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Prosper Portland outlines plan to activate Elks Club site with Street Soccer and Unity Football partnership
Summary
Prosper Portland proposed using infrastructure funds and nonprofit operators to convert the Elks Club site at 99th & Pacific into community soccer fields and learning centers; the district discussed permitting, lease structure, liability and how a temporary field would transition if a school is later built.
Prosper Portland told the David Douglas School Board it is proposing a near‑term activation of the Elks Club property at Northeast 99th and Pacific that would convert the vacant site into soccer pitches, clubhouses and learning spaces operated by Street Soccer USA and Unity Football Training.
Joel De Valcourt, Gateway District manager at Prosper Portland, said the public infrastructure package around the site totals about $6.1 million, with Prosper contributing roughly $3.5 million and Portland Bureau of Transportation nearly $2 million; a private developer would fund remaining street improvements tied to future housing. Prosper acquired a five‑acre parcel east of the district site earlier this year and said it expects streets and sidewalks to be finished before any housing begins.
The proposed field plan includes four design alternatives. De Valcourt said the district’s preferred option is a condensed full‑size 11v11 pitch with space for three mini‑pitches and a clubhouse, a layout chosen to minimize tree removal and permit costs while increasing opportunities for community programming.
Representatives of Street Soccer USA and Unity Football described their organizations’ community work. Sol (Street Soccer USA) and Wandy Ali (Unity Football Training) said Street Soccer has national experience leasing fields to schools and that local chapters provide free programming, wraparound services and volunteer coaching. The Portland chapter currently budgets about $10,000 a year for maintenance; Street Soccer said national partners could supplement local funds for a larger facility.
Board members pressed Prosper on operations and transition issues: who holds the lease, how liability and security will be covered, what maintenance costs look like over time, and how a field would be vacated if the district needs the land for a future elementary school. Joel De Valcourt said Prosper could hold the lease to ease district concerns and that contract details would be negotiated with district staff and counsel before any action item is returned to the board.
Prosper said it hopes the adjacent workforce housing could break ground in approximately two years if refinancing succeeds, and that the proposed activation would provide supervised activity and visibility to improve neighborhood safety in the interim. Board members asked Prosper to return with contract details; the board did not vote on the proposal at this meeting.
