County board to vote on disposition process for Courthouse and McCoy Building

April 18, 2018

Multnomah County's Central Courthouse in downtown Portland
On April 19 Multnomah County’s Board of Commissioners will vote on whether to declare the county’s Central Courthouse and McCoy Building as surplus, beginning a process to dispose of both properties. The two county-owned buildings in downtown Portland Central Business District are being replaced with new structures: a new courthouse at SW 1st Avenue and SW Madison Street and a new Health Department headquarters at NW 6th Avenue and NW Hoyt Street.

Approval of the resolution to declare the buildings as surplus would kick off a minimum 60-day public comment period. The county plans to hold an open house in early May to take public comments and explain the disposition process.

If the board approves the plan, the two properties would be marketed by real estate firm CBRE, Inc. for a 60-day period that would end two weeks after the end of the public comment period. Interested parties would be required to submit offers by the end of the marketing period.

The process is designed to provide public input for county commissioners to consider before disposing of the properties.

Central Courthouse: Located at 1021 SW 4th Ave., the existing courthouse was built between 1909 - 1914. The neo-classical structure takes up a full city block. It has 39 courtrooms on eight floors. The building has a gross building area of 292,717 square feet. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Gladys McCoy Building: Located at 426 SW Stark Street, the 10-story building houses Multnomah County’s Health Department. The structure takes up a quarter city block. The building was constructed in 1923. It has a gross building area of 112,331 square feet.

County Resolution 2018-005, adopted in January 2018, describes the property disposition process.

If the board approves the disposition plan on April 19, public comments on the disposition can be submitted for 60 days starting April 20. Comments can be submitted online at: /facilities-and-property-management/public-comment-surplus-real-property. Comments can also be mailed to Henry Alaman, Director, Multnomah County Facilities and Property Management, 401 N. Dixon St., Portland, OR 97227.

If the board approves the disposition plan on April 19, information on the disposition of these properties will be available on April 20 at: /facilities-and-property-management/surplus-real-property-sales

If either building is sold before staff move to new buildings (in 2019 for the Health Department and in 2020 for the Courthouse), the county will negotiate leases with the new owners so that county operations can continue until staff relocate to the new buildings.