Revised proposal for 505 NW 14th Ave keeps historic Fire Station #3 (images)

A second Pre-Application Conference has been scheduled by SERA Architects to discuss a revised proposal for 505 NW 14th. As now envisioned the development would allow the historic Fire Station #3 to remain, a change from an earlier proposal that would have seen it demolished. The building is currently home to Touché Restaurant & Bar.

The project for Mill Creek Residential Trust has also significantly grown in size. The building would now reach 16 stories, and include 280 residential units, up from the 12 stories and 150 units proposed in April of this year. 222 vehicular parking spaces are proposed. Drawings show a 16 story bar tower oriented to NW 14th Ave, with a lower rise sidecar form wrapping around the fire station building. Building amenities are shown at level 6, including a club room, fitness center, rooftop terrace and spa.

505 NW 14th Ave

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Weekly Roundup: Bridgetown, Fern Grove, Langano Apartments and more

Framework

LEVER Architecture’s Framework will be a 12 story tall timber building.

In ‘Death of a Mall Rat‘ the Portland Mercury wrote about the Lloyd Center, which is currently in the middle of a major remodel. As Portland changes, the paper wondered whether the 1960s mall can keep up.

Commissioner Dan Saltzman is proposing a 1% Construction Excise Tax, according to The Oregonian. The City’s ability to impose the tax was made possible by a recent change in Oregon law. The law requires that at least 50% of the revenues from the tax be used for providing affordable housing. Commissioner Saltzman, who oversees the Portland Housing Bureau, wishes to see 100% of the tax dedicated to affordable housing.

In a blog post the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis explained that “housing does filter”. New construction that is that the top end of the market eventually becomes much lower priced relative to the overall housing market.

The Portland Tribune reported that a panel of state economists and housing experts told a State legislative committee that a “confluence of factors — including low supply, high demand, obstructive regulations and lacking infrastructure — is driving up housing prices in the state”.

Portland Shoupistas wondered if the City Council will impose “rent-raising minimum requirements in NW PDX?” A proposal to add parking minimums in the Northwest Plan District was recently rejected by the Planning & Sustainability Commission, however NW neighbors are trying convince the City Council to add them back at a July 6th hearing.

The Oregonian wrote about the ‘Portland for Everyone’ housing coalition, which is “calling on Portland leaders to increase density in single-family residential neighborhoods, strengthen renter protections and put a general obligation bond on November’s ballot that would fund affordable housing.”

The Portland Business Journal wrote that the 12 story timber framed tower Framework (pictured above) is moving forward—and with a deeper level of affordability. The 60 units in the mixed use building were originally planned to be offered to people earning less than 80% of area Median Family Income. The units will now be offered to people earning less than 60% area MFI. The building is set to go before the Design Commission on July 7th.

The Oregonian covered a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which found that the hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Oregon rose from $16.61 hourly wage in 2015 to $19.38 in 2016.

The Portland Business Journal reported that the office space at the Park Avenue West tower is now nearly all taken. The residential leasing is proceeding more slowly, with only a quarter of the units taken. In a separate interview with the paper TMT Development president Vanessa Sturgeon states that she’s “just fine” with the pace that units are leasing at.

A post at Planetizen asked if Portland has “lost is way”. The article argues that “Oregon’s poster child for livable planning is embroiled in new controversies over destructive growth, skyrocketing prices, and back-room cronyism.”

The Hollywood Star News reported that construction is about to start on the Bridgetown Apartments at the former Red Fig property in Beaumont Village. The project by Ethos Development and Siteworks Design/Build will include 50 residential units and 6,000 sq ft of retail space.

A 33-unit affordable housing complex in East Portland has opened, according to The Oregonian. The Fern Grove apartments at 14232 E Burnside St are set to be affordable to people earning less than 60% of area Median Family Income.

The retail spaces at the Langano Apartments have been leased, according to Urban Works Real Estate. The ground floor of the SE Hawthorne Blvd building will include Poke Mon, a poke bowl restaurant, as well as an M Realty office and Gallery Nucleus, an art gallery featuring a taproom.

The Cook Street Apartments on N Williams Ave have been sold to Boston-based Berkshire Group, for a undisclosed sum. The LRS Architects-designed building includes 206 residential units.

KGW reported that Exhaust Specialties at 700 SE Belmont St will close after 65 years in operation. Though no permits have been filed for the redevelopment of the site, an Early Assistance application was received by the City in February for a new self-storage facility.

17 story tower planned for Fishels Furniture site (drawings)

Gerding Edlen development have scheduled a Pre-Application Conference to discuss a 17 story tower at 5 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, the current home of Fishels Furniture. Preliminary drawings by GREC Architects of Chicago show an “L” shaped building occupying the entire block. Buildings plans show a main entry to the building at the corner of SE MLK and E Burnside, with retail spaces fronting SE MLK and SE 3rd Ave. Levels 2 to 5 of the building would include approximately 100,000 sq ft of office floor space. Above that the building would include an estimated 220 residential units. Around 180 car spaces, serving both the residential and office uses, would be located in three levels of below grade parking.

5 SE MLK

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Design Commission approves OHSU Knight Cancer Research Building (images)

The Design Commission has approved the OHSU Knight Cancer Research Building. The 7 story, 332,000 sq ft building by SRG Partnership and Mayer Reed landscape architects will include a conference center, research laboratory space, research support functions, ground level retail, and offices. Two levels of below grade parking will be provided.

OHSU Knight Cancer Research Building

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Metro Reports: 10 stories in Goose Hollow, 17 stories in Buckman, 16 stories in the Pearl, and more

Carbon12

A foundation permit was issued for Carbon12, which will be the first Cross Laminated Timber building in the USA to reach 8 stories.

Every week, the Bureau of Development Services publishes lists of Early Assistance applications, Land Use Reviews and Building Permits. We publish the highlights.

Early Assistance has been requested by Urban Development Group for a project at 2548 SE Ankeny St:

New development 77 units with 26 below grade parking spaces

Early Assistance has been requested by Edge Development for a project at 634 SE Spokane St:

New 3 story res building- 12 units. The applicant’s intention is to meet community design standards.

A Pre-Application Conference has been scheduled by Gerding Edlen Development for a project at 5 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd:

Pre-Application Conference to discuss a Type III Design Review and possible Type III Central City Parking Review for a new 17-story mixed use building with ground-floor retail and approximately 100,000 square feet of Office floor area and approx. 200,000 square feet of Residential floor area (estimated 220 units). Below-grade parking will be provided, with approx. 180 spaces that will serve both the residential and office uses.

A Pre-Application Conference has been scheduled by SERA Architects to discuss a revised proposal for 505 NW 14th Ave:

280 unit 16 story building with market rate apartments and ground floor retail. Basement parking is included.

A Pre-Application Conference has been scheduled by SERA Architects to discuss a project at 1500 SW Taylor St: 

10-story mixed-use apartments including approximately 150 residential units and two levels of below grade parking.

A project at 2869 NE Sandy Blvd has been submitted for Design Review by Ankrom Moisan Architects:

206 unit, 6-story apartment building with basement parking and partial retail on the first floor.

1430 NW Glisan St has been submitted for Design Review by Ankrom Moisan Architects:

Proposal is for a 16 story high rise residential project.

Two buildings at 5833 SW Macadam Ave have been submitted for building permit review by Jivanjee Circosta Architecture:

New construction of 4 story multifamily building with 31 units with onsite parking, site improvements and site amenities

New construction of 3 story multifamily building with 33 units with onsite parking, site improvements and site amenities

Five buildings at 26 SE 146th Ave have been submitted for building permit review by Doug Circosta Architect:

Construct new 3 story (12) unit apartment building; with associated site work; building 1 of 5

Construct new 3 story (24) unit apartment building; building 2 of 5

Construct new 3 story (7) unit apartment building; building 3 of 5

Construct new 3 story (18) unit apartment building; building 4 of 5

Construct new 2 story (1) unit apartment building with laundry on main floor; building 5 of 5

A building permit is under review for a project at 2611 SW Water Ave:

New construction of 100-unit 5story apartment building, with site improvements, onsite parking and interior trash room

A foundation permit was issued to PATH Architecture for Carbon12:

Partial permit for utilities associated with excavation, shoring, and foundation at basement*****see comments re: review by state of oregon building codes division*****

A building permit was issued to Urban Development Group for a project at 2929 SE Stark St (previously 2913 SE Stark St):

Construct new 3 story (46 unit) apartment building with associated site work

Under Construction: the Dianne (images)

This is an updated version of a post originally published in November 2015.

Construction is underway on The Dianne, a 14-story tower in the Pearl District. The 153’ tall building will include 102 residential apartment units and 1,500 sq ft of retail space. Parking for 52 vehicles will be provided, most of it in a mechanized parking system. 155 bike parking spaces will be located in the basement. The architects for the project are Ankrom Moisan. The developer is John Carroll of Carroll Investments, whose previous projects in the neighborhood include The Gregory Condos, The Edge Lofts, The Chown Pella Lofts, The Elizabeth Lofts and the McKenzie Lofts.

The Diane

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Weekly Roundup: Oregon Square, Slabtown, Spokane.13 and more

1015 NW 16th Ave

Elevation of the proposed apartment building at 1015 NW 16th Ave, as shown at the Pre-Application Conference in March

The DJC reported ($) that Oregon Square will be proceeding as a phased development. The western two buildings, Block 90 and Block 91, will be built first, and include around 560 units. American Assets Trust vice president and regional manager Wade Lange, quoted in the article, stated that they have asked GBD Architects to “keep it as close to the previously approved design (as possible)”.

The former Slabtown bar at 1015 NW 16th Ave was demolished this week, according to the Portland Mercury. A new 6-story, 153-unit studio apartment building by Koz Development is set to replace it.

The Oregonian reported that Portland is now the 26th largest city in the US. The paper noted that “between July 2014 and July 2015, Portland’s population increased 1.9 percent, or by 11,889 people”. Looking at the same data, BikePortland concluded that “Portland is finally adding homes almost as fast as people are moving here“.

The Atlantic asked whether “Portland [can] avoid repeating San Francisco’s mistakes” around housing.

The Business Tribune wrote about TVA Architect’s Spokane.13 apartment building, currently going up in the Sellwood neighborhood. The 4 story mixed use building will have 30 residential units and two commercial spaces at the ground floor.

Focus: Portland’s Tallest Planned Buildings (2016)

Image from the Discussion Draft of the Central City 2035 Plan (Bureau of Planning & Sustainability).

Image from the Discussion Draft of the Central City 2035 Plan, showing a possible development scenario approximating future growth in the Pearl District over 20 years (Bureau of Planning & Sustainability). At least two of the sites shown as potentially developable have current proposals on them.

It is just over a year since Next Portland last did a roundup of the tallest buildings planned or under construction in Portland. At that time, we counted 25 buildings over 100′ in height planned. Today we count 40. Given the length of time it takes to complete a high rise building, many of the buildings on the 2016 were also on the 2015 list. Four buildings are no longer on the list this year, due to having been completed: Block 17, Pearl West, the Aster Tower and Park Avenue West. Seven buildings that were still in the design phase last year are now under construction. No building on last year’s list is known to have been cancelled.

Read on to see our complete list. Where possible, the heights given are the building height as defined in the Portland Zoning Code and published in the Design Commission’s Final Findings. In some cases the heights have been estimated.

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7th & Burnside has second Design Advice Request hearing (images)

Polyphon Architecture & Design have returned in front of the the Design Commission with revised designs for a mixed use tower at SE 7th & Burnside. As now proposed the 12 story, 132’-10” tall building would include 20,066 sq ft of office space and 62 residential units. Two retail units would front onto E Burnside. Parking for 53 cars would be provided, in a below grade parking garage.

7th & Burnside

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BEST PRACTICES: A Guide to the City of Portland Design Review Process

Areas of the city subject to Design Review. With some exceptions, the Design Commission reviews projects in the blue areas. Projects in the purple areas typically only come before the Design Commission if they are appealed. Areas in white are not subject to Design Review.

Design Review Areas in the City of Portland. With some exceptions, the Design Commission reviews projects in the blue areas. Projects in the purple areas typically only come before the Design Commission if they are appealed. Projects in areas shaded white are not currently subject to Design Review, though expansion of Design Review is contemplated as part of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan.

The Portland Design Commission has released a best practices memo “intended to assist applicants successfully complete Portland’s Type III Design Review process” and to give “an understanding as to how the Design Commission upholds the Design Guidelines.” The memo is republished in its entirety below, without edits by Next Portland.

BEST PRACTICES: A Guide to the City of Portland Design Review Process (May 2016)

This Best Practices document is intended to assist applicants successfully complete Portland’s Type III Design Review process. It is intended to increase the level of predictability for applicants by giving them an understanding as to how the Design Commission upholds the Design Guidelines. It is likely that applicants who utilize this document, while also collaborating with Bureau of Development Services (BDS) Planning Staff throughout the process, can lessen the need for redesign and also reduce the number of submittal packets and hearings before the Commission. This document will be updated periodically as it strives to convey to applicants the most up‐to‐date leanings of the current Commission membership.

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