A few months ago, I attended a meeting in Lents. It was the Neighborhood Association meeting, actually. I thought “my” issue (the Foster Streetscape Plan funding) would be discussed in front of the whole group, but it never was. Instead, I sat and listened to the issues that were perking the ears of our Neighbors to the North, Lents. One of the biggest issues was Wal-mart’s planned expansion of their store on 82nd. The store seemed to be facing no opposition in getting approval from the city. “How can they just do this, without talking to the neighbors?” I remember one newcomer asked. Well, as the Foster-Powell Neighborhood Association does when an issue raises their hackles, the folks at the Lents NA got their act together and wrote a letter.
I found out through The Oregonian‘s April 3rd story, “Walmart expansion raises concerns for neighbors in Lents.” Here’s a lil’ sample:
“We are hoping that Walmart makes meaningful changes to the way the store functions rather than just expanding its edges,” says Cora Potter, a member of the Lents Neighborhood Association.The association has asked Walmart to consider building a pedestrian entrance to the store on Holgate Boulevard to make the parking lot more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly and to add other design features to complement and enhance the surrounding neighborhood.
It is a little sad to me that such a huge box store can pretty much get whatever it wants. As much as Walmart wants the average consumer to think that they’re Green!/*progressive*/not evil, they still ship a boatload of materials all over this fine country. That’s a lotta gas. And we could get lots of that stuff locally. But I’ll get off my soapbox.
Considering that this store is right at the end of Holgate, one of the major streets near me, it’s mostly under my radar. I tend not to walk or bike farther east than 72nd, except to walk to the Starbucks or the bank. It sits back from 82nd a bit, so I don’t really notice it much as I speed off to REI and Barnes and Noble at the Clackamas Town Center.
Hey, we all have our own favorite box stores, right? If, like me, you’re an export from another state, you likely have an addiction to certain conveniences. When I go home to Reno for the holidays, I bask in the beauty of shopping trips to World Market, Barnes & Noble, Bath & Body Works… but here in Portland, I don’t to that too much. Maybe once every six months. Even so, I do shop at those “alterna” box stores, so I suppose I shouldn’t condemn so quickly.
It goes to show you that geography matters. That Walmart is absolutely central for Lenters, I bet. How much will this expansion affect you? Contribute to the conversation below….
I live in Foster-Powell, and I think it’s silly people would oppose Walmart’s expansion, with or without pedestrian access. What the neighborhood needs is jobs. It seems all the people in Lents want to do is chase away investment, such as the Walmart store, and cultural institutions, like the Portland Beavers, which thanks to their neighborhoods counterproductive stonewalling will now be moving to Tuscon. Thanks Lents! It would be nice if the whole neighborhood was ceded to Gresham, and then their urban renewal fund could be spent in FoPo, land of the gods.
Hi Klaus,I won’t disagree with you that FoPo is the land of the gods, but Lents had some good reasons not to go for the Beavers. Most importantly, the developers wanted to use almost all of the URAC money for the project. Lents (at least the NA and the people who attend the meetings) didn’t want to put so much money into the Beavers, and not have any funding for business support, beautification, cool projects, etc.I don’t think Lents (if it’s even possible to speak of a whole neighborhood like that) wanted to lose the Beavers. It sucks that the Beavers are going to Tuscon… I’ll enjoy opening night tomorrow as much as I can now that I know they’re leaving.
~C
I don’t think I know you, Klaus, but I’d love to hear about the work you’ve done to create jobs in this part of town. Once you’ve done 1/10th of what our neighbors in Lents have done, then perhaps you’ll have the right to call them “obstructionists.”Regarding the Beavers, redirect your thanks to Merritt Paulson and Randy Leonard. It was not Lents that threw the Beavers under the bus.