PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Public School (PPS) Board members heard from leaders with Albina Vision Trust (AVT), a non-profit working to redevelop and revitalize the Lower Albina neighborhood, on Tuesday night.
AVT hoped to convince the district to sell PPS administrative headquarters, the Dr. Matthew Prophet Education Center on North Dixon Street, to them. Back in 2021, AVT acquired the right of first offer and right of first refusal for the building. The group also proposed helping PPS locate a new central office downtown.
"We are trying to initiate a conversation about what a turnover for a building like this might look like, and give the district a better sense of the opportunities that it has on its hands economically or otherwise, to not just make the right, economic and financial decision for the district, but also to serve students, serve families, and serve the city by making the city whole again," said JT Flowers, communications and development coordinator for AVT.
Decades ago, construction of I-5, the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and PPS headquarters displaced hundreds of Black families who had owned homes in Lower Albina. Following the eventual transaction, AVT aims to build 1,000 units of housing.
"This is an area that used to resemble the city grid that Portland is famous for," Flowers said. "Walkable. Green space everywhere. Single-family residential homes. We do understand now with the housing crisis that we are facing that we have to build density in our urban core. We cannot re-create exactly what was here, but we can start to think innovatively about what could be here and who should be benefiting from the stuff that gets built in the center city."
During Tuesday's presentation, AVT explained to the board that staying in the building would cost the district millions, due to deferred maintenance and other necessary upgrades over time.
"Ultimately what we would like to accomplish is for the board, not tonight, but sometime in the very near future, to formally pass a resolution agreeing to a timeline for transaction on the Prophet site," Flowers said, "So this conversation is very much a table-setting conversation so that they understand the pros and cons of relocating and relocating now."
Board members voiced their approval of the idea, with plans to bring up further discussion next month.