Oregon Convention Center:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. / Alberta

Vanport Square Development Project

Project Description

The Vanport Square Redevelopment Project is located on two blocks on the west side of NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. between NE Alberta and NE Emerson Streets. The project has its origins in the King Neighborhood Commercial Strategy. The strategy focused on redevelopment of the publicly owned property on the two blocks.

The project plan calls for a three phase development. The first phase, which broke ground on October 13, 2006, will be a 40,000 sf retail and office center featuring commercial condominiums. The second phase of the project envisions owner occupied, single-family homes on NE Garfield Street between NE Sumner and NE Emerson streets. The third phase is planned to be a commercial development on the PDC owned land between NE Alberta and NE Sumner. The second and third phases are still in the planning and pre-development stages with construction beginning most likely in mid 2007.

Phase I and Phase II of the Vanport Square Redevelopment Project

The first phase of the project involves the renovation of the former Marco Manufacturing building and the construction of a new retail/office building on the corner of NE Emerson and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. When completed in the fall of 2007, approximately 12 to 15 local, owner occupied, small businesses will own space at Vanport Square. The participants in the project will be a diverse mix of restaurants, retailers as well as professional and financial service businesses. The project is designed to meet or exceed the US Green Buildings Council’s Silver level for leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED).

Marco Manufacturing Building – Looking Northwest on MLK


Today	Proposed Project Rendering

Site of Marco Building Plaza – Looking Southwest on MLK


Today	Proposed Project Rendering

The Vanport Square developers are Vanport Partners LLC comprised of Ray Leary and Jeana Woolley. The commercial broker for the project is Michele Reeves, Principal Broker for Windermere/Cronin & Caplan Realty Group, Inc. For inquiries on space availability, please contact Ms. Reeves at (503) 284-7755 or by email at mreeves@windermere.com. For general information about the project, please contact Bernie Kerosky, the PDC project manager for Vanport Square at (503) 823-3459 or by email at KeroskyB@pdc.us.

Public Outreach and Participation

A project Advisory Committee (PAC) comprised of representatives from the surrounding neighborhoods currently meet quarterly to discuss the project and advise the development team and PDC staff on its direction. The meetings are usually held on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM at the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME) located at 4134 N. Vancouver Ave.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 15th 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM

Previous Meeting Notes and Materials

November 15, 2006: Agenda, Meeting Notes
June 21, 2006: Agenda, Meeting Notes
April 4, 2006: Agenda, Meeting Notes
March 7, 2006: Agenda, Meeting Notes

Vanport Square Presentation to the PDC Board

If you would like to be notified by email of future Vanport public meetings and events, please email the Vanport PDC Public Participation coordinator, Joleen Jensen-Classen.