“Parks Department planners see the thousands of cyclists commuting over the Hawthorne Bridge daily and imagine that a shower, storage and repair facility might be a good use.”
-from Oregonian article
Bikestation board member and City of Vancouver Transportation Planner Todd Boulanger noticed an Oregonian article last month that he thinks offers the perfect opportunity to bring a bicycle-related tenant to a centrally-located, unused building on the waterfront.
And the Portland Parks and Recreation Department agrees with him.
The building in question is an architectural relic initially built in 1949 as the old Portland Oregon Visitor’s Center and most recently known as McCall’s Restaurant. The building sits just north of the Hawthorne Bridge and directly adjacent to the Salmon Street Fountain (map below).
According to Oregonian reporter Randy Gragg, the city has long tried to establish a successful restaurant in the location, but it has never panned out.
Now, with an impending construction project that will reroute some of the bridge ramps, a restaurant is out of the question and according to Gragg’s article, Parks Department planners say that opens up the possibilty of “other kinds of tenants”.
Here’s the key quote from the article:
“[Parks Department planners]…see the thousands of cyclists commuting over the Hawthorne Bridge daily and imagine that a shower, storage and repair facility might be a good use. A recent University of Oregon architecture studio studied new uses for the building, and several students also redesigned it for a bicycle facility.”
Todd likes the idea of a Bikestation facility and he has forwarded the article to the BTA, who are looking for a new place after being forced to move from their current location on SW 5th Ave. and I-405.
No details are confirmed yet. At this point, there are simply some discussions going on.
It would be very cool if some sort of bicycle-related use happened at that location. I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything.