Portland Can Still Do Big Things, But We Need a New Approach

On a clear morning in 2001, the first MAX Red Line train carried passengers from downtown Portland to the airport.

At the time, it felt like an unlikely success. The project stitched together federal funding, local dollars, a land swap, and a high level of cooperation between public agencies and private partners. It crossed jurisdictions. It took an appetite for risk. It relied on trust.

But it worked. The Red Line, along with the development of Cascade Station, was the first in a series of transformative Public Private Partnerships that catapulted the Portland Metro Region from a northwest afterthought into national prominence, renowned for its urban spaces.

We can learn from our past as we chart a new course for our beloved Portland.

Across Portland and the broader metro region, a familiar refrain has taken hold: we’ve lost our mojo. Projects stall. Costs rise. Timelines stretch. Confidence in our ability to succeed, on everything from housing to infrastructure, has eroded.

The problem is not lack of capacity. It is lack of a consistent, disciplined approach to working together.

We still have the fundamentals: experienced public agencies, a civic-minded private sector, and nonprofit partners ready to engage. We know how to deliver complex projects.

But too often, we assemble one-off teams without shared experience and expect them to deliver complex projects from scratch. That leads to excessive planning and delayed execution. The private sector is brought in too late to shape outcomes, rather than engaged early as a true partner.

That is not a model for success. It is a recipe for delay.

Meanwhile, the costs of inaction grow. The region is losing population relative to peers and struggling to attract employers who need speed, certainty, and ready-to-go sites. Other metros are moving faster and capturing opportunities that could have landed here.

We need a different approach.

The next generation of major projects will require public-private partnerships with shared responsibility for outcomes.

This is not privatization or outsourcing. These teams would align around shared outcomes, timelines, and benefits, from the start.

We have no shortage of opportunities: the redevelopment of the Broadway Corridor, OMSI District, Albina Vision Trust, and Lloyd Center, as well as efforts to position the region as a leader in low-carbon jobs.

These are not signs of a region without capacity. They are signs of a region that hasn’t organized itself to deliver.

So what would it take to change course?

First, build stable public-private delivery teams. Not one-off collaborations, but experienced groups that align public agencies, developers, capital providers, and operators from day one.

Second, assess projects for partnership potential. Public agencies should evaluate where public-private partnerships can accelerate timelines, reduce uncertainty, and improve outcomes—and pursue them where they make sense.

Third, prioritize outcomes over process. Set clear timelines and measurable goals, and empower teams to meet them, even when it requires taking on complexity and making tough tradeoffs.

Our predecessors did not deliver the MAX Red Line by waiting for perfect conditions. They pushed forward together, took risks, and built something that changed the trajectory of this region.

Today, other metros are doing the same: moving faster, aligning partners, and capturing the next generation of jobs and investment.

Portland still has the talent, the assets, and the opportunity. What we need is the discipline to deliver.

Public-private partnerships are not a new idea. They are a proven path forward.

We’ve done this before. If we want to compete, it is time to do it again.

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Tom Rinehart is the founder of Rinehart Strategies, a leadership and management consulting firm focused on strategy, and organizational leadership.

Johnell Bell is the CEO of Espousal Strategies, a leading government, community and public affairs firm.