Foster-Powell. A neighborhood blog.

It’s Friday in Foster Land.  Hopefully you all have a couple days of rest ahead of you.  Maybe you’ll squeeze in some time for a bite to eat, a drink, and/or some live music.  Easter egg hunting, perhaps?

Here are your weekend tidbits…

- Well, it’s that time of year where our alleyways turn into sludgy, urban obstacle courses for the motor-biking many.  For the last several years, these guys have made Foster-Powell alleys their urban motocross circuit.  Some think it rad; others have planted booby traps to deter them.  Either way, it’s quite the spectacle.  And if history repeats, the Alley Sweeper Urban Enduro will make its way here this Saturday.

- Sometimes bad news turns into good news.  Not long after it was announced that Pulsar Productions lost its lease to operate the Bob White Theatre, the keys were handed over to a new theater manager.  So, no more under-age raves…but the music plays on.  And the newest incarnation of the theater should cater to a more diverse crowd.  First up on the events calendar:  Cascadia Psychedelic Revival 3, “Easter 420 Prankfest.”  All-night show, $15; laser show, multiple bands…breakfast included.

- The Stakeholder Advisory Committee met for the final time this week before the revised Foster Streetscape Plan goes to City Council for (hopeful) adoption.  When it goes  to the Commissioners is still unknown, but we did learn that even if adopted, construction will not start until 2016 at the earliest.  Ugh!

- For all the families in the ‘hood:  Easter Egg Hunt for the little ones (5 and under) on Saturday; Kern Park, 4 pm.  Bring a dozen eggs; picnic afterwards if the sun’s out.

- There’s a nice writeup on Foster Row by the Urban Art Network.  The intro captures the neighborhood pretty well:
     “Southeast Foster is a neighborhood with plenty of variety. In a single block you can find a Thai food market, wellness center, Vietnamese bakery, a few food carts, two nudie establishments and a trendy burger joint. “The neighborhood is going through a transition,” says Jen Erickson. She and partner Mark Pendergrass are now throwing a shared art studio into the mix.”

- Time for a neighborhood-wide piggy bank?  We can crack it open when we have enough to buy the Phoenix Pharmacy.  Or any other vacant building on Foster, for that matter.  Who’s in?

- Weekend music:
Torta- Sidestreet Reny, Friday; Bearwater on Saturday
Starday- Wave Sauce and the Wannabe 52′s (synth-surf music), Friday; Fat Tire Band (classic rock) on Saturday
Gemini Lounge- Finn Doxie (celtic harp/modern), Friday
BobWhite Theatre- Easter 420 Prankfest, Saturday-Sunday

Two of the most iconic buildings on Foster, both with equal potential to transform the central core of the corridor, have seen their hopes at a rebirth tempered a bit.

One building—the Phoenix Pharmacy—just saw talks broken off between its owner and Mercy Corps.  After months of negotiating, the two parties were unable to agree to terms on a deal that would have led to Mercy Corps and ROSE CDC acquiring the building for some community benefit.  That’s one less bidder for a property that has had trouble finding suitors willing to pay for the building AND needed renovations.  They were also the most serious bidder to come along in recent history.

Now, days after the thud of that deal was announced, another building is finding similar trouble maintaining its rebirth.

The Bob White Theatre will be without a tenant after recent events have resulted in its lease being terminated with Pulsar Productions.  While it’s a bummer to see doors shut again, it isn’t necessarily bad news.  For one, the space can still be rented out to host events.  Secondly, an opportunity now arises for another group to manage/lease the space.  And with so many complaints about the current venue’s format, maybe that’s a good thing.

And there’s more hope.  The owners have to pay property taxes.  And the potential of these spaces is too much for them to sit underused—or vacant— forever.  Now it’s just a question of the owners’ motivation to make something happen.  With a new streetscape plan (presumably) in the works, and so many positive changes surrounding these spaces, hopefully it’s just a matter of time.

With the changing face of Holgate, between SE 68th and SE 65th, I suppose it only makes sense for the famed Kern Park Floral building to get in on the action.

What was once a presumed front business for lord-knows-what, the old and dusty flower shop-that-was is now the new flower shop-to-be.

It’s the same flower shop.  Just a spiffied-up version.  And even the “spiffied-up” part is to be determined.  But, hey, they have an “Opening Soon” proclamation in the window.  And said window is currently sealed off with paper, masking the changes to come.

This much we do know: no new permits are listed on Portland Maps, so any changes will (presumably) be minor.  Still, it’s a far cry from the once-vacant and feral lot with a lone, dusty and never open flower shop.

Now it’s several $300,000 homes and a flower shop-to-be.  What is happening?