It originally opened as a bus-only transit center in 1981, named Gresham Transit Center, in the form of multiple bus stops clustered along 8th Street and Kelly Avenue, a temporary arrangement until construction of a planned off-street facility.

[1] The adjacent MAX station opened in 1986, and the entire facility was renamed Gresham Central Transit Center at that time.

The station originally had no park-and-ride lot, but TriMet built and opened a three-level garage with a ground-floor retail space in 1996.

[2][3] A 30-space bike-and-ride facility (a secured parking area for bicycles) was built later, inside the garage, and opened in July 2011.

[4] Public art at the transit station includes Living Room, a sculpture comprising vintage furniture cast in concrete and a faux television set cast in bronze, which was installed in 2001 through a public art program.