Rendering courtesy OMSI

The empty lots and parking stalls that surround the OMSI complex may soon give way to offices, restaurants and shops – possibly even a hotel – as the museum looks to capitalize on its prime waterfront views.



The nonprofit Oregon Museum of Science and Industry has released a master plan that carves its 18 acres into 11 developable parcels. Depending on building heights, the swath of land between the Hawthorne and Tilikum bridges could one day accommodate as much as 3 million square feet of new development.



OMSI doesn't have specific plans for its parcels – it will solicit proposals from developers early next year – but a spokesman said the museum is betting the blank slate will attract interest.



"That's the exciting part," John Farmer said. "The sky's the limit. It shouldn't just be OMSI that's excited. Portland should be excited."

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Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian

For the museum, the project would fulfill a long-held goal to redevelop the under-used stretch along the Willamette River, one with the potential to create a vibrant new neighborhood. And because OMSI plans to lease the land instead of selling it, it could provide the museum with a needed revenue stream.



The effort comes as the Central Eastside is transforming around it. What was once a strictly industrial landscape has undergone rapid change in recent years as apartments and office buildings pop up. The opening of Tilikum Crossing and the launch of a new light-rail line in 2015 also increased access to the district.



Though early in the process, there already are competing visions for the museum blocks.



City leaders envision an "Innovation Quadrant," in which OMSI, along with Oregon Health & Science University, Portland State University and Portland Community College, would attract high-paying tech and research jobs.



The director of the James Beard Public Market is also eyeing the development for its future site. Others say the area is prime for a hotel, while housing advocates say residential units shouldn't be ruled out.

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Kristyna Wentz-Graff/The Oregonian

A CHANCE FOR STABILITY

The museum moved to its current home on the east bank of the Willamette in 1992. Portland General Electric donated the 18.5-acre site, which once housed a power plant, and OMSI used a $15 million loan from the Oregon Department of Energy – along with donations – to build the science and technology museum well known to schoolchildren throughout the region.



But construction proved more costly than expected, and a 1996 flood left the museum fighting to crawl out of debt, despite the state's help with the loan payments.



The museum continued to struggle financially until 2007, when the state and a donor each chipped in $4.6 million – $9.2 million total – to help pay down its debt.



The museum decided against selling the parcels because it saw the potential for creating a steady income stream, said Carol Gossett, OMSI's property development manager. The lease revenue would stabilize the museum's budget, a third of which comes from grants and donations, leaving ticket sales and other program proceeds to fill in the gap.

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Tax forms show the museum posted an annual loss seven times from 1996 to 2015. Data for 2016 are not yet available.



"It would free us up financially, create financial stability," said Farmer, the spokesman, of the development plan. "We wouldn't have a razor-thin budget anymore."

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THE MASTER PLAN

Because OMSI is leaving most of the details to developers, its recently released master plan is light on details. It splits its 18 acres into 11 parcels and outlines new public spaces: piers and plazas, a realigned Water Avenue and new paths for pedestrians and cyclists.



OMSI will ask developers for proposals in January, and may select one over-arching plan or multiple projects.



Like the Zidell Yards development across the river, the museum's plan – if it succeeds – would afford Portlanders and visitors better access to the Willamette.

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Courtesy OMSI

OMSI's rough plan shows open spaces between buildings that could rise as tall as 250 feet near Tilikum Crossing, as well as plazas overlooking the river, a boardwalk and a community boat dock. Farmer said cyclists and pedestrians would still have access to the Eastbank Esplanade. However, if plans to shift Water Avenue east are realized, faster cyclists will be encouraged to use that route, he said.



As far as allowable land uses, OMSI has a lot of leeway. Provided the state approves the city's comprehensive plan, the museum could build just about anything, said Troy Doss, a senior planner with Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.



Such uses include office buildings, shops, restaurants, light industrial and even a hotel. However, if OMSI is interested in housing, it would have to jump through extra hoops and show that the residents wouldn't hamper nearby industrial businesses or unduly increase traffic.

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Kristyna Wentz-Graff/The Oregonian

INNOVATION QUADRANT

From the city's perspective, the flexible zoning eases the path for its would-be Innovation Quadrant comprising the city's science and higher education pillars: OMSI, OHSU, PSU and PCC. The collective would attract jobs, research and investment, city leaders say.



For OMSI's blocks, this could include lab space, high-tech businesses or manufacturing facilities for the biotech industry, Doss said.



"The Central Eastside is changing from being purely manufacturing and industrial service, to more tech-based," he said.



OMSI already has neighbors that fit that bill: Online banker Simple and Viewpoint Construction Software are both situated near the Hawthorne bridgehead.

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Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian

Portland Community College's CLIMB Center, just northeast of the museum blocks, offers workforce training and support for small businesses. The city's plans call for it to anchor the Innovation Quadrant along with OMSI.



Marc Goldberg, who heads up workforce development and continuing education for PCC, outlined the synergy he's hoping the redevelopment brings: A middle-schooler might be exposed to a science career at OMSI, then grow up to pursue a degree at PCC or PSU, then end up working at OHSU.



"That's the goal," he said. "Folks can see the advancement opportunities."

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Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

But Doss allowed that the OMSI blocks need not be solely dedicated to science and technology jobs, especially closer to the waterfront.



Fred Granum, who is working to find a home for the James Beard Public Market, has his eye on the south end of the museum's land, next to Tilikum Crossing. Plans to locate the 50,000-square foot market at the west end of the Morrison Bridge fell through last year over concerns about pedestrian access.



That wouldn't be an issue near OMSI, Granum said, because of Tilikum Crossing.



"The Tilikum is critical," he said of the span that opened in September 2015. "It enhances connections with downtown, as well as South Waterfront."

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Rendering courtesy OMSI

Michael Tevis, a venture capitalist whose Central Eastside holdings include the Ford Building on Division Street, said he'd like to see housing on the land.



"I certainly think residential is a great use in all of these areas because of the transit," he said. "You need high-density housing close-in (to downtown) wherever you can get it. You can build office anywhere. Once you force out (high-density residential), you can't get it back."



But Craig Sweitzer, who founded the retail brokerage firm Urban Works and works out of the Central Eastside, said OMSI has an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others. That includes adding housing, he said.



For instance, if OMSI wants to hold evening concerts on its proposed waterfront plaza, it might not be able to if there are condo or apartment towers next door.



"Those are the hurdles that the South Waterfront and the Pearl face," he said.



But Sweitzer thinks it's headed in the right direction. A public market would give people a reason to visit the blocks at night, and the realignment of Water Avenue should ease traffic, he said.



"That gives you some of the things I think we missed with the Rose Garden," he said, citing the heavy traffic when the Trail Blazers or Winterhawks are playing, and the lack of use when they are not.

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Kristyna Wentz-Graff/The Oregonian

Developer Brad Malsin, president of the Central Eastside Industrial Council, said that while residential construction can be lucrative, an all-housing plan wouldn't jibe with OMSI's educational mission. But the museum could get creative, he said.



"It could be workforce housing," he said. "There's a lot of opportunity to get some of the value enhanced by housing, but not the traditional market-rate housing."



So far, Malsin said, he likes where the plan is headed but worries that OMSI may start to build after the real estate market has peaked. The metro-area real estate market has been among the hottest in the country for years now.



"Timing is going to be a little bit of a challenge for them," he said.



Regardless, the museum is sitting on one of the largest chunks of developable land, and it happens to be waterfront property.



"I think they can really leverage what they have for something that can really benefit OMSI."

-- Anna Marum

amarum@oregonian.com

503-294-5911

@annamarum