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Eager to see a show at Doug Fir Lounge’s new venue? Unfortunately, the wait continues.
The venue, run by Monqui Presents, has faced ongoing problems with permitting issues since its move from East Burnside Street to 301 SE Morrison St. (formerly Le Bistro Montage). The venue was initially supposed to open by mid-2024, which came and went, and hit another snag with the city regarding required improvements to the sidewalk outside.
“The city of Portland is requiring a $110,000 right-of-way corner improvement,” Monqui Presents co-owner Mike Quinn shared in a statement.
According to Quinn, that work includes “new corner ramps, new catch basins, new pipe for city sewers, new concrete walks and curbs, new connections to existing city structures, etc. Not to mention, the $5,000 spent for a survey, the $4,600 meeting with the city, $15,000 for drawings, and securing a $110,000 performance bond. All of which is holding up our building permit.”
Quinn is one of multiple small-business owners to voice frustration over sidewalk requirement costs, as reported by KATU. These requirements are referred to as “frontage improvements.” City code requires these improvements be made by permit applicants if there’s an expected increase in traffic or significant alterations to the building.
The Portland Permitting and Development Office says in the case of Doug Fir’s disability access and frontage improvement requirements, “the applicant was given an opportunity to propose alternatives to the standard right-of-way requirements, but chose not to do so,” spokesman Ken Ray wrote to WW. “We then provided an estimate of the city’s costs, for bonding purposes, that includes the cost of design and construction that is more than the applicant would likely have to pay a private contractor. Our estimate for the work is often 25% to 30% higher in case the city has to go through the public contracting process to make the improvements if the applicant doesn’t complete the work.”
This isn’t Monqui Presents’ only new building battle in town. The entertainment agency has partnered with Anschutz Entertainment Group to develop a 4,250-seat concert hall at Lloyd Center. Meanwhile, Live Nation, the world’s largest live entertainment company, is pushing forward on its own 3,500-seat venue north of the Hawthorne Bridge in the Central Eastside Industrial District.
On its website, Monqui Presents says it still aims to open Doug Fir by summer 2025, though it’s unclear how long permitting costs might continue to delay the venue.
“The city is repairing many of the corners just one and two blocks away on MLK and Grand at NO COST to the businesses that are adjacent to them,” Quinn said. “We’re just the suckers who submitted for a building permit (which triggered the corner work) to rehab the building, provide 35ish jobs, and bring needed vitalization to this Central Eastside Industrial District location.”