PNCA Lands 511 Broadway Building From Feds

The US Department of Education and the General Services Administration have approved the Pacific Northwest College of Art's application to acquire the heretofore federal building at 511 NW Broadway.

This is a big win for PNCA, which will stretch its campus from the Pearl District in to Old Town and, along the way, put a much bigger stamp on Portland's culture. PNCA is quickly becoming the RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) of the West Coast.

The 511 project is also noteworthy in that it could finally provide another opportunity for Brad Cloepfil and Allied Works to participate in a hometown project. Cloepfil has already worked on PNCA's master planning. I mean, why wouldn't they hire him for 511? Besides, 511 could be a similar opportunity to Cloepfil's Wieden + Kennedy building: a historic structure that has a modern, light-filled interior.

This also puts NW Broadway itself on a higher plane in terms of this ugly but important stretch of real estate's future. Some developers have been waiting for a silly one-way couplet on Burnside and Couch to jump-start their projects. (The boarded up Burger King, anyone?) It seems very possible that this street, with the 511 building and the recently opened DeSoto building (home to several galleries), is about to be transformed.

The feds' decision may also be a blow to the Portland Public Market, which also sought 511 as a home. I hope this doesn't bring the market closer to relocating into Union Station itself, which doesn't seem right to me. Where can we put the produce? I liked one commenter's suggestion to a previous blog post of mine: Put the public market in Memorial Coliseum and make it a retail hub (although not for big-box stores).

Meanwhile, fresh on the heels of their Idea Studios that brought James Turrell and Jacques Rancierre here, PNCA has followed a couple of singles with a home run.

Comments

[Grant]

Move Greyhound's operations to Union Station and put the market in the Greyhound building, it's perfect for that type of use.

[Stephen]

I think this is wonderful! It will be great for Portland on many levels. I think the space would have been wonderful for the market as well, however they don't seem to be going anywhere. It seems that they have been spinning their wheels for a long time, picking sites that haven't worked out and doing more studies. Maybe they should call it a day - or let someone else take the helm.

[Dennis H. Coalwell]

On another forum I suggested relocating the Greyhound station to Union Station and placing the market @ the GH Station . The idea went over like a lead ballon. I am glad I am not the only one in the room with a similar suggestion.

[Robert]

Grant and Dennis, what a great suggestion!
I agree, that's a perfect solution.

I found that the Amtrak "thru-way" bus out of Union Station was faster, cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable than the Greyhound anyways. And that big span space in the Greyhound sation would accomodate the market really well. Maybe food vendors on the exterior side and product vendors inside the building?

[Brian]

I agree. Greyhound to Union Station and public market to the old Greyhound site sounds like a terrific idea. And PNCA's taking 511 Broadway would add a lot of customers just a block or so away, not to mention the condo denizens or hotel guests who could be in this area within the next decade or so. Go go, Greyhound?

[ben]

brian, can you follow up with ron paul to see if he's interested? i've heard the same rumor and think greyhound would be perfect for the market - with some updates expected for sure. but the hanging structure would be an excellent framework for flexible space below if they can strip off all the brick in front and open it up. plus it is a great way to connect the neighborhoods together as it is at a nexus.

[Rob]

Congratulations PNCA president Manley and board. Seismic upgrade requirements could make reshaping the interior spaces a challenge worth undertaking. That was the case for the W+K building with excellent, though expensive, results.

The main building is 6 stories, the West wing is two, an exciting possibility for building a modern structure that complements the historic architecture, maintaining the original two story facade at street level.

It will be exciting to see the parking lot become part of the Park Blocks. Perhaps someday there will be a striking, comfortable garden there.

Subject to budget, could a seismically upgraded 511 support an eco roof and prefab penthouses? Prefab penthouses have been successful in London and elsewhere.

Finally, what are the synergies between PNCA at 511 and the homeless support center diagonally opposite across Broadway? Or with P:ear a few blocks away?

[alex]

cool - awesome for PNCA. it'll be great to see what happens with that building. as for the public market - can we PLEASE rally behind its going into the up-and-coming centennial mills project? could that be any more perfect? it could be like a pearl-version of the pike place market in seattle (waterfront location, historic building, but still with a 21st century architectural flair). i am NOT interested in the memorial coliseum becoming any more than it already is: portland's cheap sports/concert venue. plus, wasn't there a cool idea a few years back of expanding the coliseum into a kind of world-class sports facility? imagine what that might look like vs. the current structure with some food inside....

[Robert]

I think Memorial Coliseum would make a great indoor velodrome. I know that OBRA has been pushing for this. www.obra.org

[ben]

pike place is in the middle of downtown seattle. centennial mills is certainly not in the middle of downtown portland. the market needs to be integral to the heart of the city, not a destination in and of itself. the greyhound has mass transit depots next door, a new light rail line, and is in between old town and the pearl. i can't think of a better place, especially considering what will happen when the post office moves and pnca takes over the 511.

speaking of pnca and more on topic, i believe the park blocks will definitely extend north onto the 511 parking lot, as well as into the post office blocks eventually.

one last thought, the loading docks of the 511 on hoyt seem to be a great opportunity to insert something modern and special. i'm sure allied is up to the task...assuming the job is theirs?

[ws]

I've got to take a look at it again, but that 511 building has seemed awfully boring to me, especially for an art school. I much rather they would have got the U.S. Customs House, but, oh well.

The Greyhound station as Public Market building sounds like a great idea.

Robert, keep working that idea about the coliseum for a bike velodrome. I think it has interesting potential too. If I'm not mistaken, one hitch is that the interior may not be quite big enough to allow for a standard length Olympic size velodrome. The possibility was discussed some time back on bikeportland.org, I think. Numbers were cited. It's just a bit short, and would require special approval from some committee or something like that.

[vinculum]

while i share in the excitement over the possibilities of a formidable art program in this particular building, I'm constantly reminded of its importance as a northern gateway to 'downtown'. this northernmost entry is the doorstep for numerous bike and car commuters into downtown, funneling them all into the heart of the city via Broadway. as such, we should heed the site's importance as a beacon for arrival into the 'city'. along with Union Station and the PDC-owned Block R across the street, this site could create a palpable sense of arrival.

[fum]

Why not put the market in the 511 building's parking lot? Or on the lot between broadway and the Greyhound station?

Has Greyhound cut service so much that they are willing to move?