Commentary
Hillsdale is a community of neighborhoods
 You may have seen a commentary I wrote for the Southwest Community Connection this month. It bore the provocative and even cryptic title "Our Dangerous 'Neighborhoods'."
The meaning was buried in the punctuation. I was arguing that because we call our communities, like Hillsdale, "neighborhoods" we actually make our communities dangerous.
The problem with calling larger entities "neighborhoods" (Hillsdale has 7,400 people) is that we have no name for true neighborhoods, whose populations are rarely more than 50 neighbors. And neighbors, in common parlance, are the people nearby who we may be able to call on in times of need.
Because we have no name left over to designate such small, mutually helpful groups, we have difficulty organizing ourselves at the true neighborhood level. And that's exactly what we need to do in preparation for emergencies, such as the inevitable earthquake that will require neighbors to help each other.
At March's Hillsdale Neighborhood Association meeting, neighbors will gather to discuss the conundrum. Members of Hillsdale's Neighborhood Emergency Team, which has been unable to mobilize much support locally, will be present.
If nothing more than raising awareness results from the meeting, that will be a plus. But I'd like to see a shift in names: What we call our "neighborhood" should be designated as our "community," and the cluster of folks within a minute or two of where we live will should be considered our "neighborhood."
Once we've established that, we'll see that there are approximately 300 such neighborhoods in the Hillsdale Community.
We need to organize each of them to prepare for emergencies. That's no small task, but we can make a start by establishing formative terminology.
Hope to see you Wednesday, March 6, at the Watershed Building (at the corner of Bertha Court and Capitol Highway)
Correction: I reported last month that no property owners were present at the recent Hillsdale Transportation "Summit." I stand corrected. Sheila Fink of Community Partners for Affordable Housing, which owns the Watershed building, attended.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | |
Most of the parking for the new Safeway will be covered.
|
New Safeway, Freddies will be neighbors and competitors
The bustling Safeway construction site in the southeast corner of Hillsdale gives little clue what the finished store will be like
Sure, we have the architect's renderings of the store at Barbur (see above) and Capitol Hill Road. But what's inside? And just how big will the building be? What services will it offer when it opens on Nov. 30 of this year? 
Fortunately we have a point of reference less than a half mile to the north at the Burlingame Fred Meyer, which was refurbished, expanded and reopened in October 2011.
The new Safeway with a total square footage of 56,430 will be considerably smaller than the sprawling 91,600 square-foot Fred Meyer, according to statistics provided by the two companies.
The size difference is also reflected in numbers of employees, parking spaces and, to some extent, services provided.
The Safeway store will employ between 150 and 190; Burlingame Fred Meyer has a staff of 226. Freddie's has just over 300 parking spaces with approximately one third covered; the new Safeway will offer 135 spaces, with 114 covered.
Both stores have an array of services including delis, bakeries, natural food sections, sushi, self-service check-out and ATMs.
But there are a few differences. Fred Meyer has, and Safeway won't have, sections for toys, housewares and hardware. Freddie's also offers oven pizza, electronic accessories and specialty sections for gourmet cheeses, olives and spreads.
Safeway, on the other hand, offers outdoor deck seating with a view of Mt. Hood.
And if you want Starbuck's while you shop, go to Safeway. For Peet's, head to Freddie's.
The competing stores first arrived in Southwest Portland decades ago. The Burlingame Fred Meyer was built in 1950; the old Safeway, now demolished to make way for the new store, opened in 1968.
An expert who consults and does market surveys for chains said that Safeway needed to upgrade its store to compete. "If you aren't keeping your store current, you are sliding backwards," said the consultant, who asked not to be named because of his relationship to the industry.
He said that Safeway, whose old store was "really worn down" was losing customers to Fred Meyer, the only equivalent competing choice on Barbur. Safeway was forced to build on its old site because a lack of available real estate on busy Barbur, he added.
He noted that the competition between Safeway and Fred Meyer recently followed a similar pattern on SE Hawthorne Boulevard, where Fred Meyer invested heavily in its old store at Cesar Chavez Boulevard (formerly SE 39th) only to have Safeway follow with an entirely new outlet about a mile to the west.
|
 | |
The Barbur Concept Plan lays out an ambitious vision for 13th Avenue in Hillsdale.
|
Planners focus on Barbur
Unloved, noisy and neglected, Barbur Boulevard is finally attracting interest from transportation and land-use planners.
Two plans are in the works that will shape the future of the road and those affected by it.
The comprehensive Southwest Corridor Plan looks at transit to and from Sherwood and downtown Portland. It is posing options for stops along the transit corridor and presents intriguing scenarios. One even includes a MAX tunnel that would start in Hillsdale and end up downtown after serving OHSU.
The other plan, a Barbur Concept Plan, looks at a smaller area, the six miles between Lair Hill and Portland's southwest city limits. Unlike the corridor transit plan, the concept plan explores land-use options along Barbur.
The two are connected: The Southwest Corridor plan, which is aimed at attracting Federal transit money, will clearly affect whether the Barbur Concept plan's visions come to pass.
Interestingly enough, the Hillsdale Town Center, with its two schools, library and commercial complexes, plays a minimal role in both plans. But the Town Center too could be affected.
Glenn Bridger, who has been on the citizens "Community Working Group" for the Barbur Concept plan, worries that High-Capacity transit (HCT), along the Barbur corridor could mean cuts in local bus service in Hillsdale. HCT could take the form of MAX trains or bus rapid transit with its dedicated, or partially dedicated, lanes. Both make fewer stops, are faster and carry more passengers than current service.
Bridger is also concerned that some Hillsdale pedestrian improvements are being overlooked or ignored in the Barbur Concept Plan that was just completed and made public.
As might be expected, Hillsdale gets most attention where Barbur defines the neighborhood's eastern border. The concept plan, with its emphasis on development opportunities, singles out two "focus" areas in Hillsdale: where SW 13th Avenue skirts the Burlingame Fred Meyer and at "Capitol Hill" where the new Safeway is under construction (see story above).
Both "Focus Areas" are in a designated section of Barbur labeled the "Historic Highway." In the '40s and '50s the strip was home to several jazz night clubs and motels. The segment goes from the Barbur/Terwilliger intersection nearly to the "Cross Roads." "Cross Roads" is yet another "focus area" and is best known for the Barbur Transit Center, Barbur Foods and a new Walgreen's store.
Largely because of Barbur's proximity to Portland Community College's Sylvania Campus and the Barbur transit center, "Crossroads" has a top-ranked "essential" designation in the Corridor study. The PCC Sylvania Campus itself is labeled "essential" as are downtown Portland and OHSU.
Hillsdale's two "focus areas" along Barbur are a notch lower with "priority" rankings.
An interesting fact about the Barbur study area is that it has more jobs than people living in it. And 63 percent of those 32,000 jobs are in medicine/health or education. OHSU, the largest employer in Portland, is a major job provider, but National College of Natural Medicine and PCC also add to the numbers.
Lewis & Clark College and Portland State, while outside the study area, are certainly connected to it. Education and health care are big business in Southwest Portland.
One of the major obstacles for high-capacity transit is a lack of a direct connection to OHSU and PCC. That's why a tunnel from the 13th Avenue focus area through the West Hills is being considered as an option.
Another intriguing idea associated with a "13th Avenue promenade" contiguous to the Burlingame Fred Meyer is the daylighting of the now undergrounded portion of Stephens Creek. The plan also sees an opportunity for taller buildings on 13th. "On the south side ... steep topography allows for (four to six story) buildings without impacting pre-existing views,and additionally could deflect noise from I-5 and Barbur," says the study (see illustration above).
The over-arching concept vision for the Barbur section that includes Hillsdale is a contrast with the Boulevard we know today. The plan states: "Barbur will see its greatest transformation in this segment from a "forgotten highway" to a street expressing civic pride with a complete sidewalk network, comfortable bike facilities, improved intersections, consolidated and well defined business access and street trees."
Over the next two decades, planners are hoping to see their vision come to pass. The concept plan now goes to the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission, which will make a recommendation to the City Council later this year. The Commission and the Council will hold public hearings before making decisions.
To download the 50-page Barbur Concept plan go HERE.
Wider in scope, the Southwest Corridor Plan needs approval by several "partner" governmental entities before Metro and regional transportation officials decide in June how to proceed with transit in Southwest over the next two decades.
|
 | |
Wine left Winter outside at the 'Wine about Winter' event.
|
'Wine about Winter' draws a crowd
The last thing anyone was doing at HIllsdale Main Street's recent "Wine about Winter" festivities was whining.
WAW, as it was called by organizers, was all about wine and finger foods. Winter became an after-thought.
The Sunday, Feb. 10, event drew nearly 600 folks from near and far. They sipped and nibbled through the big white, serpentine tent wrapped around the Portland Ballet studio and Hillsdale Pharmacy.
WAW was pulled together by a team of Main Street volunteers spear-headed by Tam Boleyn of the Korkage Wine Bar & Shop. Boleyn's business partner, Earl Johnson, a master chef, advised on the pairings of wine and food.
Megan Braunsten, Hillsdale Main Street's executive director, said that 150 of the 581 guests were attracted by half-price tickets offered on-line at "Living Social" and "Perks," GroupOn-like sites.
She said that some came from as far as North Plains, Oregon City, Gresham and Vancouver. Five folks, strangers to Hillsdale, called ahead to get directions.
The event was advertised widely in the wine lovers' community.
Many attendees asked if the event would be repeated. Main Street isn't committing itself. For now everyone involved the WAW is taking a breather.
While the event, sponsored by Paloma Clothing, Korkage and Food Front, didn't make money, it mustered 130 volunteers, attracted a curious clientele and assembled 22 wineries, one brewer, and 15 food providers.
Organizers are calling it a win - a cause for wine, not whines.
|
Sunday Parkways to return
Portland Parks and Recreation is planning to return Sunday Parkways to the streets and shops of Hillsdale and Multnomah Village in early fall.
Last summer's July 22 Sunday Parkways drew 11,000 bicyclists and hikers.
This year's event, on Sunday, Sept. 29, will again include music, food and vendors located in Gabriel Park, Multnomah Village, and the Hillsdale Shopping Center.
Other details, including the route, will be announced later.
Tré Bone calls it quits in Hillsdale
After a little more than a year in Hillsdale, next to the All Paws dog wash, the Tré Bone pet supply store has closed its doors.
Owner Carol Ellis folded the business on January 20 after her sales showed no improvement in December.
She is now focusing on her Tré Bone shop in St. Johns. She reports that a few loyal Hillsdale customers are making the trek across town to buy supplies there. The business specializes in what Ellis calls "wholesome, healthy" pet food.
She said she had "wonderful" customers in Hillsdale. "I'll miss them," she said.
She added that the community needs to give more support to locally owned, independent businesses. She added that the little shopping complex the store was in needs an identity and better signage.
The L-shaped complex, with a liquor store at one end and the Bank of America at the other has no name and its businesses, with the exception of the bank, are difficult to see from Capitol Highway.
|
Date Book Tuesday, Feb. 19 to Sunday, Feb. 24
On-line Auction benefits Rieke Foundation
The Rieke PTA is inviting the community to support its foundation by bidding on items/slot parties on-line HERE.
All auction proceeds go to the Rieke Foundation in an effort to help supplement the number of full-time, licensed teachers. Contact Kelly Laboe at kelon11@yahoo.com if you have questions. Tuesday, Feb. 26
Pizzicato donates a fifth of the day's
profits to Wilson
Hillsdale Pizzicato will donate 20 percent of profits from Tuesday, Feb. 26 to the Wilson Foundation, which seeks to pay for more teaching staff. The PTA encourages stocking up on pizza gift certificates and buying pizza on that day. Friday, March 1 Open House for families in support
of the Project Hope food drive
6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Neighborhood House, 7780 SW Capitol Hwy. Families with children are invited to bring non-perishable food and take a tour of the food pantry. Visitors will get a demonstration of how people using the food program select from the pantry shelves. A surprise will be awaiting young visitors next door at Thinker Toys.
"Usual Suspects" clean up
9 a.m., meet at Food Front. The "suspects" meet the first Saturday of every month for a one-hour litter patrol of the town center. Good, cleaning fun. All are invited.
Wednesday, March 6
HNA ponders how identifying names might prepare us to respond better to disaster
St. Barnabas Church, 2201 SW Vermont. 7 p.m. The Hillsdale Neighborhood Association considers naming and organizing designation options for preparing Hillsdale to respond to disasters. (See the editor's "commentary" in the left-hand column.)
Every Sunday
Chess for all at the Library
Hillsdale Branch Library, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Chess for all ages, all levels.
Play a game or get tips from a tutor. Chess sets provided or bring your own.
|
|
|
|
|
