Tragedy. But, maybe a silver lining. Feckless politicians have let this obsolete eyesore languish for over 2 decades. Perhaps with this deck clearing, resolute citizens can find a way to develop this moribund site into something that contributes to economic growth rather than homeless drug addict dereliction. We live in hope.
The city has actively been trying to develop the site for decades. The property had been sold to developers a few times. There was a major plan announced last year that was active until this past July when the current developer abandoned his plans over frustrations with dealing with the city permit process. This is as close as we have ever come to something actually happening.
There are two most probable reasons. Homeless squatters. Or the elephant in the room: the developer who abandoned his redevelopment project earlier last month over frustration with dealing with the city. You know fire investigators are going down both roads. Outside of NW though, I am really surprised about how few people know about Centennial Mills or the story behind 25 years of failed development plans. "They burned it down to build condos" or "Of course it's vacant, it's Portland" implying it's a victim of the current vacant office building syndrome. Whatever redevelopment plan DOES come out of it, restoration of the main building is out of equation once and for all.
I happened to be near the park shortly after it started, and it was surprisingly interesting to watch. What caught my attention even more was the pigeons trying to get back into their roosts once the fire was largely contained. You could tell they were pretty upset about being locked out by the smoke and heat.
Maybe Mo Willems has his next title: Pigeon Got the Blues.
Tragedy. But, maybe a silver lining. Feckless politicians have let this obsolete eyesore languish for over 2 decades. Perhaps with this deck clearing, resolute citizens can find a way to develop this moribund site into something that contributes to economic growth rather than homeless drug addict dereliction. We live in hope.
The city has actively been trying to develop the site for decades. The property had been sold to developers a few times. There was a major plan announced last year that was active until this past July when the current developer abandoned his plans over frustrations with dealing with the city permit process. This is as close as we have ever come to something actually happening.
There are two most probable reasons. Homeless squatters. Or the elephant in the room: the developer who abandoned his redevelopment project earlier last month over frustration with dealing with the city. You know fire investigators are going down both roads. Outside of NW though, I am really surprised about how few people know about Centennial Mills or the story behind 25 years of failed development plans. "They burned it down to build condos" or "Of course it's vacant, it's Portland" implying it's a victim of the current vacant office building syndrome. Whatever redevelopment plan DOES come out of it, restoration of the main building is out of equation once and for all.
I happened to be near the park shortly after it started, and it was surprisingly interesting to watch. What caught my attention even more was the pigeons trying to get back into their roosts once the fire was largely contained. You could tell they were pretty upset about being locked out by the smoke and heat.
Maybe Mo Willems has his next title: Pigeon Got the Blues.
No mystery as to the origin of the fire. Nearby neighbors have been reporting fires set there every week by campers.