PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 1, 2023
The city of Portland recently terminated the contract of PlaceEconomics of Washington, D.C., a company it had hired to assess the value of the city’s historic districts, saying that the firm’s draft report was missing information, contained inaccuracies and was not well organized. But the firm that was fired – and replaced by a new one, JS&A, last week – said city staff were unhappy with its findings in support of such districts, and were difficult to work with and nitpicky. Now the city, which had planned to spend $65,000 on the study, has paid the first firm $41,973 and has promised $43,000 to its replacement.