Central Eastside News

[downtownpdx]

Welcome to Wonderlove, the Central Eastside’s Funky New Food Cart Pod

Beloved carts like Bake on the Run and Honeycuspe have found a new home among a shipping container bar and murals by local artists

by Janey Wong Jul 17, 2024, 2:00pm PDT

Screen Shot 2024-07-21 at 7.09.50 PM by Ryan Miller, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2024-07-21 at 7.09.59 PM by Ryan Miller, on Flickr

Wonderlove, a new food cart pod and venue, wants to be the Central Eastside’s destination for a block party. Co-owners Michael Morrow and Joel Beaudoin were connected by a mutual friend after they learned the two shared the ambition of opening a food cart pod and venue. In late June, Morrow and Beaudoin realized that ambition and opened the pod, pulling in established food carts like Bake on the Run and Honeycuspe. On its physical footprint, which spans half of a city block, Wonderlove’s multifaceted complex pairs Portland’s food cart culture with live entertainment and art.

“Wonderlove is heart and expression through music, food, and beverage,” Morrow says. “There’s artists in the carts, artists behind the bar, and artists on the wall,” Beaudoin adds.

The entertainment hub lands in the Central Eastside at a time where the mostly industrial neighborhood is on the cusp of undergoing massive transformation into a thriving city district — controversial plans to erect a Live Nation concert venue are in the works, and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) has a longterm vision of bringing in affordable housing, a Center for Tribal Nations, and a waterfront park where visitors can interact with the Willamette River through an educational lens. “Being down the street from OMSI, we appreciate that kind of wonderment,” Beaudoin says. “We wanted to make [something] that sparks conversations and laughter. We’re trying to create a space for new childhood memories for adults.”

continues:https://pdx.eater.com/2024/7/17/24200699/wonderlove-central-eastside-food-cart-pod

[PhillyPDX]

Live nation moving forward.

https://www.wweek.com/news/2024/08/14/live-nation-team-wins-approval-for-music-venue/

[maccoinnich]

(Story is from Friday; vote is this Wednesday.)

Prosper Portland to vote on sales terms for proposed Live Nation property next week



The Prosper Portland board of commissioners will take the next step toward selling land to developers of a Live Nation-operated concert venue Wednesday.

The five-member board will vote on whether to approve terms for a purchase and sale agreement for land on the Central Eastside, according to a spokesperson for the city’s economic development agency.

The agreement for Block B of the so-called Workshop Blocks would be with Beam Development and Colas Development Group, said the spokesperson, Shawn Uhlman. The appraised price for Block B, just under an acre in size, is $2.41 million, Uhlman said in an email.

In addition, commissioners will vote on an “exclusivity term sheet” covering two other blocks of the property, he said. An online frequently asked questions webpage for the Workshop Blocks has noted that Prosper “will retain ownership of” those blocks, A and C.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[maccoinnich]

Prosper Portland Board Votes to Sell Eastside Lot to Live Nation’s Development Partners
Opponents said the city’s development agency is inviting a rapacious monopolist into town.



The board of commissioners at Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development agency, voted today to sell a 0.8-acre plot of land at the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge to two local development firms that are working with Live Nation Entertainment to build a $50 million music venue there.

Beam Construction & Management LLC and Colas Development Group LLC may now buy the property, which was appraised at $2.4 million on Sept. 9. The lot is one of three in the area that Prosper bought from the Oregon Department of Transportation in 2017 using deferred tax revenue.

The price could drop depending on industrial pollution at the site. Prosper said it will reimburse Beam and Colas up to $749,000 for environmental cleanup, if necessary.

The vote was 4 to 0 with one abstention.

...continues at Willamette Week.

[maccoinnich]

City Council Upholds Approval of Development Plan for Live Nation Venue
MusicPortland had appealed a hearings officer’s ruling the project could go ahead.



After four hours of testimony before some 100 people, Portland City Council unanimously upheld an August decision by a hearings officer to approve plans for Live Nation Entertainment’s controversial 3,500-capacity music venue at the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge.

MusicPortland, a trade group representing the Portland music industry, had asked the council to repeal the approval, saying that the city shouldn’t allow Live Nation, a company accused of monopolistic practices by the U.S. Department of Justice, to open a venue here.

Two local developers, Beam Construction & Management LLC and Colas Development Group LLC, plan to build the $50 million, 62,000-square-foot venue, and Live Nation is to operate it.

...continues at Willamette Week.

[PhillyPDX]

I get the gripes about LN, but I don’t understand the anger in building approvals. It’s as if people think the government can use whatever means necessary to stop something publicly unpopular, even to extent of what would be illegal denials. Potential to put other businesses out of businesses has zero to do with permitting actions.

[Derek]

Looks like a Popeyes is taking over the old Burger King spot off Grand at the end of the Hawthorne Bridge. Seems like a horrific use of the land but that’s ok.

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by Derek

Looks like a Popeyes is taking over the old Burger King spot off Grand at the end of the Hawthorne Bridge. Seems like a horrific use of the land but that’s ok.

It's really too bad a developer didn't snatch up the full block for a nice 200-275' mixed use tower.

[jb111120]

550 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd looks complete. 132 units.


And 888 S.E. Alder S looks topped out. 159 affordable units.

[maccoinnich]

New details emerge about new Portland Live Nation music venue



New details for a planned Live Nation music venue on the Central Eastside have emerged as developers file permits and prepare for construction.

A building permit filed with the city shows the venue will be three stories with a mezzanine for a “single-occupant music venue” along with space for food services, locker rooms for performers, a loading dock, offices and artist lounge.

The permit, filed by Lever Architecture, is valued at over $17.3 million.

The venue is expected to open in 2026.

The venue is slated to be constructed on an empty site at the corner of Southeast Main Street and Southeast Water Avenue, just north of the Hawthorne Bridge.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal ($).

[urbanlife]

I don't care for Live Nation, but I am liking the look of this building and its location.

[uncommon.name]

Unpopular opinion - I think this is going to be a great addition to the Central Eastside area that has been looking really rough for years.

[PDX2SEA]

Originally Posted by uncommon.name

Unpopular opinion - I think this is going to be a great addition to the Central Eastside area that has been looking really rough for years.

I agree. Worse case scenario, Live Nation's venue doesn't do well, they cancel future shows, and eventually move out of the city. Now Portland has a great music venue in the Eastside where noise ordinances don't matter much, at a central location with lots of bike and transit. I also hope this stimulates development and activity on the adjacent blocks.

[AdamUrbanist]

Originally Posted by PDX2SEA

I agree. Worse case scenario, Live Nation's venue doesn't do well, they cancel future shows, and eventually move out of the city. Now Portland has a great music venue in the Eastside where noise ordinances don't matter much, at a central location with lots of bike and transit. I also hope this stimulates development and activity on the adjacent blocks.

Agree. Though the CEID is a major constraint to redevelopment in this area. The city only needs so many micro-breweries. I would love to see the city embrace a more ecclectic vision for this area that includes parks and housing.


...And if it's not too much to ask, demolition of the segment of I5 between the Marquam bridge and I84.

[maccoinnich]

Market shift spurs developer’s ‘very necessary pivot’



Urban developers have struggled to pull off office-to-residential conversion projects in the face of steep costs for reworking existing buildings.

Sturgeon Development Partners had one advantage: Flatworks, a proposed 120,000-square-foot office building, existed only in architectural drawings.

Vanessa Sturgeon, CEO of the Portland-based company, has yielded to an unforgiving market for office space and redesigned plans for its proposed eight-story development in the Central Eastside. Instead, the building at 234 S.E. Grand Ave. will hold 143 apartments, all of which will be rent-restricted affordable units.

...continues at the DJC ($)

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by AdamUrbanist

Agree. Though the CEID is a major constraint to redevelopment in this area. The city only needs so many micro-breweries. I would love to see the city embrace a more ecclectic vision for this area that includes parks and housing.


...And if it's not too much to ask, demolition of the segment of I5 between the Marquam bridge and I84.

If we get all the housing promised in the OMSI development, that would be amazing with this within a reasonable amount of walking distance from there. This whole area would really activate.

[sopdx]

https://www.portlandmaps.com/detail/permit/2025-038793-000-00-EA/5153483_did/

[Jakz]

Originally Posted by sopdx

https://www.portlandmaps.com/detail/permit/2025-038793-000-00-EA/5153483_did/

Noteworthy quote in the work description:

"A New 154 unit Apartment Building with 1 level of underground parking for 50 cars. This is a 100% residential building providing 10% of the units at 60 MFI. Stormwater is to be handled by dry well located under the building. This is a new design on the same site that we had an approved building permit that was abandoned due to high costs (hard costs, permit costs, and interest rates).With recent changes to Zoning Code, Tax relief, and the apparent upcoming moratorium on SDC Fees, we feel this new building can be financially viable."

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by Jakz

Noteworthy quote in the work description:

"A New 154 unit Apartment Building with 1 level of underground parking for 50 cars. This is a 100% residential building providing 10% of the units at 60 MFI. Stormwater is to be handled by dry well located under the building. This is a new design on the same site that we had an approved building permit that was abandoned due to high costs (hard costs, permit costs, and interest rates).With recent changes to Zoning Code, Tax relief, and the apparent upcoming moratorium on SDC Fees, we feel this new building can be financially viable."

That's quite the statement.

(they also wrote that in the permit app?)

[maccoinnich]

Plans for Live Nation venue move forward following Land Use appeals decision



A planned Live Nation venue on Portland's Central Eastside has passed a critical hurdle.

Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals last week sided with Portland City Council to allow for construction of the Live Nation venue. The approval came despite concerns regarding pedestrian safety and lack of proper infrastructure. The news was first reported last week by Willamette Week.

The appeal was filed by Double Tee Concerts, run by longtime Portland promoter David Leiken against the city of Portland. The city voted last August to greenlight the development of a Live Nation venue at the corner of Southeast Main Street and Southeast Water Avenue, just north of the Hawthorne Bridge.

Petitioners argued the site of the venue is unsafe for pedestrians and surrounding infrastructure is inadequate for the level of traffic that would move through the area among other concerns.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal ($).