Baseball In Lents? At What Price?

After a long hiatus, we're back with a follow-up story to the Lents baseball development we've been following for some time. The City has been teasing deep SE for months with the prospect of relocating the Beavers to Lents Park to make way for Major League Soccer to take over the PGE Park. Hopes of a stadium out here seemed weak when Mayor Adams pushed to locate it in a new "entertainment district" in the Rose Quarter, but citizens balked at his idea of razing the Memorial Colluseum.  Now, Adams and City Commissioner Randy Leonard are supporting the idea of building the stadium in Lents, but at a big price: over $40 million, most of the Urban Renewal funding allocated to Lents. 

Initially, I was stoked about the idea of having the Beavers so close.  Now, I'm not so sure.  I question whether those Urban Renewal dollars wouldn't be better spent on storefront development, support for unique local businesses, and low income housing.  In fact, the money for the stadium is currently allocated to low income housing.  Mr. Leonard says the city's rules for low income housing should be relaxed for Lents, which he claims already has plenty of affordable housing. 

That might not always be the case, however, if Portland expands as much as it's preficted to.  Our fair city is forecast to double in size in the next twenty years, and SE Portland could take much of that growth.  Where else in Portland can you find affordable houses these days? 

And actually, available data shows that there's not enough low-income housing in Lents as it is.  As was recently highlighted at the Oregonian's City Hall blog,

A 2006 Portland Development Commission Lents Housing Study found that almost half of Lents residents spend more than 30% of their income on housing, and fewer than 25% of Lents residents can afford market rate homes built in Lents. Additionally, the study found that more than 1,000 Lents homes are in poor condition.

What do we want our neighborhood to look like in twenty years? That's the real question.  What are your thoughts about bringing the Beavers to Lents?