Northeast Portland’s Lloyd Center is due to be foreclosed
Posted Dec. 9, 2021
Staff Editor
Northeast Portland’s Lloyd Center is due to be foreclosed upon by the end of the year due to its inability to pay back a loan.
Lloyd Center was opened in 1960 as an open-air mall featuring over 100 stores, restaurants, and office space. At the time it was touted as the largest such mall in the world. In the 1980s it was renovated to include a glass ceiling and was eventually converted into a more conventional shopping mall in the 1990s.
Over the years, however, Lloyd Center’s popularity and relevance began to decline. An expensive renovation in 2014 failed to reverse this trend as anchor stores such as Nordstrom, Sears, Marshalls, and Macy’s left and the surrounding neighborhood developed a poor reputation.
The coronavirus pandemic was the final nail in the coffin, so to speak, as the remaining businesses began departing en masse and the mall was left as a shell of its former self.
"It's such a ghost town now, and just doesn't really seem to serve a purpose for the community in the same way anymore,” stated Katie Quick, a Portland resident and long-time patron of the mall.
In 2015 Lloyd Center’s manager, Cypress Equities of Dallas, Texas, took out a $177 million loan from New York-based KKR Real Estate Finance Trust. The firm has said payments on Lloyd Center’s now $110 million debt have been overdue since January. Consequently, KKR intends on taking ownership of the mall and redeveloping it before the end of 2021.
“Upon taking title, which is targeted for the fourth quarter, we’ll begin to plan for a comprehensive redevelopment of the site, which we expect will include multiple uses including residential and creative offices,” stated KKR president Patrick Mattson.
Despite being located within the Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Area administered by Prosper Portland, Mayor Ted Wheeler has stated that the city has no plans to “save” Lloyd Center and obstruct its foreclosure and redevelopment.
"Most Portlanders—particularly those who are local like Mayor Wheeler—have a strong connection to the Lloyd Center. We know that shopping habits have changed and indoor shopping malls all over the country have suffered from an economic decline,” stated Ted Wheeler’s office when contacted by Pamplin Media. “Our administration looks forward to seeing what's next for the Lloyd Center and do not have plans in place to obstruct the foreclosure of the building. We do hope that the new construction will pay homage to the character that we all know and love about the Lloyd Center."
While Prosper Portland has shared a close relationship with Lloyd Center and have previously collaborated to promote the Convention Center Area, Lloyd Center has never received any public investment.
Speculation has run rampant regarding what might be constructed in its place. Many believe the community may be best served by the 23 acre property being redeveloped into a housing complex - after all, Portland is in the midst of a housing crisis. Others suggest it may be an ideal site for a baseball stadium, which would be a necessary prerequisite for Portland being awarded a professional baseball team. Still others propose redeveloping the property into a youth sports facility or amusement park. Regardless of what eventually transpires, Portlanders seem united in their desire that it remain a centerpiece of the surrounding community, as Lloyd Center has always been.