What's next for Lloyd Center, Portland's oldest mall
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An artist's rendering of Lloyd Center Commons after redevelopment. Courtesy of Urban Renaissance Group
Over the next decade, Lloyd Center will be torn down piece by piece and redeveloped into a multibillion-dollar, mixed-use neighborhood with housing, retail, restaurants and, maybe, a Major League Baseball stadium.
Why it matters: Hobbled by the pandemic and a swift rise in e-commerce, Portland's oldest mall has struggled to rebound after retailers left and it faced foreclosure.
- What to do with the space has been a hot topic after new owners swooped in to save Lloyd Center but stayed silent on renovation plans since purchasing it in 2021. Until now.
Driving the news: In September, KKR Real Estate Finance Trust and Seattle-based developer Urban Renaissance Group — which jointly own the 29.3-acre plot in NE Portland — submitted ambitious redevelopment plans to the city's design commission officials.
- The approval process may take months before individual parcels are OK'd for development given the significance, and sheer size, of the site.
Don't worry: The ice skating rink will remain — but the rest of Lloyd Center won't.
What's happening: It could be years until construction at the site, but in the meantime, Lloyd Center will be open for business as the site undergoes redevelopment in parts over the next decade.
- 90% of tenants renewed their lease for another year, and the mall continues to court new business.
What they're saying: Over the last two years, Urban Renaissance Group gathered input from city leaders, business owners, residents and hired a consulting firm to survey what locals envisioned for the mall's future.
- "We believe this initial masterplan demonstrates the incredible potential to create an inclusive, sustainable, and vibrant experience that will play a major part in this city's next chapter," Tom Kilbane, managing director at URG, said in a written statement.
State of play: In the "reimagined layout," the floors of Lloyd Center will be torn out and transformed into new roadways, connected to the city's existing street grid, and a new pedestrian-focused "12th Avenue Promenade" will connect Holladay Park to NE Halsey Street.
- What will likely come first could be as many as 5,000 mid- and high-rise apartment units. "It's also the easiest asset class to get financed at this point," Kilbane told Portland Business Journal.
- The preliminary plan includes room for an anchor tenant — whether that be a performing arts center on par with the Keller Auditorium or a sprawling commercial headquarters, à la Nike's Beaverton campus.
- Offices, though, will not be built until a potential occupant signs a lease.
The intrigue: Building a stadium at Lloyd Center remains a possibility, but the league would have to make the first move before developers abandon the current trajectory, according to Kilbane.