Hi Kerns neighbors,
My name is Roman Ruddick and I live off of Sandy in the Kerns neighborhood. I am writing to share some time sensitive information about what is happening with the Lloyd Center, and to ask for your support!
Would the Kerns Neighborhood Association be willing to:
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Share the Save Lloyd Petition and information about the upcoming public hearing in your newsletter?
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Submit a written statement and/or provide verbal testimony to City Council for the upcoming hearing, telling them to not accept the Master Plan?
The public appeal hearing will be held at City Hall on Wednesday, June 24th
Hearing starts at 9:45 AM and folks will begin to gather outside at 9AM.
Anyone can attend and/or testify:
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Written testimony is open now: https://www.portland.gov/
auditor/council-clerk/lu-25- 091308-ccms-ad-written- testimony
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Sign up for verbal testimony (in-person or online) with open on June 19th, on the City Council Agenda page: https://www.portland.gov/
council/agenda
People can find more information and updates at savelloyd.com, @save_lloyd on Instagram, or email info@savelloyd.com
Background:
The Save Lloyd Coalition of mall tenants and community members have partnered with the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods to appeal the Portland Design Commission’s decision to approve the Lloyd Center Central City Master Plan. This follows another appeal submitted by the Save Lloyd Ice (skating) Coalition.
The Master Plan seeks to demolish the entirety of the Lloyd Center mall in order to section off the property into 14 parcels, to be sold individually over time and developed “as the market allows”. The property is 29 acres (roughly 20 city blocks) and resides in the heart of NE Portland, only a short walk from Kerns.
FAQ about the plan for Lloyd Center:
– Isn’t Lloyd Center being re-developed into housing and public space?
The current owners of the mall do not intend to redevelop the property at all. Recent media showing conceptual renderings from the Master Plan have implied that Lloyd Center will be replaced with mixed-use housing, retail space, and a multi-acre park. These renderings are purely conceptual, representing a framework for theoretical future development when and if the plots sell. What would be built on any of these plots would be dependent on the interests of future buyers. And the park space would be equally privately owned, if it were to even be developed. There are currently NO proposed developments, NO interested buyers, and NO investment in any future development on the site.
– Aren’t they already developing a new music venue?
The music venue currently being built is not being developed by the current owners of Lloyd Center and the plot it resides on (the former Nordstroms) was sold in 2025. This development is not representative of success related to the Lloyd Center Master Plan because they had an interested developer and a design plan approved for the venue before any demolition occured. The Master Plan promotes a demolition-first model for the remainder of the property.
– Is Lloyd Center A Dead Mall?
Lloyd stands apart from most traditional shopping malls in a few ways.
1. The previous owners invested $50,000,000 into award winning renovations completed less than 10 years ago, contributing to the building’s interior modern aesthetics, reinforced structural integrity, and energy efficiency.
2. Proven mixed-use and adaptability. Lloyd Center has always been intended as a mixed-use space, not just a shopping mall. It holds the world’s first mall ice skating rink, which is still a profitable anchor tenant. Lloyd has also been home to many industries from movie theaters, to medical offices, and government agencies, it’s not just a relic of corporate shopping brands. It currently houses a long running cosmetology school, multiple children’s summer/after school camps, art galleries, non-profits, museums, second hand shops, and hosts many community groups and year round markets and pop ups. In just the past year the mall has held over 100 local businesses, but the impending closure and short term and ending leases has forced businesses to vacate.
3. Lloyd Center is an important civic infrastructure that contributes to public health, culture, and the economy of inner NE Portland. A rare indoor urban mall in a rainy city that is highly accessible by transit, car, bike, and walking. In an area known for entertainment and tourism for the MODA and Convention centers, Lloyd provides a desperately needed accessible family and budget friendly option for both locals and tourists to gather out of the rain and support local businesses and restaurants any day of the week. It also acts as a climate refuge for all people amid increasingly extreme weather and smoke events. *Fun Fact: ALL restaurants/food vendors and many small businesses currently in Lloyd Center are BIPOC and LGBTQ owned.
– How do we Save Lloyd?
First, we get the City Council to NOT accept the Master Plan as-is. The Master Plan for Lloyd Center opens the doors for an unprecedented large-scale demolition project that will impact the future of the central city forever, and could leave us with empty lots for decades. It will contribute approximately 100,000 tons of waste to our landfills and significantly contribute to carbon impact in ways that do not align with Portland’s carbon neutral and sustainability goals. The plan also implies the use of taxpayer money through the Lloyd/Holladay TIF District, diverting precious public dollars to aid in demolition and to build new roads through the site. This gives the City Council leverage to demand more accountability and alignment with City land use and sustainability policies. Currently, the Master Plan cites NO environmental impact data or feasibility studies comparing the impacts of total demolition and redevelopment vs. adaptive reuse with phased development.
Second, we find an alternative plan forward that includes preservation of the mall, so that it can continue to be adapted and used by the community. This future is being considered through many avenues, including private/public partnerships through Oregon Metro or similar civic partners and goal-aligned private investors, and proposing hybrid plans that allow for development of parts of the property like excess parking lots while keeping the core of the mall open and intact.
The Save Lloyd Coalition is looking for partners and community members that are interested in helping to secure a better future for the people, the planet, and the heart of Portland. Please contact info@savelloyd.com if you can help. Spread the word! Share the petition! And testify!
If you have any questions you can also reach out to me directly! Thank you so much for your time and attention on this matter.
Sincerely,
Roman Ruddick
(Kerns resident – Save Lloyd Coalition member – and Portland Zine Meetup organizer)—