Cascade Station

IKEA breaks ground Tract near PDX can lure big retailers Now  city council will allow big box stores which were outlawed because planners don't like them, probably because customers and shoppers love them. Portland open to 'big boxes' near airport Portland planners get it wrong again at Cascade Station. Planners promised a vibrant mixed-use area of offices, shops and hotels, It didn't happen and has sat idle for years. Even with all tax breaks that come with urban renewal, Direct Financial Assistance Products, Pre development and Acquisition Loans, Fee Waivers, Exemptions and Credits, Tax Exemptions, Bond Allocation, City and PDC Loan Guarantees and Special Initiatives no one wanted to be the first tenant. A second wind for deserted complex? Cascade Station was traded to Bechtel in a 99 year $0.00 cost lease in exchange for building about 1 mile and being paid to build the rest of the 5 1/2 mile max line to the Portland airport. The contract was awarded with out a public bid process. This 4 year old empty development has been stalled by planners and the city not allowing parking and big box stores. Taxpayers gave $14 million dollars in loans to help develop this 4 year old vacant project !

Macadam

City plans to delay vote on towers The  Project has $10 of millions in public subsidies including the tram scam, street cars, tax abatements and low interest loans. Agency poised to sign downtown tower deal Council signals support for tall towers

Round at Beaverton

Garage may rise at Round What happened to the walkable community ?  Where are the shoppers and residents coming and going using transit?  Taxpayers have spent millions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks for this  Smart Growth project. We were told it is a model to get people out of their cars. Now they want the tallest building  to be a parking garages, supporting the  Beaverton Round. The developer of the Round at Beaverton Central is proposing a seven story garage with  360 parking stalls. The 75 foot building would be the tallest structure in Beaverton, said  Linda Adlard, the city's chief of staff. LDP is planning a second garage for the north side of the development. It will have about 400 spaces. The garage will not be used as a park-and-ride lot for the MAX light rail, Kleiderman said. Beaverton is dissatisfied with progress on Round. Again! "The city says the developer is lagging, but the firm insists the city has unrealistic expectations" Maybe they are both right. Smart Growth projects in the Portland Metro area need public subsidies because they are unrealistic if the goal is to attract tenants, customers and make a profit. Smart Growth planners use a different set of rules when they design a project, they are not just risking the developers money but they are also risking the taxpayers in the way of subsidies to the project. The bottom line is usually unrealistic and many times the taxpayers are on the hook to bail them out when they fail. Developer, city wrangle over the Round progress  The Beaverton Round faces bankruptcy again. It has been said that history repeats itself. We have been told by Metro's Planners that the Beaverton Round is the Model for mixed-use development along Portland west side max line. Taxpayers have poured millions of dollars to this project that went bankrupt once before and appears ready to go broke again. So much for Smart growth and sustainability.  Round at Beaverton