PORTLAND, Ore. – A plan is in the works for Adidas to expand its North American headquarters, located on North Greeley Avenue in Portland. The company says this is necessary as it continues to experience growth.
“A project of that extension was not something they decided overnight,” said neighbor Vanessa Giacometti. “It’s something they planned for years.”
She lives on a dead-end street, next to the headquarters. It’s quiet. But she’s afraid it won’t be like this for long, with new construction.
“We know we are going to have trucks, and they have the right to move up and down, it's a public street,” she said. “It’s going to be hard for us.”
Renderings show plans for a new building that would go up across the street from her house, where two of her favorite trees now stand. “The saddest news for me was the trees,” she said.
The company plans to add several buildings on campus and will move its employee store to Montgomery Park around June.
“We've been experiencing unprecedented growth in North America, with the Adidas brand up 35 percent in 2017," said Adidas North America President Mark King. "This growth has brought more people to our office, and our Portland workforce has more than doubled in three years, from about 800 to more than 1,700 people.
"We know this can present challenges, so we’re working quickly to find solutions. We love being part of the Overlook community, and it’s really important to us that we continue being a good neighbor.”
Chris Trejbal is board chair of the Overlook Neighborhood Association, and says Adidas has been good about keeping the community informed.
He says he knows not everyone is on board with the expansion plans, but he hopes the expansion will alleviate some major parking problems of the past.
“One of the benefits is they are going to build a lot of new parking,” he said. “We have had employees parking on streets. This should alleviate that. They are also realigning access to the campus, and moving the delivery area, which will remove trucks some of the neighbored streets.”
Adidas could start construction in the fall, and finish the project in 2020.