Struggling on NW 23rd Avenue

When I first came to Portland for a business trip about ten years ago, a co-worker suggested dining on NW 23rd Avenue. It was winter, and the scene was enchanting: lights decorating the trees along this narrow street, a lot of people bundled up on the sidewalks, windows looking into warm restaurants.

When I first moved to Portland, 23rd Avenue was always a good street for a stroll, some shopping, coffee, and food. I almost bought a place nearby in 2002 but opted for the Pearl. After all of these years, I'm finally living in the neighborhood, apparently just in time to see the district experiencing a particuarly severe downturn. From the NW Examiner (pdf):

Last April, The Oregonian reported that 23rd Avenue was “fraying under the weight of the recession.... From every street corner between Everett and Raleigh streets—13 blocks—shoppers can spot a ‘For Lease’ sign or plywood-covered window.”

Those were the good old days. At the end of January, 23 locations on 23rd were either closed, temporarily closed or for lease.

Retail activity came to a near standstill when crews blocked off the southbound lane Jan. 4, but the worst is yet to come. Early this month, both lanes will be closed simultaneously in two-to-three block stretches as the street is excavated to its base, old streetcar lines are removed and a new street is built from the bottom up. That work is scheduled to finish in May, but business leaders are braced for it extending into June....

Some retailers are predicting that the vibrant shopping scene that once garnered national attention will be gone in the next few months. A recession seems like a heckuva time to tear up the street in a retail district...