follow through on recent efforts to put necessary ballot measures before state voters. The controversial project remains in limbo.
The council has altered zoning along Halsey Street to better accommodate commercial projects, the most recent of which is a two-story office building recently completed by Portland-based JCW Inc. that’s ready for lease.
“We’ve rezoned a lot of Halsey to make it look really nice,” Fuller said. “The (office building) really looks good.”
Fuller said he and fellow councilors are open to ideas to transform the long-idled racetrack. Possibilities include a mixed-use complex of businesses and residences or even a light-industrial tenant.
“If a good industrial use came along, we wouldn’t be opposed to that,” he said. “We’d rather not let it go in a direction that would not be good for our city, the adjoining city of Fairview or the region.”
Portland-based Tashman Johnson works with cities to explore whether urban renewal “is a good fit,” according to the firm’s Web site.
Partner Jeff Tashman has met with Fuller and the City Council to discuss services, including working with the public and taxing district representatives to prepare urban renewal plans, assist in implementation and analyze bond feasibility.
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Re: Wood Village explores renewal for dog track
I'm curious as to how suitable a location like this would be for a minor league baseball stadium.
The Portland Beavers are having a hard time finding a location for their stadium. Neighbors in Lents are not happy about losing an extremely popular family park in exchange for a baseball stadium.
The location is close to the freeway and public transit could be extended to the area. It's not out of the ordinary to see teams be in the cities surrounding the major city, as opposed to in the big city.
It would definitely be better for the area than a vacant building. It would bring in a lot more money in taxes, jobs in demolishing the old building and building new, jobs inside the stadium, etc.
Just a thought. I've had several people mention similar thoughts lately. Their first idea was the Rockwood sites, but we weren't sure there would be enough room.
Another thought was the location that Wal-Mart wanted to go into at 181st/Powell, but many felt that would be better for the YMCA that wants to come into town.
"Jenni Simonis"
(email verified)
Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 11:52 PM