$9.1M in renovations and rebranding planned for Portland venue
Big changes could soon be on their way to the popular downtown Portland nightclub and concert venue The Asylum, as the owners have filed site plans with the city for a $9.1 million expansion and renovation. The changes aren’t limited to construction — in an effort to attract weddings and conferences, the venue will be rebranded to Free Street Live.
“We’ve kind of grown up with the club,” Krista Newman, one of three co-owners, told the Portland Press Herald about the changes. “We’ve had it for almost 20 years. It’s time to make a change. Things get stale after a while.”
Although design plans are still in flux, the proposed expansion will add 5,200 square feet to its basement to add two dressing rooms for touring musicians. Additionally, nearly 5,500 square feet would be added to the first floor and a new 3,700-square-foot balcony area would be added.
The proposed renovations would also involve demolishing the venue’s landmark graffiti wall to allow the building to expand into an adjacent parking lot. But Newman told the Press Herald that there are plans to set aside a wall along the north side of the property for graffiti artists, noting the owners are looking into the possibility of providing removable panels for artists that could be moved to other locations or sold for local causes.
The owners of the soon-to-be-rebranded Asylum are hoping that construction will start this summer, with renovations wrapping up by next spring, pending approval from the city.
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