KATU reviewed inspection records for Centennial Mills, the vacant Pearl District warehouse complex that burned on August 2. Inspectors flagged blocked fire doors and structurally unsafe areas in June 2000, months after the city bought the property in February 2000, and a February 2013 inspection found a broken sprinkler system, exposed energized electrical equipment and failed support posts; the city confirmed it spent about $19 million on the building over its nearly 25 years of ownership. Portland Fire & Rescue records after the sale to a private developer show crews repeatedly found unhoused people living inside, and missing fire alarm, sprinkler and fire escape inspection documentation.
The city sold the complex to a private developer about two years ago; the new owner did not respond to KATU's questions.
The San Diego City Council on Monday repealed 2022's Measure C, which had exempted the Midway District from the city's 30-foot coastal height limit until a judge invalidated the measure on environmental-review grounds; Councilmember Jennifer Campbell said the city had to comply or face contempt fines after the California Supreme Court declined to take the case. The repeal affects Midway Rising, the plan to redevelop the 48.5-acre Sports Arena property with a new arena and 4,254 apartments, 2,000 of them affordable to low-income renters; a bill from state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson to shield the project from future environmental lawsuits needs two-thirds majorities in both chambers by August 31.
A similar Midway height-limit measure approved by voters in 2020 was also overturned in court; in both cases judges found the city had not analyzed the environmental impacts of taller buildings.
Portland Mercury · on emergency demolition of the Centennial Mills housing redevelopment site
Demolition crews used controlled explosions Monday to topple the water tower at the former Centennial Mills site on Northwest Naito Parkway, which had been slated for redevelopment into mixed-use housing and retail before an August 2 fire destroyed most of the building. City inspectors said the structure was at risk of collapse from nearby train vibrations, and Mayor Keith Wilson declared a public emergency to arrange full demolition with owner Stuart Lindquist. The city said air monitoring outside the immediate fire area showed contaminant levels that do not pose a significant health risk.
City officials reported last week that K9s detected human remains of undetermined age inside the building; Portland Fire & Rescue said it does not believe anyone died in the August 2 fire.