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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2017)
September 27, 2017 The Skanner Page 3 News cont’d from pg 1 “ Adams’ vision for the project includes a public memorial to the Great Migration, the historical term for the movement of African Americans from rural, Southern commu- nities to urban commu- nities in the North and on the West coast. That includes Portland, whose Black population grew tenfold during World War II. This is the first time that Af- rican Americans have been able to stop, turn around and say, ‘We’re not going anywhere. This is our home. It belongs to us cades,” Alexander said. The project is ambi- tious from a design per- spective, and details on the “how” are murky. But organizers also want its execution to be guided by a different set of prin- ciples than have guided Portland’s urban devel- opment in the past. “It’s the ability to talk and to think without be- ing constrained by, ‘How do we make the most money?’” Alexander said. ‘This is our home’ “Time doesn’t stop. We’ll continue to see change. We can either direct the change or wit- ness it,” Alexander said. “It goes without saying there have been a num- ber of times in the past, particularly in Northeast Portland, when the com- munity has seen change foisted upon it, and has not felt very positively engaged, respected or treated.” The construction of the Veterans’ Memorial Col- iseum and Moda Center (originally known as the Rose Quarter) is a case in point. The arena opened in 1960 and was part of a series of “urban renew- al” projects for which hundreds of homes, many occupied by Black families, were razed. Or as Adams puts it, “We destroyed the homes of Black veterans to put up a monument to White veterans.” PPS Adams’ family came to Portland shortly before World War II, and she’s engaged with the project out of a sense of obliga- tion to that history. “Our story is a story of itinerancy. We were brought on boats, and the motion of the sea cast us upon the eastern shore of the United States. We moved northward, and east and westward volun- tarily, on foot, by car, es- caping violence. Then we arrive in the city (of Port- land) and a flood displac- es us from our original neighborhood here. Ur- ban development pushes us north and east,” she said. “This is the first time that African Amer- icans have been able to stop, turn around and say, ‘We’re not going any- where. This is our home. It belongs to us.’” What’s next? One of the distinctions between this vision and a more traditional de- velopment master plan is that stakeholders en- vision a different gov- ernance structure. No official organization has been formed, but stake- holders are mulling the creation of a nonprofit with guiding principles that can carry develop- ment into the future. “We want the city to come to the table as a landowner, not as a regu- latory authority,” Adams said. She said Hales de- liberately convened the Seattle Rally to Save the ACA About 50 people attended the “Kill the Bill (Again): Seattle Rally to Save the ACA” Sept. 25 across from the University of Washington Medical Center. On Tuesday, Senate Republican leaders announced they would not take their latest “repeal and replace” bill to the floor for lack of support. IMAGE COURTESY OF HENNEBERY EDDY ARCHITECTS, INC. sought to incorporate arts in the design as well as taking advantage of access to the river. It in- cludes a new street grid that would build over the Interstate-5. (Adams and Alexander said they are “agnostic” on the pro- posed plan to widen the freeway.) “This is a vision that will hopefully guide the development over de- PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED Albina group outside of the “sausage- maker” of what was then called the Portland D evelopment Commission, which had been accused of gen- erating inequi- ty in the past. Vulcan leases the property under the Rose Drawings from Hennebery Eddy Architects, Inc. show a vision for Northeast Quarter, but Portland that is intentionally multiracial and inclusive of people of all income owns the river levels. front land, and Portland Development which takes up a lot of will soon renegotiate its Commission (now Pros- waterfront property in lease with the city. That per Portland) called the Northeast Portland. means next steps are Rose Quarter District But, McCulloch said, “murky,” Adams said. But Plan. The advisory group one big change can set off murky, she added, is OK. included personnel a chain reaction. The Albina Vision from Nike and the Trail John Russell, who de- group is not the only Blazers, and included a veloped PacWest Center group to cast an eye to- plan to put a large run- and 200 Market and has wards developing the ning track inside the served on numerous de- Rose Quarter in recent Coliseum. That plan lan- sign commissions and years. Last fall, The Or- guished, he said, because chaired the political egonian reported that a Nike never pulled the committee of the Oregon group of developers had trigger. Business Association, “quietly pitched” a plan “There’s been plan af- has spoken with Adams to redevelop Memorial ter plan after plan for and Alexander about the Coliseum, which is on this,” McCulloch said. Albina vision and is also the National Historic “The problem is, archi- skeptical, given the com- Registry and is in need tects can dream up all plexity of what the stake- of repairs. Mayor Ted kinds of cool stuff and holder group has in mind. Wheeler has sold the I-5 they can draw all kinds But he noted that Paul redevelopment plan as of cool stuff. That’s not Allen’s involvement in an economic boon for a problem. Getting the the project is an encour- communities of color. political and econom- aging indicator. Allen In 2012 Portland archi- ic forces to align, that’s was instrumental in the tect and urban design- the problem.” One ma- redevelopment of South er Michael McCulloch jor problem he foresees Lake Union in Seattle, an created a plan for the is moving the railroad, area Russell describes as a “jewel” which was pre- viously downtrodden. “Allen has some ex- perience that gives me some optimism that his development company, Vulcan, is willing and has the knowledge to do some dramatic things,” Russell said. Alexander and Adams acknowledge the current version of their plan is light on specifics. But they’re also in it for the long haul – for the Port- land of a few generations from now. “We’re impressing our cultural values on our economy. We’re saying that our commonwealth here is really, really im- portant,” Adams said. We don’t want to just drive individual wealth through a development plan where people will name buildings after their English children’s names. We’re not try- ing to drive individual wealth, although there will be tons of contract- ing opportunities and tons of wealth-building in this, what we’re re- ally saying is we want to build community up here. We want to be in- tentional about that.” Melanie Sevcenko con- tributed reporting to this story. cont’d from pg 1 Portland Public Schools eventually agreed to open Tubman at the Eliot Childhood Education Center. For more than 20 years, the middle school stood as a precedent for commu- nity pushback against institutional rac- ism within the school district. In 2007, it was converted into the Har- riet Tubman Young Women’s Leader- ship Academy, as part of restructuring Jefferson High School. Five years later, the academy dissolved too. At the time of its closure, the Orego- nian reported that “Tubman was 58 percent minority with 66 percent of its students on free or reduced-price “ The district is mak- ing social equity a mathematical equa- tion and it’s not lunches.” Now, Tubman might get a second chance. In line with the city’s new pol- icy of bringing Black families back to the neighborhoods from which they were ousted, PPS is proposing to re- open Tubman Middle School. Two new middle schools The plan is part of a PPS board pro- posal which suggests that the district open two middle schools — Harriet Tubman and Roseway Heights — in the hopes of evening out the advantages some students have over others, de- pending on where they attend. “The K-8 model implemented in the middle of the last decade resulted in under enrollment at the middle grade level, and the K-8 schools struggled to offer a rich curriculum of electives,” said PPS in an emailed statement to The Skanner. In addition to establishing the middle schools, the proposal includes plans to convert several existing K-8 schools into K-5 schools; among them, Boise-El- iot/Humboldt, Irvington, Lee, MLK Jr., and Vestal. See PPS on page 10
