Long-held plans to build a public market at the west end of the Morrison Bridge have been discarded in favor of a new but undetermined central city location, the project's chief proponent said Thursday.

The decision is the latest obstacle for the James Beard Public Market and represents a wholesale switch from the development proposal approved by Multnomah County leaders five years ago. The market had been a showpiece in the pitch but that public amenity will now slip away, even as the private developer moves forward with plans for a high-rise tower.

Leaders for the public market are hoping to find a new location on Central Eastside property owned by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry or on land in the South Waterfront owned by the Zidell family, said Fred Granum, executive director for the food project. Building at the bridgehead site proved too difficult, he said.

A new location might not be selected until May. But Granum is undeterred, saying fundraising efforts for the $25 million to $30 million project are strong while also emphasizing it still can be built by 2020.

"There has never been a brighter moment," said Granum, declining to say how much private money has been raised. "There has never been more traction."

The public market has been an elusive vision for more than a decade but seemed to gain serious momentum in 2011. That's when Multnomah County's Board of Commissioners decided to sell 3.12 acres on the west side of the Morrison Bridge, picking a proposal by Melvin Mark Development Company and the public market over another pitch from Gerding Edlen and Downtown Development Group.

Although Melvin Mark planned to build a 17-story tower, the public market had been billed as the centerpiece. Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury, a commissioner in 2011, said the market was "uniquely Portland."

"As owners of this land, and as a government agency, we really have an extra level of responsibility to make sure that this property is developed in a way that is uniquely Portland, and is special, and brings a benefit to citizens of our community," Kafoury said at the time.

But when county leaders approved a formal development deal in 2012, it didn't explicitly require completion of the public market. County officials sold the property last December for $10.4 million. Kafoury didn't respond to a request for comment Thursday.

County officials had been clear as early as 2011 that the property had limitations, most notably circular on- and off-ramps for the Morrison Bridge. And officials had been clear that would-be builders needed a "development strategy that assumes the loop ramps remain."

But Melvin Mark and public market officials began pressing the city of Portland in 2014 about removing the ramps to make the site easier to develop.

Earlier this summer, lacking the concessions they wanted, public market officials decided to move on.

"We just saw it was going to take too much time and too much money to do it there," Granum said.

Granum declined to address why market leaders pushed for ramp removal when Multnomah County set clear expectations at the outset. Granum inherited the project from Ron Paul, who spearheaded the market effort until his death last December.

"It's easy to do the Monday morning quarterbacking, and I don't want to get into it," Granum said.

Granum said market leadership never made a public announcement about the location change because officials were trying to pin down a new site. The Oregonian/OregonLive began asking city and market officials about the location change Wednesday. On Thursday, the move was reported on the Portland Architecture blog.

The last publicly available schedule for the project called for fundraising to wrap up in September. Granum said that schedule, presented to Multnomah County last year, was "unrealistic" because of ramp issues.

Granum said he now expects fundraising numbers won't be announced for another year.

"On schedule or off schedule, certainly schedules have changed," he said.

That's not the only thing to change.

The high-rise project and market proposal had originally been pitched by Melvin Mark Development Company. But in December, just as the county land deal became final, the company's long-time development leader, Dan Petrusich, bought out the development division and created his own business, called MMDC Company.

Petrusich now owns the property through a limited liability company called Morrison Bridgehead. Melvin Mark has no stake in the land or business, said Jim Mark, the company's chief executive.

Petrusich said he would still like to see the market move forward on his land.

"Their leadership changed and, with it, the vision for the project at the site changed," he said. "It's beyond our control if they decide to do something else."

Petrusich said he believes he would have won control of the county's land even without the public market concept. Records of the county's evaluation process weren't immediately available Thursday.

But in 2011, when county officials selected the market-and-tower proposal, it scored 249 points compared to 223 for the other project, according to meeting records.

Granum remains bullish about the market's completion in a new location.

He expects to privately raise half of the project's cost and secure the other half through a combination of public contributions, tax credits and debt.

The Portland Development Commission, the city's urban renewal agency, hasn't been approached so far.

"We have no active conversations about funding the public market," spokesman Shawn Uhlman said. Asked about the future, Uhlman wasn't willing to preclude it.

Granum said market leaders have never considered giving up.

"We've got substantial support from the public, from government officials," he said. "This is something the city deserves. It'll be a great attribute for the city."

-- Brad Schmidt

bschmidt@oregonian.com

503-294-7628

@cityhallwatch