Activating a Neighborhood with a
Dynamic Performing Arts Campus
Concept Study for Performing Arts Center
Civic and Public
ZGF, as part of the Urban Renaissance Group development team, participated in the City of Portland’s design competition to reimagine Keller Auditorium—a beloved but aging civic venue in downtown Portland. Our proposal envisioned a new performing arts center at the Lloyd Center site, a mall in the heart of Portland’s Central City undergoing transformation into a vibrant, mixed-use district with strong transit access and growing cultural momentum. The design is grounded in three goals: to fulfill the promise of what the district can be, to deliver a facility that enriches the city, and to plant seeds of hope for how the arts can truly serve all, ensuring that the needs and aspirations of the
community are at the center’s heart.
This dynamic performing arts facility is designed to animate the neighborhood from early morning to midnight through performances, public amenities, arts education, and year-round community programming. The team focused on universal access to serve patrons, staff, and performers of all abilities and identities with comfort, dignity, and inclusion. Flexible and future-ready infrastructure anticipates emerging technologies and evolving performance formats, enabling truly immersive experiences.
Location
Portland, OR
Project Component
Site Analysis
Urban Design
Architectural Services
Programming
The design creates parks and a covered porch that work together to extend performance from the inside to the outside. The resulting civic space can support everything from food carts to festivals amplifying the experience of both parks and the theater.
The Lloyd Center site presents an ideal setting for a state-of-the-art performing arts campus capable of supporting a broad spectrum of performances—from national Broadway tours to community-based productions. With generous horizontal and vertical site dimensions and an existing 20-foot-deep excavated basement, the site offers unmatched flexibility to accommodate essential programmatic needs: a 3,000-seat main theater, extensive back-of-house and support spaces, on-site parking, and high-performance building systems. This dimensional freedom allows for both immediate operational excellence and long-term adaptability. A proposed 1,200–1,500-seat second venue fills a critical gap in the Portland’5 Centers for the Arts (P’5) portfolio, offering an appropriately scaled space for smaller troupes and productions. ZGF also created opportunity to integrate ancillary spaces such as artist studios, educational facilities, rehearsal rooms, and commercial components, activating the site throughout the day and making it a vibrant cultural anchor — not just
during performances.
The Lloyd Center site is a blank canvas for community engagement. A performing arts center as an icon at the center of the Lloyd Center master plan adds exciting community-focused possibilities and connections for the district and the city.
At the heart of this project is its community impact. Relocating the performing arts center to the Lloyd Center site extends the P’5 footprint to the city’s near eastside, strengthening connections between downtown and adjacent neighborhoods while contributing to a cultural corridor that already includes the Oregon Convention Center, Moda Center, and Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The project aligns seamlessly with the Lloyd District Master Plan, which encourages a mix of civic, cultural, residential, and commercial uses. Its built-in flexibility supports co-location of mission-aligned organizations and encourages collaborative programming that expands access and audience diversity. The site’s scale and orientation also allow for distinctive open space strategies, such as a “Theater in the Garden” concept adjacent to Holladay Park and a network of public spaces that invite both casual exploration and intentional visitation. With excellent connectivity via MAX light rail, streetcar, bus, the Green Loop, freeway access, and ample parking, the location is primed to welcome Portlanders and visitors alike, reinforcing the performing arts as a central and accessible part of daily city life.
Lower Albina and the Lloyd District include decades of investment in civic infrastructure and facilities. Emerging mixed-use district developments at Albina Vision, Broadway Corridor, and the Lloyd Center will complement these investments with higher density residential uses and strengthen connections between them with an active and vital public realm.
Anchoring the Lloyd Center Redevelopment with a regional performing arts facility can reinforce and support these emerging investments, and reinforce this part of N/NE Portland as a hub of gathering and community within the Central City.
No matter where the performing arts facility takes root for its future, it will provide a welcoming space
with universal design that creates an immersive experience and activates its neighborhood.
The design is a reflection of the people of Portland with materials, colors, and textures grounded in this locale and where patrons can find community and human connection.
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Central City Master Plan
