The Mt. Scott Community Center in Southeast Portland will close for extensive renovations starting Nov. 23. The building is slated to reopen in spring 2025.
Courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation / Courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation
A beloved Southeast Portland community space is closing its doors for more than a year to undergo seismic renovations, along with other upgrades.
Mt. Scott Community Center, located at Southeast 72nd Avenue and Southeast Harold Street, will shutter this week with plans to reopen in the spring of 2025. Much of the center was built before the 1960s and doesn’t have the structural integrity to withstand a major earthquake. The planned renovations will improve the building’s seismic resilience — and update its roof and ventilation systems. Part of the center will be completely demolished and replaced with a new lobby, fitness center, classrooms and event spaces. The community center’s pool, gymnasium and basement roller skating rink will remain intact.
The project has a $35 million price tag. That money comes from city budget dollars recently set aside for maintenance projects and revenue collected from developer fees. The project will add an estimated 2,800 square feet of space to the city facility.
An artist's rendering of the renovated Mt. Scott Community Center, which is set to open in spring 2025.
Courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation / Courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation
The construction project comes amid a major funding crisis at Portland Parks & Recreation, specifically related to building maintenance projects. The city faces a maintenance backlog of around $600 million, a deficiency that’s forced several parks buildings to close in recent years, like North Portland’s Columbia Pool.
Mt. Scott is one of the largest of the city’s nine community centers, and served an estimated 126,000 people between July 2022 and July 2023.
Portlanders who rely on Mt. Scott’s classes and services have been assured that other nearby city centers — like Woodstock Community Center and the East Portland Community Center — have expanded their services to accommodate the displaced patrons.
“Construction can be messy and inconvenient, but it is necessary,” said Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan, who oversees the parks bureau, in a media statement. “The outcome of this important project will be a better and safer building, a showcase community center for Southeast Portland.”