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Multnomah County Sheriff’s office may soon be for sale

Mid-county landmark soon a thing of the past

LEE PERLMAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO

Hey, buddy, how about a great deal on a used sheriff’s office?

It could happen soon.

The office and four acres of property at 12240 N.E. Glisan St. will probably be sold in a few years, Multnomah County representative Peter Wilcox told the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association at its May meeting. “It’s fully in use now, but the department feels it would be desirable to relocate closer to their primary service area”, (to the east) he said.

When the property is sold, it will almost certainly be by public auction to the highest bidder, Wilcox said. The county could place conditions on the future use of the land, but hasn’t done so in recent proceedings. “We’re interested in what Hazelwood thinks, but we’re not like (the Portland Development Commission),” he said. “We can’t dictate the use.”

The site is L-shaped, with most of the frontage on Northeast Glisan Street, and contains the sheriff’s evidence warehouse and an abandoned gas station. The property is zoned CS, for storefront commercial, but Wilcox said that a primarily retail development on the site is unlikely. “There’s a tremendous amount of existing commercial in that area, and it’s unlikely you’d attract the same kind of use,” he said. The CS zone requires new development to occupy at least 50 percent of the lot, with all parking in the rear, and this “precludes a lot of the (commercial) development you’d be likely to see here,” he said.

A more likely use is relatively low-cost housing or accessible units in a building up to four stories high, with ground floor retail. “It’s a great site for something like that because you have great transit access,” Wilcox said.

Regardless of the use, the existing building is certain to go, he said. “The maintenance cost far exceeds its value,” he said. “A building with a 40-year life span is not a good investment for a homeowner, let alone a government.”

When Hazelwood board member Gayland German suggested the land would make a good park, Wilcox replied, “I’ll tell you what is reality. The Parks Bureau is hurting now (note, this was before the defeat of the proposed levy), and is not looking for new land. The county sees its highest priority as services, and is not about to give this away. No one has money lying around these days.”

Fred Sanchez of the Gateway Area Business Association called the site “an extremely valuable piece of property, one of the best jewels the county owns.” He asked if the county was interested in a “joint venture” development on the site. Another person noted that an adjacent 1.5-acre parcel is also vacant.

Wilcox replied, “The County is not in the development business. If it were more entrepreneurial, this would certainly be part of our thinking, but it certainly doesn’t have the resources to invest in real estate.”

Hazelwood chair Arlene Kimura noted, “This is a very visible site. Whatever is built there, it should be a credit rather than what we often see.”
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