Page 4
Focus
July 14,1999
(Elie JpurUauh (lìbaeruvv
O l d T o w n / C h i n a T o w n N e ig h b o r h o o d
liA Neighborhood Renaissance in the Making
along th e 5 lh an d 6,h A venue bus
mall. T h e F ifth A venue Place A p art
m en ts lo cated at th e c o rn e r of NW
5,h an d E v erett w ere com p leted e ar
lier th is year an d ad d e d 70 units of
ld T ow n/C hinatow n is a
affo rd ab le h o u sin g to the n eig h b o r
com m u n ity w ith charac
ter, heart and a unique ur hood. T h is m o n th th e Fifth A venue
o u rt a A p a rtm e n ts will open at the
ban flavor. T he neighborhood C
hosts
c o rn e r o f NW 5lh an d
large percentage of Portland’s intact
Davis. T h ese a p a rt
historic buildings and is claimed as a
m en ts will offer
starting place by many of the city’s
96 u n its of
ethnic communitiesincludingChinese,
By Karen Moore
President of Old Town/Chinatown
Neighborhood Association
O
Japanese and Greek. By day, the com
munity is an active business and retail
area. For decades, it has been a place for
Portland night life and its popularity in
this regard continues to grow. The area
is bounded by the Broadway Bridge to
the north, Burnside on the south, NW
B roadw ay on th e w est an d th e
Willamette River to the east. Notable
landm arks such as U nion Station’s
Clock Tower and the historic Made in
Oregon sign (formerly White Stag) flank
its edges, and, without a doubt, the Old
Town/Chinatown Neighborhood is one
of the oldest and most diverse neigh
borhoods in the city of Portland.
A t th e m om en t, th e O ld T o w n /
C h in ato w n N eig h b o rh o o d is expe
rien cin g a renaissance. Six develop
m ent projects are c u rren tly u n d e r
w ay in the area in clu d in g four h ous
ing p rojects, a m ajo r to u rist a ttra c
tion and a h e ad q u arters’ office b u ild
ing. T h e U nion S tatio n H ousing
P roject located betw een NW N aito
P arkw ay and U nion S tatio n is in its
second phase o f d ev elo p m en t and
will ultim ately in clu d e n early 700
h o u sin g u nits for m ixed incom e lev
els an d will offer b o th ren tal and
condom inium units. T he th ree other
h o u sin g projects are situ ated closer
to the h e a rt of th e n eig h b o rh o o d
m ix e d -
incom e ho u s
ing. In A u g u st, th e
M acdonald C en ter A ssisted Liv
ing Facility will open its d o o rs at
th e c o rn e r o f N W S ix th an d C ouch
S treet. In c lu d e d in th is facility will
be 54 u n its of low -incom e assisted
living u n its as well as th e offices for
the M acd o n ald C e n te r - a co m m u
nity o u treach p ro g ram associated
w ith th e D ow ntow n C h ap el as well
as th e A ssisted L iving A d m in istra
tio n offices. T h e assisted living units
will be open to all ap p lican ts, b u t
a re
ta r g e t e d
to w a r d s
th e
n e ig h b o rh o o d ’s low -incom e p o p u
latio n to allow these in d iv id u als to
age in place - w ithin th e n eig h b o r
h o o d th ey call hom e.
T h e C h in ese C lassical G a rd e n is
sch ed u led to o pen in th e Fall o f
The Union Station Housing is part of a mixed-income, 700 unit
dwelling project coordinated by the Portland Development
Commission. A pedestrian walkway will be built over the
south side of the Union Station tracks for the apartment
residents so that they can easily get to bus malls and connect
with the rest of the neighborhood.
2 0 0 0 b e tw e e n N W S eco n d a n d
T h ird A venue an d E verett and
F la n d e rs S treets. T h is
will be th e larg est
Suzhou-style
g a rd e n
vibrant 24-hour, m ixed-use, urban
neighborhood, rooted in a rich his
torical past.” A lthough there is plenty
o f “new ” in flu x in “O ld ” T o w n /
C hinatow n, the neighborhood is com
m itted to retain in g its historic flavor
and unique
c h a r a c te r .
A prim ary
goal of
C h in a to w n n e ig h b o r h o o d . T h e
b u ild in g is lo cated on NW
S econd
be
tw e e n
The Classical Chi
nese Garden will be
the largest authentic
Suzhou-style classical
Chinese Garden in the
United States. Completion
of this $5 million project will
be in the summer of 2000.
There are plans for a hotel to
be built nearby the site.
o u t -
side of C h in a and
b eco m e a m ajo r to u rist a ttra c
tio n for th e city of P o rtlan d . T h e
g ard en will instill fresh vitality in to
C h in a to w n ’s c u ltu ral district.
F inally, th e P o rt of P o rtlan d will
o p en its new h e a d q u a rte rs’ facility
in A ugust b rin g in g 300 ad d itio n al
e m p lo y e e s to th e O ld T o w n /
N W
E v e re tt
and
F landers.
T h e future vision for the neigh
borhood is best sum m ed up by the
N eighborhood P lan’s project goal “T o
develop O ld T ow n/C hinatow n into a
th e n e ig h b o rh o o d ’s D evelopm ent
Plan - scheduled to go before C o u n
cil in the Fall - is to preserve the
existing m ix of uses w ithin the area as
well as the historic and cultural con-
The Chinese Gate (located on 4th & Burnside) is the frontpiece for Chinatown. There are plans
to have a monument anchored on the other side of 4,h Street to create a real feeling of entry
and exit. Old Town/Chinatown is changing for the better by maintaining its rich cultural
diversity, preserving its historic character, keeping the existing social services and encour
aging new businesses to the area.