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The Central Eastside Industrial Council has commissioned a parking study as an increase of jobs in the urban district has not come with additions of spaces for motor vehicles.

The study is 鈥渢o determine exactly how much parking we have and how much parking we need, and whether we’re using the parking that we have efficiently,鈥� said Brad Malsin, the council’s president and a Beam Development principal.

Portland’s zoning, in particular the Central City 2035 plan, limits residential and office uses in the Central Eastside in an attempt to protect the district as an industrial sanctuary. As multifamily and office development creates pressure on industrial space across the city, the Central Eastside is meant to remain a place where industrial businesses can continue to flourish.

That has become a challenge.

鈥淚 think it needs to be done,鈥� Jim Kennison, director of bakery operations at Franz Bakery, said of the parking study. 鈥淚t is the industrial district, and the industry is getting kind of crowded and pushed out.鈥�

Pressures have grown. In June 2018, Autodesk moved from Lake Oswego to the Towne Storage building, a renovated 100,000-square-foot warehouse south of the Burnside Bridge that was originally built in 1916 and has no parking. Media reports at the time said Autodesk had 200 employees at the location, with room to scale up to 500.

The construction software firm declined a recent interview request, and did not respond to an email asking how many employees work at the Towne Storage building.

Whereas the parking situation is a problem for many employers, it’s an opportunity for some developers. Harsch Investment Properties‘ 7 SE Stark building, nearly completed, has six floors of parking with 265 stalls.

鈥淚t’s a critical need,鈥� said Jordan Schnitzer, president of Harsch Investment Properties. 鈥淢any tenants realize that while lots of people walk and bike and use Uber, there’s a lot of people that still drive their cars and a lot of people that want to visit businesses.鈥�

Some of 7 SE Stark’s parking will be available to other users, Schnitzer said.

鈥淲e’re first going to take care of our tenants, and then any excess parking, we’ll take care of Olympic Mills and the public,鈥� he said.

The Olympic Mills Commerce Center, a commercial building near 7 SE Stark, has tenants including Olympia Provisions and Fish Marketing.

Gerding Edlen’s 5 MLK, another building under construction in the area and expected to be delivered early next year, has three floors of underground parking. A spokesperson for the developer did not respond to a message seeking comment. An executive with Apex Real Estate Partners, the leasing agent for the project, also did not respond to requests for comment.

District Office, a six-story building from Beam Development and Urban Development + Partners at 525 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., will have one floor of underground parking.

The growth affects many longtime industrial businesses, which rely on parking and easy access for trucks to transport their products. Franz Bakery has operated in the neighborhood since 1906, and is in a relatively good position with three parking lots for its approximately 500 employees in the district. Few employees use public transit, Kennison said, because of schedule challenges.

鈥淥ur problem here is we work pretty much 24/7,鈥� he said. 鈥淏us service and light rail is not great on holidays or weekends.鈥�

TriMet spokeswoman Tia York stated via email that the Central Eastside 鈥渆njoys some of the best supply of transit in the region.鈥� Next spring, bus line 20 will be upgraded to frequent service 鈥� every 15 minutes 鈥� joining six frequent service lines currently operating in the area. TriMet is also working with the Portland Bureau of Transportation to accelerate bus service to make riding transit more attractive, York stated.

The Central Eastside Industrial Council also operates the Water Avenue Shuttle, which runs two shuttle buses during peak commuting hours from the Dairy Building on Southeast Eighth Avenue to the Oregon Convention Center.

Kennison said some small businesses have moved out of the district. That’s hardly an option for a company the size of Franz, he said.

鈥淲e’re a big company,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s going to be really hard for someone like us to move 鈥� I’m not saying that’s happening.

鈥淪maller businesses that can be more mobile, they don’t want to hassle with the parking,鈥� he added.

The Lloyd area, just north of the Central Eastside, has its own parking challenges. Go Lloyd, a business group, conducts an annual parking survey of more than 13,000 on-street and off-street parking spaces. In 2018, the survey found usage rates were 10 percent higher than during the previous year.