Gateway Regional Center: Report to Metro Prepared by: Portland Bureau of Planning with assistance from the Portland Development Commission January 2005 Table of Contents Executive Summary 5 Introduction 13 Visions for the Gateway Regional Center 16 Profile of the Gateway Regional Center 17 • Summary of Demographics 17 • Land Use 18 • Transportation 24 • Parks, Open Space, and Public Facilities 28 • Infrastructure 29 • Police & Public Safety 30 • Fire and Emergency Services 32 • Cultural Amenities, Attractions, Activities, and Events 33 • Analysis of the Organization of Civic Uses and Spaces 33 Policy and Regulatory Framework 34 • Relevant Comprehensive Plan Policies 34 • Principles, Goals and Objectives of the Gateway Regional Center Urban Renewal Plan 38 • Urban Renewal Housing Goals 40 • Urban Design 41 • Zoning and Comprehensive Plan Designations 43 • Relevant Zoning Code Provisions 43 Assets, Barriers/Challenges, and Opportunities 48 • Assets 49 • Barriers/Challenges 50 • Opportunities 53 Market Analysis/Market Trends 55 • Residential Development 56 • Retail and Related Service Commercial 62 • Office Development 65 • Lodging Development 68 • Industrial Potential 69 Redevelopment Strategies 72 • Opportunity Gateway Concept Plan Redevelopment Strategy 72 • Financial Tools 74 • Actions 79 Appendix 91 • Bibliography 91 • Public Involvement Summary 92 Gateway Regional Center Report to Metro Executive Summary Background/Problem Statement The Gateway Regional Center: Report to Metro is a summary of the conditions, policies, opportunities, and challenges that affect redevelopment of Portland’s Gateway Regional Center. The 2040 Regional Center “design type” is characterized by mixed uses, higher densities, and transit/pedestrian oriented development and design. As Portland’s only designated Regional Center, Gateway is expected to have concentrations of development second to downtown. The Gateway Regional Center is intended to become a mid-city “downtown” for East Portland. Gateway has long been the location of the major shopping centers serving the “east county” part of Portland. It’s potential as a more intensely developed center has grown over the years due to its accessibility within the region. The area has great transportation assets including access to two major Interstate Highways and MAX light rail. The biggest challenge to creating the Gateway Regional Center has been inducing private-sector development that is consistent with the vision and goals for the area. This is in part due to the weakness in the local market for commercial and employment uses, strong competition from other centers in the region, land assembly issues (due to much of the area’s current small-lot development pattern), the very limited public funds available for redevelopment projects, the perception of the area and the gulf between its current condition and its vision. Portland has established policies to support the long term development of Gateway into an intensively-developed center of housing, employment and commercial activity. Recently the city adopted new zoning regulations for Gateway with flexible provisions, incentives and design standards. The city also created an urban renewal area supported by tax increment financing to pursue private and public redevelopment projects in Gateway. The urban renewal area is relatively young, established only 3.5 years ago, and has yet to generate significant funds to affect change in the area. Vision and Development Concept Early visions for Gateway called for the area to become a commercial, employment and entertainment district with an emphasis on retail and office development. The vision has evolved to include more uses - housing, government, education, and cultural facilities - greater densities, and more emphasis on transit/pedestrian oriented development. The specific concepts for development of Gateway have evolved over the past decade. The diagrams shown on the following pages trace the evolution of the vision for Gateway. Gateway in the 1950s. Photo by Bob Earnest. January 2005 5 Gateway Regional Center Report to Metro Adopted Vision Plan Map Outer Southeast Community Plan 1996 The adopted vision plan map of the Outer Southeast Community Plan hints at what a full-scale urban design concept for Gateway might look like. It includes the following elements: • linear north-south park blocks • proposed LRT stations at Stark/Washington and Market • neighborhood focal points • a system of interconnected walkways Opportunity Gateway Concept Plan Calthorpe Associates 2000 The regional center – almost as large as downtown Portland – is interrupted at regular intervals by wide, heavily-traveled streets. The concept suggested linear design elements capable of overcoming the barriers created by these streets. In addition, the Concept Plan identifies: • creation of distinct subareas with unique attributes • tree-lined streets as a unifying design feature • improved street connectivity and creation of smaller neighborhood blocks • a series of parks in “neighborhood” areas, and plazas at key locations January 2005 6 Gateway Regional Center Report to Metro Draft Urban Design Diagram Opportunity Gateway Program Advisory Committee/SERA Architects 2001 This concept helped focus discussions about Gateway’s identity and design components, and resulted in principles for site/block and building design. Key features included the following: • “Green Streets” to connect parks and schools • identification of future parks and plazas • identification of scale transition areas • identification of view corridors • identification of landmark sites • a refined street hierarchy Gateway Urban Design Concept Gateway Planning Regulations Project 2004 The adopted urban design concept updates the vision map and sets the policy-level framework for planning and regulatory tools. The concept describes the form of Gateway and includes the following elements: • key street typologies and refined hierarchy • location of potential parks • location of key gateways and intersections • updated future LRT station locations January 2005 7 Gateway Regional Center Report to Metro Existing Conditions Demographics & Economy Population in Gateway grew 24% between 1990-2000; the estimated 2003 population is 9,554. Gateway is a moderate income area, with roughly 15 percent of households earning above $75,000, and roughly 15% earning less than $15,000 annually. Employment opportunities are expected to grow over time, with the greatest increase expected in Consumer Services (45%), Health Services (40%), and Fire, Insurance and Real estate (26%). Top employment categories for Gateway residents were Office and Administration Support (20.6%), Production (11.9%), and Sales and Related Occupations (11.2%). Slightly over 18% of all residents have a Bachelor or Graduate degree. Land Use Roughly 33% of Gateway’s acreage is in Commercial and Employment uses; at 18.4% of acreage, multi-family residential is another significant component. The area’s largest employer, Adventist Medical Center, serves as an anchor at the south end of the district. Other district anchors include the Gateway Shopping Center and Physician’s Hospital at north end of the district, and Mall 205, with Home Depot, Target, and other major retailers, at the south end. With some notable exceptions, much of the development in Gateway is currently one- and two- story wood frame structures. Transportation Gateway is well served by some transportation modes, but is lacking in others. It has direct access to I-205 and I-84, and is served by a network of arterial streets. Conversely, the local street network is inadequate – the area lacks connectivity, and many existing streets have poor sidewalk and paving conditions. Walking and cycling are challenging in this district as the infrastructure to serve these modes is incomplete. MAX light rail service provides direct access to downtown Portland, Gresham, and Portland International Airport (PDX), with stops at the Gateway transit center and 102nd Avenue. Planned MAX light rail transit in the I-205 corridor will link Gateway to the Clackamas Regional Center, Lents Town Center and other destinations. An additional Gateway stop is planned at Market Street in the south end of the district. Parks and Public Facilities Gateway has 5.5 acres of public parks, is home to the East Portland Community Center at the south end of the district. The area is currently deficient in parks and usable open space. Other services and facilities include the east Portland police precinct and nearby Multnomah County Library. Policy and Regulatory Framework City and regional policies support future development of Gateway as a highly urban regional center, with transit-supportive land uses, high-quality architecture and design, and pedestrian- oriented design features. Approximately 33% of Gateway’s 645 acres is designated Central Commercial (CX); roughly 8.4 percent is in Central Residential (RX), and 7.4% is in Central Employment (EX), Portland’s most intensive land use designations, respectively. An additional 17% of land area is in lower- intensity multi-dwelling designations. Recent changes to the development code provide generous building envelopes, through increases in maximum heights and floor area ratios January 2005 8 Gateway Regional Center Report to Metro envelopes in central areas. The plan for Gateway requires that larger new development “step down” to better meet existing neighborhood scale at the edges of the district. Assets, Barriers/Challenges, and Opportunities