From March 2012:

"The city’s economic development agency put the property on the market last week after receiving numerous calls from interested buyers. It will accept offers through March. The site is bordered by Southwest River Drive and Southwest River Parkway. PDC cleaned up environmental damage left over from the steam plant.

The property was appraised at $4.7 million in 2006 but that total is being refigured."

I would think the taxpayers should immediately assume the proper position.

And it's another Hyatt. Wonder if the city will supplement the meager wages of its employees the way they do for Paulson at the soccer stadium.

I hope the residents like freeway noise.

I hope the residents like freeway noise.

By the time it's realized that that's a problem, Homer will be off on his Next Big Thing and probably declared bankruptcy a couple more times.

One wonders how much parking will be provided for the new hotel in this low car/streetcar served area of the city. The Sowhat area has limited vehicle access. Residential buildings and other structures have been planned for and constructed with limited parking. Will the hotel guests be expected to arrive by streetcar?

How about bicycle rickshaw for that "urban adventurer" experience?

"I hope the residents like freeway noise.

By the time it's realized that that's a problem,..."

I have stayed many a night at the Four Seasons Silicon Valley in Palo Alto, right off Hwy101. The glass windows are very thick; little road noise makes it into the room. So it can be done right, if you spend the money.

But will the Hyatt in Ptown invest like a Four Seasons in Silicon Valley? Probably not.

I'm with TR...only I think that if this goes ahead, it should have _no_ off-street parking.

Can anyone, ANYONE, name just one day when every hotel room in Portland was booked?

Heck, I'll settle for 85% of the rooms booked.

And I'll even limit it to 2 star or higher hotels, exclude the "adult motels" out on 82nd and Sandy.

How about 70% of those room booked?

I like the Valeo plan. If we have to build dorms for PSU, why not help the children live near the streetcar.

Erik H:

They usually sellout most of P-town's hotel rooms for the Portland Marathon, typically around the 1st of October.

I'm sure they go over 85% capacity across the entire city.

A century later, the ground there is still so contaminated from the steam plant's slag heaps that you cannot dig a basement. Why isn't cleanup mandated? It would be anywhere else.

Hey, this could be the convention center hotel!
After all it is just a short streetcar ride away. And we all know people just love to ride the streetcar since it is the fast and efficient transportation of the future for trips too long to walk.

And we can thank Mayor Charlie for his vision building the streetcar with money taken from roads and tax money taken from schools, social services, police & fire to give to developers to build all those beautiful condo bunkers.

Thanks
JK

There have been no crimes and no accidents
on the Street Car.

Apparently, empty cars are safe! As ridership climbs over, say, 12 people per day, problems may increase.

Looking less and less like a homer and more and more like a base on balls.

There have been no crimes and no accidents on the Street Car.

Actually there was one just about a week ago. Maybe two weeks. Up in the Lloyd District involving an automobile.

They usually sellout most of P-town's hotel rooms for the Portland Marathon, typically around the 1st of October.

OK, so why doesn't the Portland Marathon - since that's the one and only event that can cause such a huge turnout - fund any hotel projects rather than taxpayer funds?

Then again, the Marathon requires a massive public subsidy of itself...and do we even know how much money is earned by the Marathon; especially when they cannot even cover the cost of the city to close streets, erect barricades, pay for cops and fireman (paramedics), etc.?

"t River Place, a development group helmed by Homer Williams ....

Maybe you should call him Helmer Williams.

Actually, Hoser Williams might be more apropos.