Today's Oregonian reports that retired theater magnate Tom Moyer says the Park Block unification project is dead. Mr. Moyer says the project is dead because of the recent disgrace of its leading exponent, Neil Goldschmidt. Mr. Moyer had put up $5 million to buy the first of the four developed Park Blocks that stand between the Mausoleum Club and O'Bryant Square.
Jack Bog says "good riddance" to the project. But I think Jack starts from some misconceptions about the idea. The Knower of All Things reports that (1) the City would not have to buy any of the four blocks; the Park Blocks Foundation was to buy it and then give it to the City gratis; (2) Mr. Moyer hadn't hired Uncle Neil to do anything; Uncle Neil was running with the project for reasons of his own (and a cursory search of public records will reveal that Uncle Neil managed to grab for himself the best building in the four-block stretch, the Woodlark Building on Alder Street), and (3) some of the City people involved in the project aren't content with Mr. Moyer paying for Park Block 5 (the surface parking lot southwest of Nordstrom) but expect him to pay to build and maintain the park also.
I'd be more impressed with the City trying to get Tom Moyer to pay to build and maintain the future public park on Park Block 5 if the City were equally diligent in getting Homer Williams to build and maintain the Lair Hill tram.