Chuck Slothower//August 21, 2017//
Two new members have been appointed to the board of Prosper Portland.
Francesca Gambetti, a project manager and partner at Shiels Obletz Johnsen, and Peter Platt, owner of the restaurant Andina, were appointed to three-year terms by Mayor Ted Wheeler, and unanimously approved by the City Council on Wednesday.
Gambetti served on the Portland Design Commission from 2003 to 2006. At Shiels Obletz Johnsen, a local project-management consultancy, Gambetti has ushered projects that include Mercy Corps headquarters and Broadway Rose Theater.
Platt’s Andina restaurant is a Peruvian fine-dining destination in the Pearl District. The restaurant was named The Oregonian’s Restaurant of the Year in 2005.
The two newcomers replace Tom Kelly, who served as chairman and leads Neil Kelly, a residential remodeling firm; and Mark Edlen, co-founder and chairman of Gerding Edlen, a major Portland-based development firm. Their terms were expiring.
Wheeler said in a news release that both the new appointees had demonstrated a commitment to Portland. Gambetti and Platt said they were committed to equitable economic development.
Prosper Portland’s board has a number of major projects in its near future. These include the remake of the U.S. Postal Service site and the wider Broadway corridor in Northwest Portland, attracting development to the Centennial Mills site, shaping a politically sensitive proposed project on a vacant lot owned by Legacy Health in North Portland, efforts to broaden prosperity to historically disadvantaged groups and finding solutions for Prosper Portland’s long-term financial stability.