There are several new buildings and upcoming designs that challenge the self imposed low key style of Portland Oregon, but that appears to be changing. Several of the designs being built on the Central Eastside push the architectural design and creative envelope.
The building in this photo is named the Fair-Haired Dumbbell and was a crowd funded project by Gorilla Development. The location was once planned to be a Home Depot, but the 2008 recession changed those plans. Now the neighborhood is seeing changes almost daily. http://guerrilladev.co/the-fair-haired-dumbbell/
There are several other new projects coming that are changing the look of the old former industrial area known as the Central Eastside Industrial District and transforming it into a bright vibrant new go-to revitalized area in Portland and part of the new Portland Innovation Quadrant.
About he new Portland Central Eastside Industrial District (CEID) from the 2035 vision statement.
“‘The Central Eastside Industrial District is a unique and rare example of a historic and active industrial district preserved within the heart of a major city. While the district is primarily zoned for industrial use and has been classified by the city as an “industrial sanctuary”, there are retail and commercial corridors that thread through the CEID to create a balance of uses, attractions and amenities. The district has the capacity for incubating new businesses, pioneering innovations and creating employment opportunities for a growing population.”
“New Industries & Expanded Industrial Classifications in the Central Eastside Much gets made of the “new industry versus old industry” or “creative versus industrial” uses in the CEID. In actuality, creative and newer businesses are attracted to the industrial character of the district and in most cases compliment, rather than conflict with the traditional uses. In fact, manufacturers are among the most creative of industries located in the CEID and have much in common with software developers, food production, film & video production and services, brewers and distilleries, and other newer uses in the district. They invest substantially in product design, process design, and custom equipment. They invent products and processes for which there are no blueprints and they access new technologies to drive efficiencies in a competitive global landscape. While the definition of Industrial production has broadened over the past 20 years and new clusters are finding the CEID a good fit, the firms that are attracted to the CEID tend to compliment more traditional industrial and wholesale uses in the district. In fact, there can be synergy.”
Another vibrant change to the Central Eastside Industrial District is the newly renovated historic Towne Storage Building. Without the largest renovation and structural retrofit of a historic building in Portland, last winters snow would have finished off the old building as there was a large running vertical up the Northside of the building. With the restoration and major structural retrofit now completed, Towne Storage is ready to face another century looking across the river at downtown Portland waterfront. The historic details were preserved which gives this building such a nice feel from the character made of of old wood, brick, concrete and steel in a unique industrial Portland style. Autodesk will be relocating our Autodesk Lake Oswego Oregon office to this Central Eastside Industrial District building next Spring after the interiors of the building are completed.
There are many changes and adjustments for everyone when we move downtown to the Central Eastside Industrial District, but we are excited. I am really looking forward to riding my bike into work in the Spring as I live about 8 miles to the South and there is a dedicated bike corridor the entire distance.
Having lived in Portland on and off over the past 26 years, it is amazing to see some of the changes. I cant wait until we are in our new neighborhood and building.
Cheers,
Shaan
