A call to action for Pearl Rotary to help build a strong, caring community in the Pearl and River Districts of Portland was sounded by speakers from the local Zimmerman Community Center at the July 17 Club meeting. Many community-focused programs and activities have been planned by the City and other agencies in Portland, but most have yet to mature as the Pearl District rapidly expands, George Meier, Zimmerman’s executive director, reported. He urged involvement of Rotary, “an organization that knows how to build the spirit of community”, to help get the job done.

Meier, who was joined by community building consultant Kris Smock, said that while the Pearl has boomed with high-rise condominiums, restaurants and shops, it has yet to create a real sense of community, especially one that bridges a spread of diversity in age groups, economic levels and ethnic mixes, including next-door Old Town/Chinatown in the River District.

Proposals for a non-profit, family-oriented community center to serve the needs of those who live and work in Portland’s River District (Pearl and Old Town/Chinatown) are before the Portland Development Commission, Meier said, aimed at one of the last remaining available blocks in the Pearl at NW 9th and Northrup. The Zimmerman Center is part of a consortium of partner organizations proposing the project, along with Ecotrust, Friendly House, Central City Concern and others.

The center, the speakers said, would play a key role in the development of the emerging River District neighborhood as an inter-generational, economically diverse, family friendly community. Creation of a community center and child care facility has been a priority for the City of Portland since adoption in 2001 by the City Council of the River District Development Plan, Meier noted.

These amenities are essential, Meier indicated, if the City wants to attract and retain families in the neighborhood. Population estimates indicate the neighborhood currently has 566 familes, with 43% of current residents of child-bearing age.

Meier, a former Secretary of the Carmel Valley CA Rotary Club, thanked the Pearl Rotary for its participation in the Pearl’s River District Community Garden, managed by the Zimmerman Center. He asked the Club to explore more ways it can initiate and partner with other organizations in the Pearl to bring a true sense of community and neighborhood to the area.