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In 1916, when Sam Zidell began selling secondhand machinery and supplies to Portland鈥檚 burgeoning industrial businesses, he probably couldn鈥檛 have predicted the path his business would someday forge.

Even half a century later, when his son Emery Zidell began building oceangoing barges, such foresight would have been difficult.

Nevertheless, the family this week unveiled an ambitious master plan to transform a 33-acre South Waterfront site into a new Portland neighborhood.

鈥淚鈥檝e been working here full time for I think close to 45 years now,鈥� said Jay Zidell, a grandson of Sam and president of the Zidell Cos. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen a lot of change over those 45 years. The chapter of change that we鈥檙e about to embark on is the most exciting. I think that the opportunity to take the largest piece of undeveloped real estate in the city 鈥� and to have a completely blank slate is an opportunity that few people ever get.鈥�

The plan, drafted by ZGF Architects, calls for construction of 27 buildings 鈥� as well as between 3 million and 3.5 million square feet of office, retail and multifamily space. A network of streets will wind around irregularly shaped blocks and public green spaces.

Hunched over a map of the site in a job trailer, Matt French, Jay Zidell鈥檚 nephew and the managing director of ZRZ Realty, traced the family鈥檚 property in blue ink. He pointed to the Collaborative Life Sciences building and new transit bridge to the north and the residential towers to the south.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in the middle of all this and we鈥檝e got every kind of transit imaginable,鈥� French said. 鈥淵ou kind of see a convergence of activity and we鈥檙e really enveloped on every side by either really high-quality neighbors and development or transit. So it really is 鈥� a world-class site. It may not have been 10 years ago before all this was done, but today, as we look at it, it really is a very rare and unique opportunity.鈥�

Zidell has already invested $20 million in a multiyear project to clean up years of industrial contamination. And last week, it broke ground on a $20 million, 118-unit multifamily building 鈥� the Emery 鈥� slightly south of the Ross Island Bridge.

French said the idea is to create a pedestrian-oriented destination for activities such as biking, jogging and boating. To that end, French and Dennis Allen, ZRZ鈥檚 director of planning and development, spent the past year traveling around the world to places like New York, Philadelphia, Copenhagen and Vancouver, B.C., to discover what makes successful cities tick.

He recalled an early Saturday morning in Copenhagen and pointed to a picture of people jumping from a wall into water.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e actually swimming in the river there, which is extremely cold 鈥� I jumped off that thing,鈥� he laughed. 鈥淚t was packed. It was totally packed.鈥�
French and Allen plan on creating a similar environment. More than 25 percent of the property and up to a mile of greenway will be public space.

鈥淭hat was just a random day,鈥� Allen said of the Copenhagen experience. 鈥淭he water was freezing cold and it just shows you the power of the water. (People) want to be a part of it. They want to be in it 鈥� They want to interact with each other and the water. Other cities do a great job of that, and we hope to create that same thing here on this property.鈥�

The master plan shies away from typical square-block, grid development in favor of meandering streets and alleyways. The idea is to mimic European streets that invite people to wander and explore.

Because the streetscape will be designed from scratch, the group will be able to craft creative floor plans, which French said will spur interest. One such plan has already attracted M Financial Group, which is now considering a move there from downtown.

鈥淏ecause we can build a building like that 鈥� that has more sunlight, that is more efficient for the way they work, that gives people easy ways to get to work with transit and bikes 鈥� it won us the proposal if they move,鈥� French said.

The project鈥檚 size means it will be costly, and French said the group is seeking a public-private partnership with the city of Portland for the development. Geraldene Moyle, senior project manager and program coordinator for the Portland Development Commission, said the PDC is laying out the framework for what that partnership would look like. She believes it could fulfill the original goal of the South Waterfront: creation of 10,000 jobs and 5,000 housing units.

鈥淭his site means a lot in regards to the fact that it鈥檚 one of the last remaining large sites in the city,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a strategic site for job creation.鈥�

ZRZ is actively trying to attract a grocery store to the area. The company hopes to see the remainder of the long-range plan play out over the next 10 to 20 years.

鈥淚 think the fact that our family has been here for 80 years kind of gives us an added level of care and stewardship into it, so we have been putting an incredible amount of thought into what鈥檚 going to be developed here,鈥� French said. 鈥淣ot just what happens on the site, but what does this do for Portland, and how does this leave a legacy for the family and for the city because we care about what happens here in 50 years. We care how people are going to look back at this.鈥�