Willamette Industrial Urban Renewal Area (URA)

Fast Facts

Created: 2004
Total Acres: 756.3
Expires: To be determined
Boundaries: View the Willamette Industrial URA boundaries.

Overview

By improving the area, the city intends to encourage existing businesses to stay and expand and to attract new employers to the area. Portland currently has few sites attractive for new industrial, high-tech, manufacturing and distribution businesses. Yet much of the land within this URA is currently vacant or underused and suffers from contaminated soils and water. This URA is intended to help solve these problems.

The PDC Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the Willamette Industrial Urban Renewal Plan on October 13, 2004.

Here are some of the benefits of forming the Willamette Industrial URA:

• Encourage existing business to stay and expand within the URA
• Attract new employers and jobs to Portland
• Expand supply of serviced, developable industrial lands
• Enhance employment opportunities for inner city residents who need close access to jobs
• Reduce pressures to expand industrial investment to outlying areas
• Restore properties that may be contaminated, vacant and/or underused and help bring them back to productive use.

What are some public benefits of an Industrial URA?

The Willamette Industrial URA will help to assure the long-term economic viability of one of the city's most critical industrial areas and create a new job growtn center within the City of Portland. While we can't predict the future, we can talk about the kind of development we hope to attract to this urban renewal area. Here are some highlights:

• Portland suffers a severe shortage of ready-to-build industrial land. This URA will open up vacant acres for much-needed industrial development, which in turn will create family wage jobs for Portland residents.
• Many of these properties would not be redeveloped without financial resources to help address environmental cleanup or other challenges.
• One new high-technology plant for this URA would create up to 500 new jobs.
• There are a number of existing businesses in the URA. Urban renewal provides a funding source to assist these businesses to expand or modernize their operations.

What will public financing pay for?

Urban renewal funds will be available for business location and expansion assistance, pollution studies and remedies, and infrastructure (streets, lighting and other improvements).

Where is the Willamette Industrial URA located?

This URA is located on the east side of the Willamette River at Mock's Bottom and Swan Island, as well as in two areas in NW Portland. All of the areas in the URA are currently zoned for industrial uses.

View a map showing the boundaries of the Industrial URA detailing the four areas.

More about Urban Renewal

You can learn more about urban renewal on our website.

Publications

• Willamette Industrial URA Plan, Report and Exhibits
  (Released Oct 13, 2004; revised Oct 27, 2004)
• Willamette Industrial URA public notification mailer
• Aerial maps of area (August 2004)
  • Willamette Industrial URA aerial with boundary outlines
  • oblique aerial and oblique aerial (high-resolution)
  • overhead aerial and overhead aerail (high-resolution)

News Releases, etc.

• View a complete list of PDC News Releases.

Team Leader

• Kevin Johnson, e-mail

Industrial Urban Renewal Area Calendar of Events

for PDC's News & Information E-Mail Lists
Archive of sent E-Mails
Unsubscribe from our E-Mail Lists