Oregon Public Broadcasting

Residents along Interstate Avenue in Portland fought hard last year to stop a bid to rename their street. Now they're sounding off about a plan to redevelop the area with high-rise buildings.  Andrew Theen reports.Thursday night is the last of four community meetings -- the public turned out in droves for the first three.

Kevin Cronin is a senior project coordinator  with the Portland Development Commission.  Cronin said development along Interstate is "long-overdue."

The urban renewal plan calls for mixed-use developments to lure jobs and residents to the area.  But Cronin said some people were concerned about 100 foot tall buildings going up near MAX stations on the northeast thoroughfare.Kevin Cronin: "The community told us that that is way too high for the Interstate corridor, it's more of a neighborhood based corridor as opposed to a downtown, or the Pearl District, or the Central Eastside."Still, Cronin says the Prescott station will keep a 100 foot height limit because he says it’s the best spot for mixed-use.  Cronin said other MAX areas will have limits at 75-80 feet.  The city and PDC hope to give the final plan to the City Council this summer.