(Photo: Jonathan Maus)
Remember back in February when an Oregonian article sparked speculation that the former McCall’s Restaurant site (adjacent to Salmon Street Fountain) could become some sort of bike hub facility?
Then, in May, entrepreneur and bike advocate Ken Nichols stepped into the picture and said he thinks the building would be perfect for his Bike Republic concept.
Now (as in tonight), the Parks Bureau is hosting an open house event to present ideas for the building and receive public comment on the project.
They enlisted the help of University of Oregon design students to figure out how best to restore the historic site. The open house is tonight from 7-9. Here’s the verbage from the official invite:
“The goal of this open house is to allow the public to review the students’ ideas for uses and designs for the building, and provide feedback to PP&R on future viable uses and designs for the site.
…Portland Parks & Rec will use the findings of the public meetings to craft a solicitation for proposals for the future optimal use of the site. The anticipated date for the release of that solicitation is October 2007.”
Also, according to an article in today’s Portland Tribune, Nichols has been in touch with some of the U of O students. From the article:
“Our idea is to create an activity center,” Nichols said.
He would like to turn the building into a club where downtown bicycle commuters could shower, have a locker, safely park their bicycles and even grab a bite to eat.”
In addition to the open house event, Parks & Rec has an online comment form to solicit your input for the future of the site (notice the bike-specific options listed).
If you think this building and location would be a good spot for some type of bicycle-oriented services, be sure to fill out the comment form and/or attend the meeting tonight.