Portland Prepares for a Brand-New District

Written by Steve Nassar

On May 1, 2020 the addresses of roughly 10,000 homes and businesses will change between the Willamette River and Naito Parkway running west, and the Portland waterfront to Lewis and Clark College.

"This just makes a simple change to end this confusion that people have been coping with and working around for decades," said Dylan Rivera, spokesperson for the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

The city says it will cost about $300,000 to make the changes to signage in the area. Signs are currently labeled as Southwest Portland.

Residents and businesses will soon need to make changes of their own. Richard Rizk owns a law office at 0434 Southwest Iowa Street in Portland.

"We're dropping the zero and dropping the 'W' and that's what all business will be," said Rizk.

The city of Portland said that although all addresses are changing on May 1, it will take about five years for all of the signs to be updated to reflect the new Portland district.

"We can't change thousands of signs overnight on May 1; that can't happen," said Rivera.

However, Rivera said the affected residents have been aware of the impending changes since it was approved by City Council in 2018.

"This is a one-time, relatively minor inconvenience that will pay dividends for the community and the city in the long run for years to come," said Rivera.

Richard Rizk is also a member of the South Portland Business Association. He said at first there were concerns of some of the local neighborhoods losing their identities as a result of sweeping changes.

But he said that many have come to embrace the change; even creating a new South PDX website that will keep the community informed on upcoming local events.

"It's a tiny little sliver, but we think it's one of the nicest places in town," said Rizk.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LIST OF CHANGING ADDRESSES IN SOUTH PORTLAND