City of Portland Looks to Sell Site of Former Children’s Museum to Metro for “Future Zoo Use”

The Portland City Council will vote this week whether to authorize the sale of a 3.4-acre lot that for decades housed the Portland Children’s Museum, which shuttered during the pandemic. The buyer? Regional government Metro, which wants it for use associated with the Oregon Zoo.

The Children’s Museum, located in Washington Park adjacent to the zoo, closed its doors in 2020. Since then, it’s stood mostly unused, save by one Portland Parks & Recreation employee who oversees the property for the city and has an office in the building. The building was marked for demolition in 2018 due to its aging infrastructure.

Now the building may be sold to Metro, the regional government that owns and manages the Oregon Zoo, the state’s highest-earning tourist attraction.

It’s unclear what Metro’s plans for the lot are.

“Specific plans wouldn’t be established unless a sale is finalized, but if/when that happens, the site could provide some much-needed flexibility as the zoo begins implementing its campus plan,” Oregon Zoo spokesman Hova Najarian says.

“For example, some administrative functions and support services could move across the street, creating more usable space for animal habitats within the current zoo footprint,” Najarian added.

The city’s agenda item for the vote notes that the city “recognizes Metro’s needs to expand its zoo campus for Metro’s long-term resiliency” and states that with the property Metro would “construct one or more buildings in support of the operations of the Oregon Zoo.”

In the spring, Metro voters approved a $380 million zoo bond for new facilities for animals, better access for people with disabilities, and greater climate resiliency. Najarian says Metro would have sought purchase of the $3 million site whether or not the bond passed.

Meanwhile, the first location of the Children’s Museum, also owned by the city, remains vacant and crumbling in Lair Hill.