It’s official: Waterfront property will become ‘Bike Republic’

[Editor’s Note: Please read my follow-up to this story. It seems I jumped the gun a little bit and the deal isn’t quite “official” yet. Sorry for any confusion.]

Ken Nichols, seen here at Bike
to Work Day in 2007, is the man
behind Bike Republic.
(Photos © J. Maus)

According to The Oregonian, the Portland Parks Bureau announced today that the building in Waterfront Park (just north of the Hawthorne Bridge) that used house McCall’s Restaurant will be turned into Bike Republic.

Bike Republic is a concept created by Portlander Ken Nichols (in photo at right) and the plan is to turn the building into a full-service bike commuter facility.

When we last checked in with Nichols back in April, his plan was to offer bike rentals, repair, and commuter amenities (like a place to change and shower), a cafe (to be operated by popular burrito joint Laughing Planet), and a small bike retail shop.

The northeast corner of the existing building. The location of the building is south and adjacent to the Salmon Street Fountain.

Nichols has said in addition to restoring the building’s architectural heritage, he plans to install a 10 kilowatt solar photovalic system to the patio (providing 40% of the building’s power) and manage 100% of the stormwater runoff.

Stay tuned for more details on Nichols’ plans.

And… congratulations Ken! We all hope Bike Republic will become a great asset to the community.

—-

— For more on this property from an architectural point of view, see this post on Portland Architecture.