The gymnasium at St. Johns Community Center is closing for as long as 18 months after Portland Parks & Recreation crews discovered rot eating into a weight-bearing post, forcing the bureau to shut down one of North Portland's oldest recreational buildings while engineers figure out how to fix it. The closure was prompted by safety concerns, and officials say the rest of the community center, including preschool and after-school programs, will keep running as normal.
The damage traces back to heavy rains in late January, which caused water intrusion inside the gym, according to KGW. Maintenance crews doing a routine inspection in mid-February found rot on a weight-bearing post, the station reports, a discovery made during scheduled upkeep rather than after any kind of operational failure. In a post on Facebook, Portland Parks & Recreation confirmed the gym was closed after structural damage was discovered and said engineers and roofing experts have been assessing the damage and developing the best repair plan.
Interim PP&R Director Art Pearce said the work needed to safely restore the gym is moving forward, according to the bureau's Facebook post. Design, permitting, and construction are expected to take 12 to 18 months, though the agency cautions that timeline may shift as the project proceeds. Pearce approved reallocating internal budget funds and staff capacity in August to begin the repair process, having taken over leadership of the bureau in June after transitioning from the Portland Bureau of Transportation, per the same account.
Why This Gym Matters to St. Johns
Built in 1940 as part of a recreation complex meant to serve shipyard workers during World War II, the St. Johns Community Center is one of North Portland's oldest public recreational assets, KGW notes. Portland Parks & Recreation says the repair project is a priority not just because of safety concerns but because of the service impacts and limited alternative facilities in the area for residents who rely on the gym.
A structural engineering assessment found the water damage was isolated to the gymnasium, allowing the rest of the community center to stay open for programs including Portland Parks Preschool and SOAR after-school care, according to the North Peninsula Review. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, a Roosevelt High School graduate who once worked as a camp counselor at the center, publicly promised on August 31 to pursue long-term city funding to restore and maintain North Portland facilities, the outlet reported.
A Familiar Fight Over Neighborhood Funding
This isn't the first time the center has faced uncertainty. During early 2025 city budget deliberations aimed at closing a $172 million shortfall, the St. Johns Community Center faced potential closure, which triggered neighborhood rallies by an advocacy group called the St. Johns Defenders, according to KOIN 6. The center had previously received capital improvements, including roof and HVAC system replacements, funded through the voter-approved Parks Replacement Bond, according to the city's parks bureau.
The gym's closure fits into a much larger problem facing Portland's park system. Portland Parks & Recreation currently faces an estimated $759 million deferred major maintenance backlog across its facilities, according to the city, which is forcing the bureau to defer other planned repairs elsewhere in order to prioritize urgent safety hazards like the St. Johns gym.
The St. Johns closure is not an isolated incident. It's part of a broader trend of aging structural failures across Portland's park facilities, KGW reports, including a two-month closure of the Southwest Community Center pool starting September 5 for roof support corrosion after the bureau identified corrosion at the bases of pool roof support columns in March. To help manage deteriorating assets amid tight budgets, the city agreed in August to lease the city-owned Portland Tennis Center to the nonprofit USTA Pacific Northwest, which committed $2.3 million in private facility repairs while the city retains ownership of the land, according to the city's parks bureau.
Portland Parks & Recreation says it will share updates as the St. Johns repair project progresses.
