After almost two years of community and political pushback, the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative has placed the former Dollar Tree store at 7740 N. Lombard St. in St. Johns on the market for sale. The property now has a “for sale” sign and is listed online at LoopNet.com. The listing shows the site can be split into four separate parcels to be sold separately or together.
The property, near St. Johns’ main street, was purchased by OBRC for $1.8 million in late December, 2023, with the intention of converting it to a BottleDrop Redemption Center to replace the one at Delta Park.
The OBRC was forced to relocate because the owner of the Delta Park Shopping Center, TMT Development, disagreed with them about the need for security, and had issues with loitering and possible illegal activity.
After OBRC purchased the St. Johns site, the City of Portland Development Services bureau took no action to approve the land use compatibility permit effectively putting development on hold.
The North Peninsula Review received this statement from Hillary Barbour, Director of Community and Stakeholder Engagement, with OBRC:
“After initially planning to use the former Dollar Tree property in St. Johns as the replacement location for the Delta Park Redemption Center, OBRC has listed the property for sale. OBRC is committed to providing North Portland customers with convenient container redemption options and is exploring alternative solutions to meet that need.”