Architecture and Development in PDX
Construction is in progress on the Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design at Portland State University. Located at the southern end of the South Park Blocks in Downtown Portland, and designed by LEVER Architecture, this 4-story academic building will include 100,000 square feet of classrooms, studios, galleries, faculty offices, labs, commons areas, and support spaces.
The future of the Lloyd Center was sealed by a vote of approval by the Design Commission, reports The Oregonian. The Portland Mercury asked whether Portland should try to save the mall.
Vertical construction began at the Williams and Russell site, reports the DJC. The first phase will include twenty for-sale townhouses; subsequent phases will include affordable rental housing and a Black Business Hub.
OPB covered the Oregon Senate’s approval $365 million for of state funding for the Moda Center. In the lead up, Willamette Week asked architects and NBA insiders what a renovation might include while reporting on how Oregon officials were playing not lose in the funding talks. OPB looked at Portland’s $1.7 billion climate fund, a potential source for part of the city funding. Following approval of the state funding, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver visited Portland.
Demolition is underway at the former Sears at Washington Square, where a new Dicks House of Sport will be built, reports The Oregonian.
The Portland City Council approved a temporary property tax exemption for a new Alaska Airlines Hangar at Portland International Airport, according to The Oregonian. The hangar will be the airline’s only facility on the west coast capable of servicing their newly acquired 787 widebody planes.
As work on the PDX Terminal Core project draws to a close, one lingering annoyance is ending as the temporary walkways shut down.
Willamette Week covered how at The Horizon Enterprise Building’s music venue and bar The Downbeat, two friends bring art, music and community to Old Town.
New ‘Big Pink’ owner Jeff Swickard added to his downtown Portland holdings with the purchase of the adjacent Five Oak building, per KGW.
A report into Portland’s waiver of Systems Development Charges shows the policy has promise, according to the Oregonian.
Despite the SDC waiver, Urban Development Group has abandoned plans to restart a stalled project at 1336 E Burnside St.
Permits have been filed for a mixed use retail and residential building at NW 23rd and Marshall, reports the Portland Business Journal. Previously planned as a five story building, it is now moving forward as a three story 50-unit building.
The OHSU Vista Pavilion will open to cancer patients in April 2026, reports the Portland Business Journal. The Oregonian wrote about how the project will expand cancer care and free up beds.
KGW covered Representative Suzanne Bonamici presentation to the City of Portland of $850,000 to support the infrastructure for the OMSI Master Plan.
Oregon Artswatch had a conversation with architect Ben Waechter.
Building on History looked at whether there’s a new future for the Aircraft Factory, best known as the former Gordon’s Fireplace Shop, after its sale.
Supporters of the Keller Reimagined proposal rallied, arguing that it, rather than the PSU Performing Arts proposal, should move forward.
The Portland Design Commission conducted a Design Advice Request meeting on Thursday, Feb. 19, for the Ida B. Wells Modernization. Commissioners reviewed site plan and design alterations for the new Ida B. Wells High School building, which will replace the existing building. Portland Public Schools selected Bora for the building design and site plan and Hoffman Construction as the project’s contractor.
Development is moving forward for the Steel Bridge Skatepark, a 63,000 square foot skatepark being built by the City of Portland. The proposed project is located in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood just south of the Steel Bridge. The design team consists of DAO Architecture, Lango Hansen Landscape Architects, Grindline Skateparks, and Dreamland Skateparks.
State leaders unveiled a bill that would fund renovations to the Moda Center “in order to keep the Portland Trail Blazers in the state for decades to come”, reports OPB. The www.newmodacenter.com/ website was launched to sell the vision. The Oregonian reported that Governor Kotek lobbied NBA commissioner to keep Trail Blazers in Portland, while the team and county remained at odds over arena funding.
While the opening of the James Beard Public Market has been delayed to 2027, the project has been submitted to the city for design review. The Oregonian took a look at the proposed “timber-rich exterior design“.
Downtown Portland foot traffic continues its “slow but steady climb“.
The Lloyd Center Master Plan went in front of the Design Commission for approval. KOIN showcased the renderings of what could replace the mall, set to close later this year. At the hearing, businesses and patrons expressed their frustration, as reported by KGW.
The NW Examiner reported on the lack of progress and apparent diversion of SDC funds for the long promised Slabtown Park. District 4 Councilor Green called the delay an “outrage”. KATU reported on renewed hope after a Zoom meeting between the Northwest District Association and Portland Parks and Recreation.
TriMet plans to purchase the former Greyhound Terminal in Old Town, according to Bike Portland.
KGW revealed that ChefStable was selected by Prosper Portland as operator of a proposed $7.5M, 12-cart pod and bar at the 910 Building, near Oregon Convention Center.
Plans for the North Park Blocks Extension were scrutinized by the Design Commission, according to the Daily Journal of Commerce.
The Columbian covered the approval by the Vancouver City Council of changes to the Vancouver Waterfront Gateway plan. The previous plan was judged no longer feasible in this market; the revised plan would eliminate the office component and a public plaza, while having more housing, including more affordable housing.
Willamette Week covered a consultant report said that Portland cannot support two Broadway capable venues, and instead of a refurbishment of the existing Keller Auditorium the city should move forward with PSU Performing Arts Center proposal.
A once-toxic industrial McCormick & Baxter site in N Portland could become the Portland Botanical Gardens, writes the Oregonian.
Bridgetown Bites had photos and coverage of the now-open 1847 Food Park in Downtown Milwaukie, anchored by the latest location of Migration Brewing.
A drive-thru has been approved for a long-stalled rebuild of the Dairy Queen on SE Division, reports the Daily Journal of Commerce.
The Portland Housing Bureau now says roughly $106M in housing funds went unspent, according to OPB.
It’s been a while.
Next Portland was consistently published from 2014 to 2022, and documented the boom times of development in Portland. At its peak, the site was publishing daily articles about projects ranging in scale from small infill buildings to large master plans. For the most part, all of that was done by myself as a side project.
I never intended to stop publishing, but as I got busier in both my professional and personal life it became harder to dedicate time to this project. Much of my available time was spent maintaining the site, which proved to be a far more labor intensive task than intended. As I got further into maintaining the site, the more behind I became on the content I was passionate about covering, and so began the long pause of posting that I am eager to break in the coming weeks.
While no one would argue we’re in the boom times, there are still plenty of interesting development projects happening across the city and region. This momentum deserves to be highlighted, now more than ever. The last post on the site is from 2023, and those two buildings are now built and occupied, so we have plenty to catch up on.
I don’t want it to be another two years until the next article is shared, so that’s where you all come in.
Over the course of the year, I’ve been working with friends and colleagues to transition Next Portland into a nonprofit—a greater reflection of the community-led impact and attention the site has garnered since the beginning. With the creation of this new organization, the goal is to attract more volunteer effort and collaboration with both public and private sectors. I hope to make the site a collaborative project, dedicated to the longtime mission of making it easier to discover what’s being built in Portland.
If you’re interesting in being part of the future of Next Portland, we’re looking for people who are willing to help with any of these tasks:
At 6PM on Tuesday October 7th, Next Portland will be hosting a volunteer kick off event at the City of Possibilities space in the JK Gill Building at the 408 SW 5th Ave. If you’d like to attend, please register here so that we count the number of people we expect to attend. For those unable to make it, we’ll share more information about how to get involved after the event.
Over time we may choose to expand the type of content published on Next Portland, including the addition of clearly identified analysis and commentary. We’d love to hear kind of content you’d like to see. What won’t change is that project specific posts will remain written in the same neutral manner that they always have been, without editorial comment.
Regards,
Iain
A quick note from the editor: my apologies for the extended gap between posts. I hope to return to more frequent updates to this site, although I cannot make any commitments. If you’ve sent me an email in the past few months I plan to reply soon.
Construction is underway on Slabtown Savier, a two-building development in NW Portland’s emerging Slabtown neighborhood. The development, designed by SERA Architects for developer Greystar, will include two buildings with 363 market rate apartments. Vehicular parking will be provided via a combination of tuck-under and below grade parking. 399 long term bicycle parking spaces will be provided, split between in-unit spaces and spaces in secured bike rooms.
Metro Reports have moved to Portland Maps Reports. Next Portland covers the highlights of the Early Assistance applications, Land Use Reviews and Building Permits processed each week. This post covers March 28th, 2022 to April 3rd, 2022.
Early Assistance has been requested by CIDA, Inc for a project at 8958 SE Clinton St:
New multi-family, 3-story apartment building with 36 units proposed (12 units on each floor – 24 studio units, 1 one-bedroom unit on ground floor, and 11 2-bedroom units).
Design Advice was requested by SERA Architects for the Modera University District at 1900 SW 5th Ave:
DZ HEARING – Design Advice Request for a new A new 7 story market rate apartment building with basement parking, ground floor retail, and approximately 250 residential units in the Central City Plan District, University District, South Downtown SubDistrict¿No Modifications or Adjustments are currently proposed.
A project at 6375 N Lombard St was submitted for building permit review by Baysinger Partners Architecture:
PDOX – new 3 story apartment building with 12 units. ***with 22-125951 CO & 22-125953 MT***
A project at 8029 SE Carlton St was submitted for building permit review by Fosler Portland Architecture:
PDOX – new 3 story apartment building with 11 units
A project at 6674 N Maryland Ave was submitted for building permit review by McGuirl Designs and Architecture:
PDOX PS: 3 story- 12 unit apartment building with associated siteworks. w/22-126913-MT
Metro Reports have moved to Portland Maps Reports. Next Portland covers the highlights of the Early Assistance applications, Land Use Reviews and Building Permits processed each week. This post covers March 21st, 2022 to March 27th, 2022.
Early Assistance was requested by Edge Development for a project at 3816 SE Gladstone St:
Construct a new 3¿story, 16¿unit residential apartment building.
Early Assistance was requested by Ankrom Moisan Architects for a project at 4045 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd:
Four story, wood frame, affordable housing with 51 units ranging from studios to 3-bedroom. Roof will be pitched with gutters and downspouts. Plan to primarily manage stormwater on site. May provide 0-8 parking stalls, TBD. Ground floor building uses fronting MLK are common spaces such as Office, Lobby, Resident Services.
Design Advice was requested by Holst Architecture for the Francis + Clare Place apartments at 1131 SE Oak St:
DZ HEARING – Design Advice Request for a new 4-story building including 61 units of supportive/affordable housing, site improvements, and surface parking for 22 vehicles in the Central City Plan District, Central Eastside Sub-District.¿Ground floor uses include offices, classrooms, trash room, laundry room, residential unit, and lobby.¿No Modifications or Adjustments are currently proposed.
A project at 1269 SE Tenino St was submitted for building permit review:
PDOX PS: new 4 story- 19 unit apartment building with retail on ground floor and associated siteworks. w/ 22-123180-MT.
A building permit was issued for the adaptive reuse of The Aircraft Factory at 3320 NE Broadway:
Redevelopment of an existing building (aircraft factory) to include ground floor retail and preschool with floors 2nd & 3rd as apartments (w/ 21-019932-MT).
Metro Reports have moved to Portland Maps Reports. Next Portland covers the highlights of the Early Assistance applications, Land Use Reviews and Building Permits processed each week. This post covers March 14th, 2022 to March 20th, 2022.
Early Assistance was requested by Emerick Architects for the Center for Native Arts and Cultures at 800 SE 10th Ave:
This project proposes a renovation of the Historic Yale Union Laundry Building, located at 800 SE 10th Avenue. The property, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (#07000759, July 2007), was built in three phases between 1908 and 1929. The renovated building will be occupied by the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) for use as the organization’s headquarters, to be renamed the Center for Native Arts and Cultures (CNAC). The new work will include a theater and cafe, exhibition/event space, studio space with specialized production areas for artists, common lounge space, office space, and supporting storage areas. New work will restore the exterior with limited alterations, and renovate/alter all areas of the interior. A new covered trash enclosure served by floor drain connected to the sanitary sewer is proposed. The existing building¿s footprint is unaltered in the proposed work, and a portion of the roof is proposed to be treated as an area offset to the proposed regrading of the existing parking lot on site.
Early Assistance was requested by Mahlum Architects for the Cathedral Park Cohousing at 8522 N Edison St:
Proposal for 3-4 story multi-family cohousing project. Using design standards. See attached scorecard.
Building 8 of the Northbound 30 Collaborative at 2123 NW 30th Ave was submitted for building permit review by Leeb Architects:
NORTHBOUND 30 APTS – BLDG 8 – New 5 story, 17-unit apartment building with private automated parking garage; includes associated site work *** w/22-122900-MT ***
A project at 8125 N Princeton St was submitted for building permit review by Geza Development:
Single PDF – new 3 story apartment building with 12 units.
A building permit was issued for the Prose Apartments at 110 N Tomahawk Island Dr:
PROSE APARTMENTS – New five-story apartment building with 284 units and 368 surface parking spaces; includes associated site work *** w/ 21-035103-CO and 21-035104-MT ***