PSU Magazine Spring 1994

It's the neigh orly thing to do ou can drive by Portland tate Univer ity and not even know it's there. Portlan<ler have echoed this ame refrain for decades when asked to <le cribe the downtown campu and it · environs. A lively ethnic neighborhood 40 years ago, the di trict is now an area of scattered vacant lots, decay ing homes, a few apa rtment bui ldings, and spa rse commercial act ivity. The Univer ity it elf, developed piecemeal over the year , lack · a strong identity amid Portland's central core. Quite simpl y, it's one of downtown Portland' · most under-utilized areas. Planners, civic leader and citizens hope to change all that with the Univer ity District Concept, unveiled publicly April l 2. Two yea r in the making, the com– munity-ba ed document is a flexible blueprint-a plan for reviving the 52-square-block area's retail, hou ing, transportation and cu ltura l act ivitie . At the same time, the plan represents PSU' long- held need to establish a clearer identity and make itself a truly urban university. Over the next few months and years, residents and developers wi ll work together to hape a plan that tries to meet everyone's needs. The plan hould help straighten out zoning squabble , clarify the University' own 12 PSU Magazine growth need , and provide potential developer with the direction needed to recreate a vibrant neighborhood. A working document will emerge after the pub lic ha had time to dige ·t and comment on the plan. City appro– val cou ld come within th next year. "This plan could create a neighbor– hood where we don't have one today," says businessman David Yudkin, co-owner of Hot Lips Pizza on outh– west Sixth Avenue near campu-. Yudkin ha no problem li ting examp les of the district' retail needs: a hardware store, pharmacy, second-hand bookstore, ca rd shop , and quality market o r groce ry store. Private developer Vern Rifer, presi– dent of the Downtown ommunity As ociation, ca lls the area southeast of PSU between Broadway and Fourth Avenue a "no-man's land ." "For year · landowners have never been quite ure whether the campus is going to swallow the area up. That' critica l to whether developers are going to invest in the area," says Rifer. The University plan will clarify once and for all how P U will mesh with its neighbors-a vision that should encou rage new growth in the area. Rifer says P U officials have as ured him that the University prefers private retail and housing development near campus and has no plans to buy large blocks of property in the area. The A blueprint for the University District will shape a new identity for PSU and the neighborhood. By Brian White plan, PSU officials say, hould offer peace of mind for potential developers. "It" often true of major universities that they rake the attitude that 'We're the 500-pound gor illa and we' re going to do this or that.' But this is a co llabor– ation and reflect' PSU's commitment to work with the larger community," ·ays Lind ay Desrochers, vice president of Finance and Administration at PSU. Portland Mayor Vera Kat: has cited the University District concept in the city's economic development plan a a way to attract new bu ine · to the area. The South Park Blocks in 1878 fooking north·