The Portland Development Commission has executed documents agreeing to purchase the 14-acre U.S. Postal Service property bridging Old Town Chinatown and the Pearl District for $88 million.

The finalization of the deal is a milestone in the PDC‘s yearslong plan to transform a keystone area of West Portland into a new neighborhood with mixed-use buildings, public space and transportation.

The documents were signed Thursday, and PDC officials confirmed the development on Friday. Ownership of the property at 715 NW Hoyt St. will transfer to the PDC on Aug. 1.

“As of now, the deal is fully executed,” said Bruce Wood, the PDC’s real estate and construction services manager.

The Postal Service intends to use money from the sale to purchase from Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. property formerly used by Colwood National Golf Club. Bids for construction of a new facility are due in early July as drawings are finalized.

After the Postal Service closes on its $34.7 million purchase of the Colwood property in August, a two-year construction process will begin. In late 2018, the Postal Service will vacate its existing facility and move into the new one.

The PDC plans to issue a solicitation for development partners in early 2017, Wood said.

The PDC anticipates 3.8 million square feet of development on the Postal Service property, along with parks, open space and transportation infrastructure. A majority – nearly 2.1 million square feet – would be residential, as envisioned by the PDC’s Broadway Corridor Framework Plan released in October.

About 582,000 square feet would be office space, and 194,079 square feet would be retail. The plan also calls for institutional, medical/research and parking uses.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity,” Wood said.

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