Walnut Park Redevelopment Feasibility Study, Phase 2
Multnomah County, OR · 2022
Client: Multnomah County, Department of County Assets
Location: Multnomah County, OR
Year: 2022
CP Role: Sub-consultant to BICEP Inc.
Practice Area: Real Estate + Feasibility
Team: Alex Joyce, Development Feasibility; Irene Kim, Engagement Lead; Victor Tran, Site Design and Financial Analyst
The Challenge
Multnomah County's Walnut Park site is a full block on NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard with a 91,000-square-foot building from about 1951. It houses a health center, dental clinic, pharmacy, county offices, a shelter, Meals on Wheels, and a senior center, and earlier studies called for major modernization or replacement. The site is in North and Northeast Portland, where the African American share of the population had fallen by more than half in 20 years.
Our Approach
Working with BICEP, we led the second phase: a redevelopment concept that keeps the current uses and adds the mixed uses the community wants. The site planning, from site test fits to the redevelopment concept, was ours. We interviewed 19 County staff and managers and 28 community nonprofits, prospective tenants, and funding partners over two years of pandemic-era engagement, and toured six community health and service centers. From that we set a 229,606-square-foot program, including 117,276 square feet for County services and 73,025 square feet of affordable housing, a four-phase construction sequence, a development pro forma, and criteria for choosing a development team.
Outcome
The Walnut Park Community Health Council supported the proposed concept and program. The final report, delivered in late 2022, recommends that the County bring on a community-focused development team for the next step.
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