The Portland City Council enthusiastically accepted the Final Report for the complete renovation of the Keller Auditorium.  Funded by a partnership between the City, Metro and the Halprin Landscape Conservancy, the report addresses the functional, seismic and performance deficiencies and incorporates the work from the earlier Marking Keller design competition.   Hennebery Eddy Architects was commissioned to lead the study and assembled a consulting team including Stufish Entertainment Architects, Michael Curry Design, PLACE, Grummel Engineering, The Shalleck Collaborative, KPFF and Hoffman Construction.

“The study has concluded that it is feasible to upgrade the Keller Auditorium to the standards of a state-of-the-art 21st-century performance venue and to resolve all of the facility’s current physical and operational challenges,” Tim Eddy of Hennebery Eddy Architects told the City Council.

Diana Stuart, a board member of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, testified to the benefits of renovating rather than rebuilding the Keller.

“We love and we want to see this city come back to life,” Stuart said. “The downtown needs wins right now.”

Stuart called the renovation a “win, win, win,” noting the renovation would come faster and cheaper, as well as with less environmental impact than a new build, and it would use already existing transportation infrastructure while maintaining and building upon downtown Portland as a cultural center.