PORTLAND — The push to bring a Trader Joe’s grocery to a city-owned lot in Northeast Portland is back on.
A spokesman says Mayor Charlie Hales will fly to Los Angeles next Monday and meet with top officials at Trader Joe’s and ask them to reconsider their decision to pull out of a proposed Northeast Portland development.
Trader Joe’s abandoned the deal after African-American community members criticized the city for selling the lot to developers at a bargain price and encouraging gentrification.
At a press conference Thursday, Portland NAACP chapter president Audrey Terrell said the controversy had sparked good conversation, and said her group will support development of the site.