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City to demolish Columbia Pool after years of neglect
By Mark Kirchmeier Ten years after the Portland Parks and Recreation Bureau effectively stopped maintaining Columbia Pool, and four years after Parks Commissioner Carmen Rubio ordered it closed, the Parks Bureau is going to demolish the building. “Public officials have an opportunity to learn from this fiasco and not cause further unnecessary harm to community…
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Mayor Wilson sets deadline to raise Columbia Pool funds
By Mark Kirchmeier While a recent independent architectural report seriously undercut Portland Parks & Recreation Bureau claims that restoring Columbia Park Pool is cost prohibitive, Mayor Keith Wilson wants to close the long and controversial pool debate, unless advocates can quickly find private funding. A source close to City Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney’s office diplomatically said,…
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New report shows less cost for controversial Columbia Pool restoration
By Mark Kirchmeier An independent study contradicts the city’s estimates for restoration of the Columbia Park Pool, saying the pool could be converted to summer use for less money than the Parks Bureau says it would take. In response, the city claims the restoration would cost roughly twice what the independent study by Convergence Achitecture…
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Pirtle-Guiney proposes $5 million for Columbia Pool restoration
District 2 Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney has resurrected the Columbia Park Pool campaign declaring she will seek to amend Mayor Keith Wilson’s proposed budget by directing $5 million toward restoring the now-closed pool. She proposes drawing from city General Fund contingency and Parks Bureau contingency funds. “The entire time I’ve been in office, I’ve heard over and…
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City begins steps to save Columbia Park Pool
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) has begun work to stabilize the closed Columbia Park Pool structure as a first step toward possible full restoration of the pool. PP&R contractors began work in late October to dry the interior of the building and stop water from intruding into the roof this winter. “The North Portland community celebrates…
