The call for concepts for the renovation or adaptive reuse of the Memorial Coliseum closes tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 8 at midnight. All groups or individuals interested in presenting a proposal for the reuse of the Coliseum must have the concept submitted by then to be considered by the Rose Quarter Development Stakeholder Advisory Committee. People interested in submitting their ideas can find the on-line application at www.rqdev.org .
"Tomorrow marks the 49th anniversary of the dedication of the Memorial Coliseum in 1961," says Mayor Sam Adams, chair of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee. "We can all celebrate this milestone in our city's history by recognizing the creativity and energy of local citizens in the concepts they've brought forward. I am really looking forward to the presentations later this month."
At a community event on Tuesday, Jan. 26, each proposer will have 5 to 10 minutes to present their concept to the 32-member Stakeholder Advisory Committee and members of the general public. Doors at Memorial Coliseum will open at 5 p.m., and the registration-required, free and open-to-the-public event will run until 8:30 p.m. Anyone interested in attending the event should visit http://rosequarterdevelopment.org/tickets.php for more information and to print out the free RSVP voucher needed for admission.
Once the Jan. 8 deadline has passed, staff from the Portland Development Commission, Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and City Hall will categorize the concepts received as either a full concept or a partial concept. A full concept is defined as utilizing the entire building. Partial concepts will also be evaluated for potential integration with full concepts, as appropriate.
The Stakeholder Advisory Committee will make recommendations to Portland City Council in late February as to which full concepts should continue on in the process as well as provide input on partial concepts to receive the formal Request For Proposal (RFP) from the city. The RFP will be issued in March and responses will be due in April. City Council expects to select the winning proposal in late May.
To view the more than 45 different proposals submitted so far, or to submit a proposal, visit the concepts page at www.rqdev.org