Who’s paying for Parks in South Waterfront?
More than a month after I started researching this post, I’m finally able to publish it, thanks to Matt Grumm in Commissioner Saltzman’s office helping to connect me with the right staff. Tracking down documented funding for infrastructure in the North Macadam district has proven way more frustrating than even I expected. For instance, this South Waterfront Park Facts page on the Portland Development Commission’s site has zero information about costs. The following information may therefore be incomplete, and some relies on personal e-mail content rather than verifiable web sites. Amendments are welcome and will be posted gladly.
Components of parks in the North Macadam Urban Renewal Area:
* South Waterfront Park in Riverplace – 4 acres, improved, now open.
* Greenway bank and trail – mostly private property with public access easements and improvements
* South Waterfront Neighborhood Park – 2 acres, on former public storage site.
Not in the district or included in this report, but associated deals affecting Portland Parks & Recreation’s budget: land on Marquam Hill where OHSU and the City have changed ownerships, implemented improvements, etc., on projects like invasive species removal, trail construction, etc.
For all parks in South Waterfront,
* Total public investment: $22,450,000+
* Total private investment: $2,431,000 – $4,200,000
Details:
South Waterfront Park: Total cost – $4.3 million, per PDC staff.
When I asked for a URL, I was referred to the 2000-2002 PDC budget, which is a 196 page document posted in pdf format. I looked on the North Macadam page from the index, didn’t find it, gave up.
$4.1 million in improvements Source: American Society of Landscape Architects
Funding sources:
$4 million Portland Development Commission
$342,957 Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) (federal) grant for riverbank repair
Source: staff e-mail
Greenway: $7,789,301 funded so far. Estimated Total Cost: $25 million
Source: Portland Tribune
Funding sources:
$4 million Tax Increment Financing Source: PortlandOnLine
$2,408,301 Portland Parks & Recreation Source: PortlandOnLine (page 6); Exhibit I-1 (pdf), 8th Amendment to the North Macadam development agreement
$519,000 North Macadam Investors (NMI)
$512,000 OHSU Source: Exhibit I-1 (pdf) of the Eighth Amendment to the North Macadam development agreement
$350,000 NRCS grant Source: Brownfields.com
The Development Agreement says adjacent property owners are responsible for initial, temporary improvements to the Greenway on their site, which accounts for the $1.031 million listed for NMI and OHSU. The City of Portland will pay for the final improvements. The current funding allocations aren’t adequate to do that.
I’m assuming the $350,000 grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service listed here is the same line item as the $342,957 NRCS money identified as riverbank repair under the South Waterfront Park. I’ll count it only once in my summary, unless someone tells me there were two grants.
South Waterfront Neighborhood Park – $12,500,000 total
Funding sources:
$10.5 million Tax Increment Financing – $6.5 million for purchase/clearance, $4 million for improvements Source: Exhibit I-1 (pdf) 8th Amendment to the North Macadam development agreement
$1 million Parks Systems Development Charges (citywide, NW/SW section) Source Jack Bog’s blog City staff comment
$800,000 developers, in future Systems Development Charges generated in South Waterfront Source Jack Bog’s blog City staff comment
$200,000 US EPA grant, brownfields cleanup on storage site Source: Portland Business Journal.
Summary:
Total public investment: $22,450,000+
$18,500,000 + Tax Increment Funding
$3,408,301 Portland Parks & Recreation funding from outside district
$542,957 federal grants
Total private investment: $2,431,000 – $4,200,000
$3,700,000 Systems Development Charges from within the district
$1,031,000 Greenway temporary improvements by North Macadam Investors and OHSU
Approximately $3.7 million is expected to be collected in Systems Development Charges on development in South Waterfront. Of that amount, approximately $1.4 million must stay in the district for local parks, approximately $500,000 is expected to fund habitat acquisition and botanical gardens outside the district, and approximately $1.8 million could be used either inside or outside the district (primarily for regional parks and trails). Source: Staff e-mail.