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Portland City Council approved the sale of a 85 acre piece of the Colwood National Golf Course in Northeast Portland. Of the $5 million purchase price, $500,000 comes from stormwater funds.

(Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian)

Northeast Portland's Cully neighborhood, long neglecting a sizable public park, now has more than 100 acres of parkland in the pipeline.

On Wednesday, the Portland City Council signed off on a $5 million deal to purchase 85 acres of property at

for a future park and natural area.

The Colwood property joins the

, at Northeast 72nd Avenue just north of Killingsworth Street, as dedicated parkland in the neighborhood. Colwood's future open space is south of Northeast Cornfoot and Northeast Alderwood Roads.

, the northern 35 acres of the golf course will be rezoned for industrial use. Last fall, City Council approved the zoning change, dedicating the southern chunk of land to open space. At the time, Mayor Charlie Hales described the proposal as "a land use miracle."

Portland will buy the 85-acres from the nonprofit

. Parks system development charges, the fees charged on construction projects, account for $4.5 million of the purchase price. The remaining $500,000 comes from the Bureau of Environmental Services. BES is chipping in because restoration work on site is expected to produce "significant water quality and drainage way benefits."

Wednesday's vote is the culmination of 20 years of neighborhood planning, according to city documents. In 2008, the City Council unanimously voted down a previous plan to rezone the entire golf course for industrial use.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz called the plan a "great investment in a neighborhood that is deserving." She said the city is getting an "absolute bargain" on the land, which she said was appraised at $10 million.

Fritz said the city will look to keep half of Colwood's 18 holes running in the interim. City documents say 48 of the acres will remain a golf course, which will generate revenue to pay operating expenses.

The remaining acreage for a natural area will cost $85,800 per year in operating expenses, according to city documents.

The city will host a meeting on April 29 to discuss next steps, she said.

Portland will also have to produce a master plan for the property. "We don't have the funding for that right now," Fritz said.

-- Andrew Theen