Portland planner Barry Manning talks to members of the Metro Policy Advisory Committee and other representatives, who traveled to St. Johns Wednesday to tour that North Portland neighborhood.
As a group of 30 regional planners, legislators and community members strolled through St. Johns early Wednesday evening, store owners and passersby couldn't help but interject.
"Welcome to St. Johns!" said Shamaine Coffee, owner of one of St. Johns' newest retail stores, Coffee Kids, greeting the crowd while she waved to a neighboring shopkeeper across the street. "I'm so glad you stopped by."
This spirit quickly became a staple in the Wednesday tour by members of the Metro Policy Advisory Committee through that north Portland neighborhood. From high school students to older women taking an evening walk to street sweepers, the community was overflowing with gratitude and pride for their historic pocket of Portland – and the tour members felt it.
"Many people ask if I live here," said Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz. "I don't! But I honestly spend more time here than I spend sleeping in my bed. It's a wonderful place."
Led by Barry Manning, a planner at the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, and Ryan Deibert of the St. Johns Main Street Program, the tour made a loop around the two main streets of St. Johns, Ivanhoe and Lombard streets, stopping to discuss past, present and future development projects in the works.
Metro Councilor Barbara Roberts presented one landmark, the Children's Relief Nursery, a center for children from at-risk families, which Roberts helped form in 2001. Charlene Williams, principal of St. Johns' Roosevelt High School, added that her students raised close to $5,000 in donations to the center this year.
"This really shows how much our students care about their community," Williams said. "Which is so important for St. Johns' future."
St. Johns' developers and planners also described the work they've done to give run-down or vacant buildings a second chance in the downtown stretch. One developer, Risa Davis, has big plans to turn the old St. Johns pub into a hotel and restaurant, welcoming visitors into downtown.
"My husband and I always complained about the spot, hoping someone would do something about it," Davis said. "Then we realized, 'Why can't we be that someone?'"
Davis, along with other St. Johns planners, wants to see a viable connection from the St. Johns waterfront and neighborhoods surrounding Cathedral Park to the town center's streets, as it would benefit both the local economy and community. The leading issue creating this disconnect? Freight traffic.
Despite its small-town demeanor, St. Johns is a major thoroughfare for large freight trucks. C.J. Doxsee, land use chair of the St. Johns Neighborhood Association, said the traffic creates a roadblock between the neighborhood's continuity.
"Having to cross busy streets with high freight traffic is inhospitable to many St. Johns residents," Doxsee said. "We're hoping that in a few years, we can move the route out of downtown and the neighborhoods to make the area more appealing to residents and visitors alike."
In spite of the traffic woes, the tour produced an overarching positive theme in regards the path of St. Johns development: While it's within Portland's city limits, St. Johns stands strong behind its own, unique small-town feel. Whether it's a chain grocery store that is required to add a community plaza and green space to move in downtown or a brownfield site turned into a local kickball field, it's clear that residents are committed to keeping St. Johns community-centric historic intact while moving in a sustainable and economically-viable direction.
"I've always seen St. Johns as a unique part of Portland that is proud of its past but welcoming to new generations," said Metro planning director Robin McArthur. "It's wonderful to see it grow this direction."
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