PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The city of Portland will start taking comments next week on the future of O’Bryant Square, located next to the new Ritz Carlton slated to open this summer.
Demolition on O’Bryant Square was expected to start this summer when people start moving into the Ritz Carlton residences, with high-priced condos starting at $1.5 million.
The Portland Parks Foundation is behind the effort to revive the square, calling it Portland’s most troubled urban plaza.
“The fountain quit working pretty early in its history, and then Pioneer Courthouse Square happened and that kinda sucked all the positive energy away from O’Bryant Square,” Randy Gragg of the Portland Parks Foundation said.
It’s known to many longtime Portlanders as an area where a lot of drug activity occurs, and the city officially closed the square in 2018 after finding structural issues with the parking garage underneath it.
The Parks Foundation is surveying Portlanders regarding future uses for the space: There will be a community brainstorming session on Wednesday, March 8 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m., where Portlanders will have an opportunity to share their ideas. On Saturday, March 11 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. residents will have a chance to vote on ideas drawn up by local designers.
Both events will be located at 820 SW Washington (the former Finnegan’s Toy Store). Gragg says everyone is welcome but those who can’t make it are welcome to take a survey online.
“It should be really fun,” Gragg said. “You know we don’t get to have conversations about the future of the city much these days…people are most often solving problems and this is a way for us to talk about the city that we want.”
The Parks Foundation says they’ve received nearly 180 surveys so far, with ideas ranging from skate parks to petting zoos.
Gragg said that while there have been concerns about revitalizing the square during an ongoing mental health and drug crisis, he believes reinvigorating outdoor spaces like this one can be part of the solution.
“It’s really important that we focus on what we can all do to pitch in to make our downtown active and delightful, and to bring more and more people and that’s the only way we’re going to turn the tide,” he said.
Commissioner Dan Ryan who oversees the Office of Community and Civic Life and Portland Parks and Recreation will speak at Saturday’s event. KOIN 6 News reached out to Ryan’s office to ask what he envisions O’Bryant Square.
His office responded with this statement:
“All of our central city squares and plazas need activation. Give residents, workers and tourists a reason to enjoy these pedestrian assets. I am excited to see the recommendations from the Portland Parks Foundation for O’Bryant Square.”