The USPS site does not meet the criteria for site selection established by the Safe Rest Village team. There is a court-ordered consent judgment with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) which legally prohibits residential use of any type. An environmental analysis concluded that contamination on the site would put human health at risk, and that this risk is serious enough to require Prosper Portland, as the landowner, to proactively exclude people until the risk is mitigated. We are conferring with DEQ and the Department of Justice regarding the feasibility of amending the consent judgment but neither the amendment process nor the necessary environmental remediation meets the criteria safe and ready sites.
In addition, as part of our commitment to the City’s economic recovery, Prosper Portland is moving forward with three years of site preparation and infrastructure work. To be ready for new residents and commercial tenants in 2026, structures must be demolished, and streets must be built. This work, which will start in early 2022, will support hundreds of construction jobs and invest $43 million into our local economy.