On Dec. 11, Portland City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Montgomery Park Area Plan (MPAP). This plan sets the stage for a new transit-oriented district in Northwest Portland west of Highway 30 between NW Vaughn Street and NW Nicolai Street. The plan allows the area, now called the York Plan District, to transition to a mixed-use employment district that will support both job growth and housing development.
“The Montgomery Park Area Plan and streetcar extension will advance many of the City’s housing, economic development, and climate resiliency goals,” said Mayor Ted Wheeler. “It will send a message to investors that Portland is still a great place to build and to start a business, and continues a tradition of strong, unique neighborhoods where Portlanders can live, work and play.”
Watch the City Council vote and remarks
A new area plan
The MPAP creates the opportunity for more than 2,000 new housing units – including affordable units - new commercial services, and hundreds of new jobs, with a focus on middle wage jobs. A key component of the plan is to balance the need to retain industrial land with the opportunity to expand housing and employment options in a central location. The MPAP includes land use changes that amend Portland’s Comprehensive Plan map, zoning map, and zoning code, and creates design guidance for future development in the area. All MPAP changes become effective on June 1, 2025.
View the adopted MPAP documents
Portland Streetcar expansion
Transportation elements, including a planned extension of the Portland Streetcar, are an integral part of this plan. The streetcar alignment would run north along NW 23rd Avenue from NW Lovejoy and Northrup Streets, and would turn west on a couplet along NW Roosevelt and Wilson Streets to NW 26th Avenue. NW 23rd Avenue would be substantially reconstructed north of NW Northrup Avenue. The MPAP goals of increasing job and housing density will complement the Portland Streetcar extension, promoting a transit-oriented district.
Learn about the Locally Preferred Alternative for the Portland Streetcar extension
Public benefits agreement
The MPAP effort also established a Public Benefits Agreement between the City of Portland, Portland Streetcar Inc., and the owner of the former ESCO Steel site – an underutilized 16-acre campus within the project area. The Public Benefits Agreement is an innovative tool that utilizes private sector solutions to help meet plan goals such as the creation of middle-wage jobs and affordable housing, the commemoration of York, and the establishment of a public open space.
Read the adopted ordinance for the Public Benefits Agreement