PSU’s future-focused proposal will create a dynamic downtown arts complex like New York’s Lincoln Center. The proposal includes a 3,000-seat auditorium, a second, smaller venue at 1,200 seats, a large outdoor plaza, an on-site boutique hotel, restaurants and bars, a conference center, educational facilities, and the flexibility to co-locate arts organizations and practice studios on site for a vibrant scene 365 days a year.
A ground-up build on a much larger site offers longer-term advantages than rebuilding the size-constrained current site cannot. PSU’s 4.25-acre parcel can accommodate the infrastructure needed for bigger shows (e.g. large vehicle parking, backstage loading bays), attracting top entertainers to the Portland market. The new design will also allow for sound and production capabilities unconstrained by the limitations of a renovation. Further, this proposal offers the important opportunity to construct a climate-forward venue prioritizing carbon emissions reductions and leveraging the rapidly expanding mass-timber economy in the region. Amenities will include:
- Enhanced cast and crew support spaces.
- Three times the load-in/load-out capability with no interruption of downtown traffic flows.
- An on-site commercial kitchen and expanded multi-use re-function space for events, merchandising, beverage services, gallery space and other cultural options.
- A modern, environmentally conscious and acoustically tuned venue designed to last 100 years.
- PSU's option will also be 40% larger, more environmentally friendly and will be built to last 100 years.
PSU’s public-private proposal will activate the site 365 days a year, not just during showtimes. The opportunity to co-locate performing arts venues, a boutique hotel, conference center, practice space and academic facilities side by side is what sets this proposal apart, creating a unique opportunity for year-round vibrancy. A West-side hotel and conference center will attract steady activity. In addition, access to PSU’s diverse student body, engaged faculty and deep connections to arts communities and creative industries will attract new partners and audiences to performances and create linkages to other cultural offerings on campus and across the auditorium district.
PSU’s proposal is great for downtown. It keeps Oregon’s premier arts venue in downtown Portland in the auditorium district, allowing performances to continue during construction without disruption or forced closures, providing continuity to the performing arts community and limiting economic losses for downtown businesses. The project scope would be a strong market signal, catalyzing additional development in the central city on a site with acres of developable land nearby.
PSU’s proposal centers equity and access. PSU has a robust history of community engagement and commitment to inclusive design. Input from all corners of the region’s cultural communities will inform more flexible staging than a rebuilt Keller can provide. The second on-site venue will provide additional opportunities for community connection. Local groups of all sizes will be able to utilize the space to offer arts and cultural opportunities to more diverse organizations and audiences.
PSU as a development partner is a win. PSU already owns the proposed site and is a trusted real estate developer in downtown Portland with experience negotiating complex financing packages and win-win partnerships. In the last 12 years, the university has renovated or built eight projects in the Central City projects — including the $111 million Vanport Building that counts the City among its four owners — with a total value of more than $600 million.
PSU as a partner offers access to state bonding that no other proposal can provide. Those resources could significantly enhance the project and buy down debt to attract out-of-state investment.
This proposal bolsters PSU too—so every dollar spent is a double win. Our region benefits from a thriving urban access university in the heart of downtown Portland to anchor the central city, bolster revitalization, and educate our region’s diverse workforce.
The current Keller site is a huge opportunity for Portland to do something different. When a new state-of-the-art performance venue opens a few blocks away from the existing Keller Auditorium, the city will have had ample time to plan a new and visionary use for the block across from Keller Fountain. Options could include downtown housing, a year round community market, an arts maker space, a business incubator, or another use that will activate the space more often than just during showtimes.