Contact the Skidmore Implementation Project by email  

Skidmore/Old Town Historic District Code and Design Guidelines:

An Implementation Project of the Ankeny/Burnside Development Framework

Project Status Update

The Planning Commission and Landmarks Commission Recommendations on Zoning Code Amendments and new Skidmore/Old Town Historic District Design Guidelines are available for review in the Documents and Resources section of the web page. 

The Portland City Council considered these recommendations at a public hearing on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 2 p.m.  

AS OF 2/26/09, THIS PROJECT IS ON HOLD.    When a follow-up hearing with the City Council scheduled, it will be posted here.

Project Description

The Bureau of Planning (Planning) and the Portland Development Commission (PDC) are engaged in a targeted implementation project that will update district design guidelines and amend development regulations described in the Ankeny/Burnside Development Framework. The updated design guidelines for the district will provide clearer guidance for designers and developers as they consider improvements to existing structures and/or the redevelopment of surface parking lots. The primary goal of this project is to facilitate new development while ensuring the preservation of the district's special character embodied in its robust collection of historic buildings, spaces and structures.

Potential amendments to existing development regulations that are part of this project include:

• New historic district design guidelines to provide better guidance for new construction and the renovation of existing structures

• Increases in maximum building height and Floor Area Ratio (FAR) at select sites at the edges of the historic district.

• Changes to the parking regulations to facilitate new development on surface parking lots

• A new transfer of development rights program within the district to encourage new development while preserving and rehabilitating existing historic structures

Project Background

The Skidmore/Old Town Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and as a National Historic Landmark in 1977. It flanks the Burnside Bridge and is bounded roughly by the Willamette River to the east, 3rd Avenue to the west, NW Davis to the north and SW Stark to the south. The district is home to the iconic Skidmore Fountain, a vibrant mixed-use character, the ever-popular Saturday Market, and one of the densest collections of cast-iron architecture west of the Mississippi River.

Unfortunately, much of the historic district's signature architectural fabric was demolished by 1960 and replaced with surface parking lots that have presented challenges to redevelopment. To help protect the district's historic resources, past planning efforts established more limited development entitlements over the area than in other parts of downtown. While the area continues to see community-based organizations and nightclub businesses make improvements and redevelop, there is interest from new investors that could bring added vitality to the district. As a result of these and other factors, the historic district has seen very little new development in the last 30 years. In addition, the historic district is within the Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Area-an urban renewal area managed by PDC-that will no longer be able to generate funds for catalytic district enhancements after 2008.

Ankeny/Burnside Development Framework, 2006

The Ankeny/Burnside Development Framework was the result of a joint Planning and PDC project that outlined many recommendations for changes to the district's design guidelines, development regulations, and overall urban design. Participants engaged in the development of the framework document dealt with a wide range of issues ranging from the possible relocation of Fire Station 1 to the determination of a permanent new home for the Saturday Market. The Framework addressed these challenges and provided a strategy and priorities for guiding direct investment from PDC in the district. In addition, the Framework identified specific changes to the existing regulatory framework in the district to facilitate more and better renovation projects as well as new development. The Framework's broad public process and recommendations provide the basis for this more targeted implementation project. Creation of the Framework and anticipation of this implementation phase has sparked some new development energy in the district, including the University of Oregon Portland Center moving into the White Stag Building, the renovation of the Smith Block, the establishment of Mercy Corps' headquarters, and significant improvements to Tom McCall Waterfront Park at Ankeny to accommodate the Saturday Market, among many other functions.

Project Schedule 

Fall 2007: Commission Briefings (Historic Landmarks, Planning)

Fall/Winter 2007-8: Existing Conditions Summary Report

Winter/Spring 2008: Draft Proposals

Spring 2008: Public Open House

Spring/Summer 2008: Commission Hearings (Historic Landmarks, Planning)

Fall 2008: City Council Hearing(s)

For More Information Contact

Karl Lisle

klisle@ci.portland.or.us 

503-823-4286

Mark Raggett

mraggett@ci.portland.or.us

503-823-6030

Copies of the Ankeny/Burnside Development Framework are available from the Portland Development Commission's website.