Portland Waterfront Plan Announced by Zidell Family Includes Supermarket

After decades building barges along Portland's south waterfront, the Zidell family is ready to set sail on a new adventure for the 33-acres between the Tilikum Bridge and the OHSU Aerial Tram. The plan includes space for apartments, townhouses, and even a supermarket.

The family, which announced earlier this year that after more than 50 years building barges there the one currently under construction would be the last, was scheduled to make a presentation Thursday to the Portland Design Commission. The meeting was postponed because of the weather.

If the plan were fully developed it would include around 5 million square feet of urban mixed-use including office/research, residential, dining, retail, hotel and green space/recreational uses spread across approximately 15-20 buildings.

The family says that includes:

• 1.5 million square feet of office space;
• 2600 units of residential;
• 250,000 square feet of dining, retail, and a full-service grocery store;
• a 200-room hotel;
• 5500 parking spaces; and
• several public spaces, for now named - Heritage Park, Gantry Plaza, Ross Island Bridge Park, Meadow Park, Greenway and Willamette River Access.

The last barge being built is expected to launch next June. After that the shipyard will be demolished and land prepped for construction possibly by the end of next year with some of the first stage components expected to open in 2020. The first stage construction would then be completed three years after that.

Under a previous agreement, the Zidells were supposed to begin construction by the end of this year but an extension is being negotiated that would give them another year.

The plan lays out new streets and bikeways that connect Zidell Yards with the growing and changing South Waterfront, including the Oregon Health and Science University’s expanding campus and the Central District’s residential neighborhood.

The plan imagines the development of approximately five million square feet of mixed use retail, residential and office space in the coming years, bringing with it new jobs, thousands of residents and daily visitors.

Finally, the Zidells say it will expand Portland’s strong parks and open space legacy through the creation of a sequence of multiple parks, plazas and linear greenways that each offers its own unique public space activities, waterfront access and daily experience.

Photos courtesy Zidell Yards