Publication date: September 4, 2024
Portland’s long-brewing plan to turn the area surrounding the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry into a bustling neighborhood is coming into focus.
At a Portland City Council meeting Wednesday, commissioners unanimously advanced an agreement that solidifies the path forward in the nearly decade-old plan to bring more housing, people and activity to the south end of Portland’s Central Eastside. They agreed to spend more than $15 million in public dollars to kick off the plan.
“This is a significant day for Portland,” said Commissioner Mingus Mapps. “The legislation before us today is about more than infrastructure. It’s about transforming the OMSI district into a vibrant hub for education, innovation and community life.”
The plan, funded by a combination of private and public funds, is expected to cost around $90 million. Construction is expected to begin by early 2026.
The plan includes 24-acres public and privately-owned property surrounding OMSI in the Central Eastside. It promises a new waterfront park with science programming and partnerships with Indigenous communities, habitat restoration, outdoor plazas and up to 1,200 new housing units. At least a third of these units will be affordable to lower-income tenants.
The plan was first put into motion by OMSI in 2017, who proposed redeveloping the area around the museum as part of the city’s 20-year land use plan for the city’s urban core. The idea was to turn the industrial district into an “innovation district” with commercial and residential buildings and new outdoor public spaces, all centered around OMSI.
The city incorporated this proposal into its new land use plan in 2020, sending both OMSI and Prosper Portland – the city’s development bureau – into planning mode. In the years since, both parties have floated ideas for the new district. But the exact details of the plan have remained relatively hazy – until now.