The Lloyd Center in Northeast Portland is scheduled to close on Aug. 8, prior to being demolished for redevelopment.
Some area residents and fans of the center’s iconic ice rink tried to stop the demolition by appealing the city’s approval of the master redevelopment plan to the City Council. But the council tentative rejected the appeal by a 10-0 vote on Wednesday, July 8.
Afterwards, District 2 Council Dan Ryan, who voted against the appeal, explained his reasons in a July 10 email newsletter to constituents.
“The fact is that the Lloyd Center is a privately owned property. Its developer requested that Portland’s Design Commission review the project’s Central City Master Plan — a completely optional step that signaled they were open to input from the City’s experts to ensure beneficial urban design outcomes at that site.
“The Design Commission dug into it, and made an informed recommendation approving the proposal. I don’t want to change that. We have a process, we rely on experts to make the decisions they’re uniquely suited to weigh in on, and we can’t second-guess every move they make.
“My vote this week recognized this process and the work completed by the owners, developers, architects, urban designers, City staff, and the Design Commission,” said Ryan, whose district represents North and parts of Northeast Portland.
The council is scheduled to take a final vote on the appeal on July 29.
The Lloyd Center was groundbreaking when it first opened in 1960. With around 100 stores in addition to offices in an open-air configuration, it was the largest shopping center in the Pacific Northwest. But competition from newer suburban shopping centers and the Covid-19 pandemic have taken a toll.
Today, the Lloyd Center has no anchor tenants. The former Nordstrom’s space is being redeveloped as a concert hall by the internation AEG Presents and local Monqui Presents promotion companies. Although it now houses a number of small businesses along with the ice rink, the Urban Renaissance Group, which now owns the Lloyd Center, says it is not financially viable — and will close on Aug. 8 even if the council reverses course and approves the appeal on July 29.
The master plan calls for the 29-acre site to be redeveloped as a dense neighborhood with housing, offices. and green space. Company officials were “pleased the city council chose to embrace this well considered plan to transform an outdated, empty mall into a vibrant neighborhood of housing, parks, businesses and public spaces,” Urban Renaissance Group’s Managing Director Tom Kilbane said in a statement issued after the vote.
In his newsletter, Ryan said he hopes the redevelopment will help revitalize the area.
“I recognize that change is difficult when positive memories run deep. I have hope that a more accessible, walkable neighborhood will emerge and revive the area as an economic and entertainment hub,” Ryan said.
District 2 Councilors Elana Pirtle-Guiney and Sameer Kanal also voted against the appeal.
During the July 8 hearing, Pirtle-Guiney said that although the master plan met most criteria, she asked city staff to more explicitly define the developers’ obligations around “community building” space in a way that might get the appellants more of what they want. Staff will likely present that condition on July 29.
Kanal said he thought the appellants will ultimately be disappointed, however.
“I don’t think that we can apply conditions that require an ice rink,” Kanal said at the hearing.