Lloyd Center's signature ice rink and the mall wrapped around it are suddenly on a fast track toward demolition. A sweeping master plan now in front of the city would level the existing complex to open up new streets, parks, and buildings across the roughly 27.1-acre site, with a Design Commission hearing already scheduled for Feb. 5, 2026. Tenants and a grassroots coalition called Save Lloyd are racing to keep the rink and pieces of the mall alive while they still can.
What the master plan proposes
A revised staff report published Jan. 26 outlines a voluntary Central City master plan that would split the Lloyd Center property into 14 development areas with up to about 7.0 million gross square feet of allowed development and building envelopes up to 225 feet tall, according to the City of Portland. The filing also identifies roughly 6.18 acres of publicly accessible open space and new rights-of-way.
The transportation analysis attached to the application projects about 1,100,658 square feet of office, 456,640 square feet of retail and as many as 5,141 residential units over time. Redevelopment would be phased so that new streets and infrastructure come online as individual parcels move into design review, rather than all at once.
Ice rink's fate and owners' timeline
Urban Renaissance Group (URG) and co-owner KKR are openly signaling that the current mall layout is living on borrowed time. As Willamette Week reported, URG's Tom Kilbane did not sugarcoat the approach, saying, "We're going to knock stuff down."
OregonLive reported that developers have told the city the mall will close sometime in 2026, and quoted Kilbane saying that "when the mall closes, the ice rink will also close." The owners have also said they hope to work in opportunities for seasonal skating somewhere within the larger project in the future, but the existing rink would not survive a full tear-down.
Tenants and the Save Lloyd campaign
In response, current tenants and community members have organized under the Save Lloyd banner, arguing for adaptive reuse instead of a clean slate. They contend that the existing mall nurtures low-cost incubator retail, artists and family-friendly activities that would vanish with a full demolition. The group is preparing an alternative plan on its website and has helped launch a Change.org petition that has drawn more than 4,600 signatures, according to Save Lloyd and Change.org.
City staff note in the report that they received dozens of written comments from neighbors and other stakeholders in advance of the Design Commission hearing, signaling that the fight over what happens to the mall and its rink is not likely to be quiet.
A music venue is already moving forward
Even as the big-picture plan gets hashed out, parts of the site are already changing. The former Nordstrom anchor has been demolished, and a two-story, 68,000-square-foot concert hall backed by Monqui Presents and AEG is under construction at NE 9th and Multnomah, with backers targeting an early-2027 opening and a flexible 2,000-4,250 capacity, according to the Portland Mercury.
Hoodline previously covered the project as a new entertainment venue at the former Nordstrom site, and developers say early moves like the music hall will help determine how the rest of the property gets phased over time.
Design Commission hearing and next steps
The Design Commission hearing is scheduled for Feb. 5 at 1:30 p.m., and the meeting will be held remotely. The city has posted instructions for observing and testifying on the commission's events page, according to the City of Portland.
The staff report frames the filing as a voluntary Central City master-plan review. A Design Commission decision could be appealed to City Council, and in practice, each of the 14 development areas would still have to go through its own design reviews and permits before any construction actually begins.
What to watch legally
City staff have folded recommended conditions and an infrastructure phasing table into their recommendation, and agency reviews have flagged issues from fire access to utility phasing that will shape any approval. If the commission signs off on the master plan, opponents could seek appeal rights or try to negotiate conditions that preserve certain community spaces or soften the impacts of demolition.
For anyone tracking the case closely, the city’s land-use docket includes the full staff report and appendix materials. The Save Lloyd site and the Change.org petition lay out the tenants' alternative concepts and community perspective, and the Design Commission agenda for Feb. 5 will list instructions for public testimony.
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