2019 OLD TOWN / CHINATOWN FIVE-YEAR ACTION PLAN EXTENSION 2019 - 2024 1 Old Town/Chinatown Five-Year Action Plan Extension - 2019-2024 Background In 2014 the City of Portland and Prosper The Plan also received City General Fund Portland adopted the Old Town / commitments of $90,000 over three Chinatown Five-Year Action Plan after years as a matching grant to the Old extensive engagement with the Old Town Community Association to support Town/ Chinatown community. Since neighborhood promotion. Finally, an SDC adoption of the Action Plan, Prosper Waiver pilot program encouraged middle Portland, City agencies, and community income housing, with a cap of 500 units partners have made significant progress and an expiration date of June 30, 2019. and met numerous measures of success within the plan. The Plan resulted in collaborative efforts that furthered development priorities, The Action Plan focused on four key cultural preservation and employment challenges in Old Town / Chinatown: objectives. Exceeding the Action Plan goals, eight buildings were successfully 1. Imbalance of uses and identity; rehabilitated, ten new retail stores opened, nine new businesses opened or 2. Crime and perceptions of safety; expanded, and 950 jobs were added to 3. Stagnant development; the area, with a strong growth in wages. In keeping with the plan goals, four 4. Lack of district connectivity annual neighborhood events have taken (to and within). place, a district brand and identity were established, and more than $600,000 To respond to these challenges, the has gone to 11 community-based Action Plan identified several actions organizations. And, progress was made under the following three objectives: toward the goal of 500 new moderate- income housing units with 250 new units 1. Neighborhood Investment; of housing built or under construction. 2. Business Vitality; Furthermore, Prosper Portland has a 3. District Livability. continued commitment to partnerships with city and county bureaus involved To achieve these goals, Prosper Portland in services and public safety, including dedicated $57 million in combined River the Joint Office on Homeless Services, District and Downtown Waterfront TIF Portland Police, Office of Community and Funds to the Action Plan implementation. Civic Life, and Portland Parks. 2 Old Town/Chinatown Five-Year Action Plan Extension - 2019-2024 Current Context Old Town/Chinatown has evolved in the past five years and has the capacity to continue to do so with an extended Action Plan in place. Significant projects have been completed recently, are under construction or are soon to be underway. Both the strengths and weaknesses of the current area environment are important considerations in addressing/ achieving the ongoing goals of the original Plan. Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Job growth; more than 500 living wage Crime É CC2035 planning framework in place jobs created in past five years Localized retail vacancy É Allocated resources still available ($52.3 Strong cultural attractions in Lan Su million) Garden, Portland Chinatown History Continued lack of community services – Museum, Oregon Nikkei Endowment’s neighborhood-serving retail É Vacant retail presents opportunity to purchase of the Old Town Lofts condo at attract new neighborhood-serving Old Town continues to substantially NW 4th and Flanders businesses lag investment in all other parts of the Hoxton Hotel complements new energy Central City, and much remains to be É RFPs: With the Central City 2035 Plan in the district done. Of 18 under-construction projects now adopted by City Council, and on the Westside as of May 2014, just Requests for Proposals recently released Young entrepreneurs of color are 3 are in the OTCT area. And those for the redevelopment of two key sites investing in Old Town, adding to retail three are on the periphery – close to - 4th & Burnside (the former Right 2 vibrancy stronger areas. The core is suffering in Dream Too site) and Block 25 (4th & comparison. Flanders) - interest in accessing the Community organization is in place to unspent funds is imminent. support goals and activities É One Pacific Square building owner is Low office vacancy rate in the Central investing to attract new tenants City (13.2% according to PBA Clean and Safe 2019 Report) É Lan Su Garden’s impressive expansion plans for a cultural center and hotel are Low retail vacancy rate in Downtown making extraordinary progress (4.4%) supports continued proliferation of less formal venues, including farmers É Initiation of a task force to strongly markets, food carts and pop-up retailers encourage seismic upgrades for smaller buildings that is targeting long term Demographic & income changes property owners, many of whom are of (population increased from 3,982 in 2012 color to 4,520 in 2018; median income increase during the same period from $16,201 to É Collaboration with PBOT on Flanders $24,668) bikeway - connectivity 3 Old Town/Chinatown Five-Year Action Plan Extension - 2019-2024 Threats Recognition of need to solve larger real and perceived safety, and addressing issues led to creation of collaborative community priorities that include ground Cost to redevelop URM buildings effort: Pearl District / Old Town Joint floor commercial/retail spaces, mixed-income Homeless Task Force, composed of housing/market rate housing, consideration of No replacement parking without costly representatives from the residential parking needs, cultural and community uses public investment and business communities, the Mayor’s and culturally relevant design and art work. Office, the Police Bureau, the District Proposed closing of the MAX train stop Attorney’s Office, the Joint Office of The proposed Extension Plan considers the at Second Ave & Skidmore Fountain Homeless Services, Multnomah County, remaining allocation in each tax increment Oregon Harbor of Hope, and social district ($17.7 million in River District and Lessons Learned services agencies, convened in 2018/19 $35.5 million in Downtown Waterfront) as a response to City discussions and prioritizes: i) facilitating development An unexpected element of the on surface parking lots, privately owned completed projects to date was that regarding a homeless shelter location in Old Town and, eventually, the siting of property, Prosper Portland-owned properties in large part private developers were with an emphasis on market rate housing, able to proceed without considerable the Navigation Center in the neighboring Pearl District. The Joint Task Force has unreinforced masonry buildings, supporting public subsidy, leaving much of the Plan cultural organizations, and district parking budget unspent. Some projects didn’t developed specific recommendations related to livability and safety issues, solutions as well as potential reconfiguration need Prosper Portland resources – either of Steel Bridge ramps; ii) support for because the project didn’t include public facility operations and good neighbor agreements, and the need for city, entrepreneurship, neighborhood business parking, or the project was located in and retail, initiatives that support cluster proximity to stronger areas of OTCT. county and police bureau support in the community. industry and traded sector businesses, Future projects present a different partnership with multicultural institutions; scenario: need for public parking, The Action Plan Extension maintains the and iii) sanitation and cleanliness, stronger locations in the heart of the district original focus on neighborhood Investment, coordination among social services and without the advantage of proximity to business vitality, and district livability, while stronger coordination among public, quasi- neighboring, more successful blocks seeking to capitalize on the progress made public and private security efforts. such as edge of the Pearl or Central since 2014, the ongoing challenges and the Business District, e.g. Block 33, Block 25, opportunities still ahead. It prioritizes public 4th & Burnside safety and livability (specifically related to homeless issues and Potential projects also have goals for sanitation), housing, parking cultural amenities and community replacement, and seismic benefits that are likely to require greater upgrades. public subsidy The goals cited in the recently The original Action Plan was not released Requests for Proposals designed to solve the larger societal also align with those established issues visible in Old Town as well in the original Action Plan as many other parts of town – as vital to redevelopment, whether that’s people experiencing including honoring the area’s houselessness, mental health crises or multicultural history, activating substance abuse. the neighborhood, enhancing 4 Old Town/Chinatown Five-Year Action Plan Extension - 2019-2024 Action Plan Overview & Accomplishments 2014 - 2019 What follows is a detailed summary of performance on the Five-Year Action Plan, recommended steps and resources to address outstanding goals of the original Five-Year Action Plan, and updated community objectives. Nearing the end of the original plan, the majority of the Action Plan Measures of Success have been achieved. 1. Attract new neighborhood investment to activate key properties and improve district connectivity Bullseye-Arrow MEASURE OF SUCCESS Bullseye-Arrow MEASURE OF SUCCESS 500 new moderate-income housing units District Parking Strategy HOURGLASS-HALF PROGRESS TO DATE HOURGLASS-HALF PROGRESS TO DATE Remains an outstanding district priority 260