Trader Joe’s Pulls Out Of Poor Portland, Oregon Neighborhood [after protests from radical leftists]

International Business Times ^ | February 4, 2014 | Palash Ghosh

[grundle]

The Portland African American Leadership Forum (PAALF) objected to the proposed development partly because it feared that the new retail complex would eventually push up rental prices in the area and drive out the local black community. PAALF officials cited that they held no animosity toward Trader Joe’s whatsoever but were concerned by the city government’s history of displacing African-Americans from their homes.

According to The Oregonian newspaper, California-based developer Majestic Realty Co. had plans to build an $8 million retail complex in a vacant two-acre lot in Northeast Portland at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Alberta Street. The project was to include a Trader Joe's store, as well as up to 10 other retailers and a 100-space parking lot. The Portland Development Commission (PDC) had already OK'd a deal to sell the acreage to Majestic for $500,000, leading to optimism from the city fathers of an economic renaissance in the deprived area. However, now that Trader Joe’s and Majestic have both backed out, municipal officials called the decision "a loss for the city” and particularly for Northeast Portland.

[LSAggie]

No, actually, I was to responding to comments about us cranky old people who (a) don’t want development,(b) don’t want our taxes to go up and (c) don’t want to sell our property for the greater good.

And yes, one could say that politicians in Kansas City are dumber than yours, except for the fact that they got what they wanted, the public be damned. I submit for your consideration, the Power & Light project that is costing KC $12 million a year out of their general fund because the project is not generating projected revenues, and the Street Car project that is something like $100 million for 2 miles of track.

[Fledermaus]

My mom lives in Hillsboro. I only visit. I live in Franklin, TN and our “politicians” are actually pretty good but can get bouts of “DUH” on road projects.