Street Roots: Developers pitch buyout of R2DToo lot, and $850,000 toward rest stop's future home

Photo from Street Roots

 by Joanne Zuhl | 6 Feb 2014

"Pearl District developers want Right 2 Dream Too out of their neighborhood, so much so that they’re willing to pony up more than $846,000 toward the homeless groups future home.

City Council will vote next week on whether to accept the money.

Pearl Hotel Investors LLC, fronted by developers Homer Williams and Dike Dame, has agreed to pay the city just over $1 million total for multiple uses. Of that amount, $142,000 will be used to purchase Lot 7, a parking lot under the Broadway Bridge once proposed as new home for Right 2 Dream Too. The Portland Development Commission currently owns the lot.

Another cut of the payment, $50,000, goes to offset parking needs to the nonprofit REACH, which had an agreement with the city for the space.

The remainder is dedicated to finding a suitable alternative site for the homeless rest area.

“It’s a step forward, Fritz says. “No one’s going to say it’s a solution.”

Ibrahim Mubarak, the spokesperson for R2DToo has not formally agreed to the terms of the proposal, and won't until it can convene its board of directors on Saturday. Mubarak says they agree on the general principle of the proposal, but want to discuss and clarify some of the terms, including who would own the lease if a new site were found.

As part of the proposal, the city agrees to facilitate the sale of the current Right 2 Dream Too site — the high profile lot under the Chinese Gate — to the PDC. Even with that sale, Right 2 Dream Too would still be allowed to stay on the site until a suitable alternative was found, according to the proposal. 

The agreement also waives the existing fines, and puts a halt on any future fines, assessed by the city for R2DToo’s occupation at Fourth and Burnside.

For the developers, it takes Lot 7 off the table for R2Dtoo. According to the City Assessor’s office, that property has a real market value of nearly $1.4 million, and is assessed at $172,000.

Dana Haynes, communications director for Mayor Charlie Hales, says the mayor has agreed to the conditions of the sale. Hales is currently in South Africa for the C40 Mayors Summit.

The past two years have been a series of false starts between Right 2 Dream Too and the city."  Continue reading this article at Street Roots here.