Portland's development portfolio had its biggest week of the year on August 11–12: the council adopted the Moda Center term sheet, advanced the performing-arts decision, and opened a development-partner process for the Rose Quarter. This first issue reads the whole Community & Economic Development portfolio — sixteen initiatives, thirty unresolved decisions — and pulls out what actually needs attention between now and December.
Five things that need attention
- 1
The Moda Center clock is now running — without a funding plan
Council adopted the term sheet 8–4 on August 12 (Resolution 2026-280): $120 million upfront plus up to $275 million over a 20-year lease, with binding agreements due by December 31. But the city has not chosen where its $120 million comes from — PCEF and Prosper Portland are on the record saying they need detailed renovation plans the team has not yet provided. A half-billion-dollar public package now depends on paperwork that doesn't exist yet.
OPB, Aug 12, 2026 - 2
September 1: the next dated decision on the calendar
The council's Housing and Permitting Committee votes September 1 on whether to advance the Climate and Health Standards for Existing Buildings — annual energy reporting for buildings of 20,000+ square feet and emissions cuts of 20% every five years toward zero by 2050. It is the portfolio's nearest firm decision date, and it would touch nearly every large apartment and commercial building in the city.
Portland.gov building standards - 3
The performing-arts decision reached the full council with bigger numbers
The City Life Committee voted 4–1 on August 11 to send Resolution 2026-270 to the full council: advance a ~3,000-seat venue at PSU and plan a downsized Keller. The estimates moved — $447 million for the PSU venue and $290 million for a Keller renovation, up from the $358M/$236M figures published during the study. A Project Commitment Agreement with PSU is due December 1; the city's own dollar commitment is still undefined.
Resolution 2026-270 (Portland.gov) - 4
The Rose Quarter land question is moving on the same clock as the lease
Resolution 2026-285 — a development-partner process for ten city-owned parcels around the arena, with negotiations prioritized with Albina Vision Trust — cleared committee 5–0 on August 11 and awaits a full council date. The process is designed to run concurrent with the Moda lease talks, and one councilor has already raised on-record concerns about sole preference for a single nonprofit.
OPB, Aug 12, 2026 - 5
The housing-funds audit is still open
After roughly $106 million in unspent Housing Bureau balances surfaced last winter, council allocated $56 million in April and the City Administrator commissioned an independent third-party audit. The audit's findings — and whether a second oversight hearing happens — remain the portfolio's biggest unresolved accountability question. No report date has been published.
OPB, Apr 8, 2026
Decisions on the record as unresolved
Watching
- PCEF's 2026 Community Grants — up to $60 million, award notifications expected this fall.
- The OMSI District's revised construction timeline, promised after the New Water Avenue groundbreaking slipped past 2025.
- Metro-bond housing delivery: 73Foster opened August 17 with 64 homes; 104 more bond-funded units are expected to open during 2026.
- Whether the invalidated PCEF-diversion ballot initiative returns in revised form.
- PP&D's cost-recovery test: new fees took effect July 10 — FY 2026-27 is the year the bureau is supposed to stop drawing on reserves.