Who Needs Amazon HQ2? Portland Moves Ahead On Pearl District Post Office RFP Without It
Prosper Portland, the city's urban renewal agency, called this week for applications from developers to devise a master plan for the 32 acres at the Broadway Bridge in the Pearl District currently occupied by a United States Postal Service superstation that is being phased out.
The agency is calling the area the Broadway Corridor district, which it anticipates would generate more than $1B in investment.
The City of Portland bought the site, long occupied by the USPS, for $88M last year, with the post office now developing a new facility near the airport. More recently, the city offered the site — along with several other Downtown blocks — as part of its pitch to Amazon.
Portland's bid is considered a long shot, but that does not mean the city has given up on Amazon HQ2, according to Prosper Portland spokesman Shawn Uhlman. Even so, the city needs to move forward with a master plan process regardless of who the tenants may be, he told the Oregonian.
The city's request says the Broadway Corridor's developable blocks owned by the city include not just the post office site, but also a block under the Broadway Bridge and two more on Broadway. It is also possible that Greyhound, which operates a bus station at Sixth and Hoyt, will free up more developable space by downsizing the station.
The request posits that a mixed-used, high-density neighborhood would rise on the site. There would be some transit elements, considering that it is near Portland's Amtrak station.
