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Local News Grocery continued from page 1 But PDC spokesman John Jackley says the development deal is simply a smart way to bring jobs, taxes and a grocery store to a neighborhood that has been asking for those things for more than 14 years. As for that $2.4 million figure – it is not what it seems, Jackley says. Jackley said the land is not worth as much without a plan to site expensive apartments there. And he said a sewer line that runs across the site also decreases the land’s value. “You can’t build on top of sewer lines,” he says. “You can’t even put dumpsters on them. That affects the price as well.” The Portland Development Commission paid $2,055,000 for the land. Jackley said discussions about the site have been underway since 2006, with three different developers trying to put together plans at different times. In 2006 Vanport South, a team led by local developers Ray Leary and Jeana Woo- ley, negotiated with 24-Hour Fitness to put a gym on the site. Vanport South had exclu- sive rights to develop the site until 2009. However, the deal never materialized. In 2010, another developer, Promontory LLC, tried to bring a health clinic as its anchor business. And Vanport South took another shot at the site, looking for a way to bring a Trader Joe grocery store. A grocery store was the favored plan at a public meeting for the King neighborhood held at Curious Comedy in 2010, Jackley says. “It did not come out of nowhere. It was the result of the neighborhood and the busi- nesses three years ago identifying Trader Joe’s as the best anchor tenant for that site.” In March, 2011, the PDC put out an RFI asking grocery chains to bring stores to Portland –not just to the Vanport site, but also to Lents town center. That’s when Majestic Realty responded. Founded by Los Angeles real estate devel- oper, Edward Roski, Majestic’s rise is a rags-to riches story. Roski Sr. started Majes- tic as a local real-estate brokerage. His son, Edward Roski Jr., grew it into a diversified real estate business with offices in six states, and a 73-million-square-feet development portfolio. Roski co-owns the LA Kings and the LA Lakers, and was a key player in developing the Staples Center. Eventually Majestic secured the deal with Trader Joes and the PDC voted on the land deal last week. Protesters at the proposed Trader Joe’s site. A study by economist Daniel Hartley for the Federal reserve bank of Cleveland, this month listed Portland and Seattle among the top 10 cities in the nation for gentrification. It did not come out of nowhere. It was the result of the neighborhood and the businesses three years ago identifying Trader Joe’s as the best anchor tenant for that site’ --John Jackley, PDC Jackley says the investment is worth- while. “The annual property taxes plus the local payroll from Trader Joe’s alone—not even including other stores that will be part of that development—that public investment is paid back to the community in three years, and probably less than two,” he says. The protesters point out that since the gro- cery store decision was made a New Sea- sons has opened on North Williams at Fremont St. Safeway is a longtime tenant about half a mile north of the site. And small convenience stores along the street have been working with Multnomah County to make sure they carry healthy food, such as fruit and vegetables. The protesters question the value of giv- ing a substantial discount on land to wealthy developers. “We’re here protesting the PDC and the role that they have played in this communi- ty for the last 50 or 60 years,” Gilliam said. “They control our development, and they provided a $2.5 million subsidy, approxi- mately, to one of the richest families in America, in order for them to further their real estate business. That money could be used for job training, it could be used for housing, it could be used to fund our educa- tion.” Web continued from page 1 original creator of The Skanner News’ website – which he convinced Foster to build even though the publisher says he had no idea what it was for. “We had these computers with screens about as big as a slice of bread,” Foster said. “And it was all codes, not what you have today with plug-ins and browsers – it was primitive. “But we put stories up there, a calendar, and Dick Bogle’s jazz review column,” he says. “It wasn’t very good looking but it was where we started.” The first site was built with CMS code and con- tained just five photo images; the new site is built with Joomla and contains tens of thousands of images. We chose to build our new platform using responsive ing to bet you haven’t seen many websites like this one. As the top stories array across the home page in the form of photos, each photo is a story. Readers can click a button to load more stories, which rearrange themselves to make the top of the page look like a photo album. At the same time, you’ll find regional news briefs on the right-hand side – don’t forget to send your news briefs to us for inclusion there, to info@theskanner.com. The homepage also includes real-time updat- ing Associated Press widgets for Northwest News, African American News, Entertain- —Publisher Bernie Foster ment, US and World News. Our books, movie reviews and celebrity interviews by Kam Williams are all there as what the home page looks like to suit yourself; we are will- well. design, which means that it changes its shape to fit any elec- tronic web browsing device — from phones to tablets, lap- tops and PCs. Responsive design also means that the reader can change ‘The Skanner News built one of the first news websites in our region, and we remain dedicated to using technology to help our readers make their lives better’ Emergency continued from page 1 together? —Build a kit with one week or more of food, water and other essential supplies. Also keep kits at work and in your vehicle. —Stay informed of the hazards in Port- land, and educate your friends and neigh- bors. —Also know how to get to the closest Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node or BEECN in your neighborhood – www.Publi- cAlerts.org/earthquake. Within 24 hours of a major quake, each BEECN will be a place to get information and ask for emergency assistance. —Get trained as a member of Portland’s Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET) program and learn how to provide disaster assistance to your friends and neighbors by signing up online at www.portlandonline.com, follow the links to the Portland Bureau of Emergency Man- agement – the next trainings are in the spring of 2014. —Schedule a basic emergency prepared- ness class through the American Red Cross. These trainings happen regularly, or can be offered directly to schools, faith-based Dire Warning The Oregon Resilience Plan is dire in its prediction of statewide damage under cur- rent conditions. Its key finding: “Oregon is far from resilient to the impacts of a great Cascadia What do you do in an earthquake? Immediately drop, cover and hold on. And once the shaking stops, immediately exit the building if you’re indoors. organizations, business and other communi- ty groups. —Visit www.PublicAlerts.org and sign up to be notified by landline phone, cell phone or email if an emergency happens in your area and you need to take immediate safety action. earthquake and tsunami today. “Available studies estimate fatalities rang- ing from 1,250 to more than 10,000 due to the combined effects of earthquake and tsunami, tens of thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged so extensively that they will require months to years of repair, tens of thousands of displaced households, more than $30 billion in direct and indirect economic losses (close to one fifth of Oregon’s gross state product), and more than one million dump truck loads of debris,” the report says. “Resilience gaps of this magnitude reveal a harsh truth: a policy of business as usual implies a post-earthquake future that could consist of decades of econom- ic and population decline –in effect, a ‘lost generation’ that will devastate our state and ripple beyond Oregon to affect the regional and national economy.” More information about preparedness and signing up for the NET trainings is available from the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management at www.port- landoregon.gov/pbem. Read the Oregon Resiliency Plan at www.oregon.gov/OEM and follow the left- hand links to Oregon Resilience Task Force. November 20, 2013 The Portland Skanner Page 3
