The Potential of Ankeny Square

Now that the design competition for Fire Station 1 has come and gone, it may be time to turn our attention toward the area the Fire Bureau will vacate. The old FS1 site is a key piece of land that lies on the riverfront and is part of the larger Ankeny Square, which in turn will probably one day be home to the Portland Public Market as well as whatever combination of housing, retail and offices rise from the old fire station site along Naito Parkway.

I spoke recently with Ron Paul at the Bureau of Planning, who has long been involved with efforts to make the public market a reality. I also was in contact with Amy Miller Dowell of the Portland Development Commission. Based on those conversations, it seems like a strong possibility that developing the market and the old FS1 will happen as part of a coordinated timeline. What’s more, a design competition is a very real possibility for at least a portion of the space.

It’s unclear so far, however, whether such a competition would be for the Skidmore Fountain Building, which will probably be home to the public market, or whether it would be for a redeveloped former FS1. The Skidmore site is more likely, simply because the old FS1 site is likely going to be housing, and that's trickier to do a design competition for. If there were a design competition for the FS1 site, it would in all likelihood be a competition for the development rights, not a competition between designs or designers. And as Burnside Bridgehead showed, choosing the best qualified developer can be very different from choosing the best design or designer.

But because neither the market or the old FS1 redevelopment project is going to happen tomorrow, there is still ample opportunity for those interested in good design to influence the decision makers working on Ankeny Square. Amy Miller told me that next week (or soon after) PDC will send out an RFP for the site, seeking to form a "clear urban design vision and development goals" by bringing architects, urban planners and other professionals into the fray. There's still a good six months of study to be done before anything tangible starts to happen, but that means there is still ample opportunity for us to help PDC and Planning shape this project well.

Just as Burnside Bridgehead, South Waterfront and other development areas in town have occupied our collective thoughts, Ankeny Square is a place with tremendous potential. This could and should become a high-density area brimming with activity, a place where people live, work and play. Stay tuned.

Comments

[The One True b!X]

Personally, I suspect that, if handled correctly, the redevelopment of that Ankeny area could be one of the biggest sparkers of positive public interest in development and design since I moved here 8 years ago.

[Mike Thelin]

We need a public market! And when we do have one, who wouldn't want to live near it? Pike Market and Granville Island are surrounded by new development.

[cab]

Yes, but Vancouver didn't build their market in the east end. The old town area has way to many homeless shelters concentrated around ankeny square. Nothing against shelters, but my god its bad when aggressive pan handlers and people who should be in shelters out number shoppers or residents. Unless that problem is delt with I don't see the residents coming and without residents I don't see that market succeeding.

[The One True b!X]

The market and the redevelopment of that area is one of the things that will change that dynamic.

[catfish]

Agony Park is a tough area ..people sleeping in doorways ..drug dealers and soup kitchens under the Burnside Bridge ...Portland Saturday Market ( a true local handmade market ) has to shovel the homeless out of its way every weekend before they set up ...and whats this nostalgia for the Pike Market which has devolved to imports

[catfish]

Agony Park is a tough area ..people sleeping in doorways ..drug dealers and soup kitchens under the Burnside Bridge ...Portland Saturday Market ( a true local handmade market ) has to shovel the homeless out of its way every weekend before they set up ...and whats this nostalgia for the Pike Market which has devolved to imports

[MarkDaMan]

I agree with B!x, the Pearl wasn't always the Pearl, and without a big imagination, SoWa would never come to be. With new money invested into the area, and new projects changing the dynamic, we might see this area become a new downtown hub. It's long overdue for downtown to finally connect to waterfront park.

[Philippe]

ever walked the esplanade and noticed just how
smale scale downtown looks. . ? a dynamic, textured profile an ankeny square might bring
could be a catalyst for that whole border that is naito. . .