Grocery Dearth

by Jeff

If you’ve attended any of the Portland Plan workshops, or even ventured east of 82nd, the idea of resource equity, or shall I say inequity, is very real.  While it seems that every Portland neighborhood has quick and easy access to a coffee shop, vintage clothing, and boutique, that notion is far from reality, especially the farther east you go from downtown.

Portland is, indeed, dotted with micro commercial districts.

Clinton.  Division.  Even Woodstock.

Others, however, like Parkrose, Cully and Lents, can’t even claim decent sidewalks to their name.  And if they had sidewalks, where would people walk?  The services are greatly lacking in these neighborhoods, and only in recent years has this garnered significant attention from the city.

And now that the city is paying attention, the Portland Development Commission (PDC), as explained in a recent Mercury article, is brainstorming ideas to connect these neighborhoods with one basic, but sorely lacking, need: food.  And no, it won’t be Popeyes and another Plaid Pantry.  Instead, PDC has identified multiple neighborhoods in the city that don’t have easy access to grocery stores, and put out a “Request for Interest” to see which developers and/or grocery store owners would be willing to open shop in these areas.

While Foster-Powell wasn’t mentioned in the above article, the question still begs to be asked: “Do we all have access to healthy food?”  Perhaps the needs of Foster-Powell are not as great as Cully or Parkrose, but does ‘Save-a-Lot’ really count as our grocery option?  Fred Meyer, technically, is in our neighborhood, but on 82nd and Foster, it is at the most extreme corner of our district, and shares the same boundary line with Lents, who happens to be on the list of PDC-focused neighborhoods.  And while Fred Meyer is a full-service grocer, the quality of offerings definitely varies by neighborhood.  If the Freddy’s on Foster offered a similar selection of fresh and/or organic produce as the one on Hawthorne, I think the folks in Lents and FoPo would be pleased.  It does not, though.

This has left Lents with the task of forming their own food buyers club.  One in which they’ve had to find their own alternatives for healthy and affordable food.  And without a strong lure for developers, how long will this be their best option?  Back in FoPo, a similar holding pattern remains.  There are residents who want change.  Vacant properties abound.  And there are plenty of families that deserve healthy food options.

So if you had your dream scenario, FoPo, or even Lents or Mt. Scott/Arleta, what would be your choice of grocer and ideal location?

New Seasons?  Trader Joe’s?  Neighborhood co-op?

Lents Town Center?  The soon-to-be-closed Blockbuster site on Foster and 62nd?  The old Phoenix Drugs building?

Speak your mind, and maybe we can get some momentum on this important issue.

Foster Road Safety Enhancements

by Jeff

No, not your typical lead-in to the weekend news, but I thought I’d share.

The needs of Foster Road have finally made it onto the city’s list of priorities.  I’m not sure if it was the Foster Summit, and the subsequent heat it put on elected officials and PDC reps, or the mounting list of traffic fatalities that forced their hand, but some of the recommendations put forward in the “Foster Streetscape Plan” have finally received attention and promised commitment from our local government.

Here is the city’s official legislative funding priorities list for 2011, which seeks financial resources for various projects throughout Portland:

SE FOSTER ROAD SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS: The requested funds are to design and construct select priority elements of the Foster Road Transportation and Streetscape Plan (2003) between SE 50th Ave and 84th Ave. This project will focus on achieving the following goals of: improved pedestrian and bicycle crossing safety and access; improved connections to transit; enhance key districts and focal points to help stimulate continued economic development and private investment, and; to help make SE Foster Road streetcar-ready. SE Foster Road has been designated a High Crash Corridor, and this project will enhance safety at high-crash locations on the road. The Portland Bureau of Transportation and the Portland Development Commission have already made strategic investments to begin implementing the streetscape plan since its adoption in 2003; however, the majority of the plan remains un-built. The City requests $1,300,000 from the FY 2012 Transportation and HUD Appropriations bill, Department of Transportation, Surface Transportation Program.

Cross your fingers!

New Bar in FOPO

While Foster-Powell restlessly dreams of a neighborhood grocer, or a long-sought-after purchase and renovation of the Bob White Theater, there’s always booze to keep our hopes alive.

Is a New Season’s imminent?  No.  Cheap movies and a slice of pizza in front of the big screen?  No.

More alcohol?  Yes.

While this would typically disappoint the local dreamers, most of whom applaud the idea of someday scoring a healthy grocery store or place for family-friendly entertainment, my guess is that the latest plan for a new bar on Foster Road will actually be warmly received.  In stark contrast to Bob and Alice’s, which will be just across the street, the vacant Knuckleheads Bar (I mean Browns, er, uh, Reno’s) space will be renovated and classed up a tad by the owner of Hawthorne’s well-known ‘Presents of Mind.’  As described in the Willamette Week’s Scoop section, the new bar, dubbed Gemini Lounge, appears to be focused more on ambiance and vibe, as opposed to lotto machines and warm beer.  This won’t be your father’s FOPO bar.  Rather, it adds to a growing list of local booze joints richer in style and substance, such as Slingshot, O’Malley’s, Da Hui, and Bar Carlo.  Not to be forgotten, though, Bob and Alice’s will still be plugging away across the street as a worthy alternative, and comforting reminder that we’re far from being gentrified…and happily so.

The Willy Week’s blurb, pasted below, gives a little more info on Gemini Lounge.

FROM THE ASHES: Two bar spaces with miserable histories are set for revival this year. Frank Faillace, owner of Dante’s, Devil’s Point and Lucky Devil Lounge, is reopening Old Town’s Star Theater (formerly Level, Mystic Theatre, Five Star Theatre, Bliss, etc.) as a music venue. >> The building at 6526 SE Foster Road that has, in the past two years, been Brown’s Bar, Reno’s Bar and Knuckleheads, will be reincarnated as Gemini Lounge. Owner Seasons Koll, who also owns Hawthorne gift shop Presents of Mind, says Gemini will be a “cocktail lounge with a feel like Sapphire Lounge, Dots or Gold Dust Meridian with live music.” Also, “flocked wallpaper, vintage lighting, great retro art and other touches to make it date- and happy-hour-friendly.”

I can dig the sound of this.  And now, on a night predicted to hit record lows in temperature, the thought of a cocktail in a warm and cozy lounge sounds better than ever.  Hopefully Gemini will be up and running soon.

Every neighborhood needs a kiosk, right?

To properly mobilize the masses, every emerging neighborhood shall have its public mode of communication.

That’s the assumption we’re going with, at least.

No, Foster Powell isn’t staging a push to secede from the city. It’s not quite that revolutionary. It is, however, a step in the right direction to further connect the neighborhood’s residents, businesses, and community groups with each other. Is it this here blog, you ask? Well, it could be…but, no. Rather, the Foster Powell Neighborhood Association used some of its communications budget to have an informational kiosk constructed and installed in Laurelwood Park.

Engage With Your Neighbors

That’s the message and the goal. With the help of Southeast Uplift, your local Neighborhood Association planned and coordinated with Portland Parks and Rec for the most cost effective way to install a community ‘bulletin board,’ if you will. And for the time being, that’s how it will serve. The use of the kiosk may evolve over time, but for now the purposes are simply to publicize neighborhood/business events and services. The guidelines are simple, too: date your posting (postings will remain up for two weeks) and do not use slander or vulgarity. This is, indeed, a community space.

Situated on the southeast corner of the park, the kiosk is visible from Holgate to the north, and just off the sidewalk on Foster to the south. As of now, there is plenty of space for posting. The FOPO Neighborhood Association has left their information on the kiosk, and will maintain it, as well. If you’re curious about the kiosk, or interested in posting, email questions to FPNAKiosk@gmail.com. Again, thanks to the Foster Powell NA, Southeast Uplift, and Portland Parks and Rec.