Weekly Roundup: Oregon Square, Lents Town Center, PNCA and more

possible development scenario meeting targets for approximately 20,000 new housing units and 30,000 new jobs in the West Quadrant

Image from the West Quadrant Plan showing a possible development scenario meeting targets for approximately 20,000 new housing units and 30,000 new jobs.

Our weekly roundup covers the stories relating to architecture & development in Portland:

In a 4-1 vote the City Council approved the West Quadrant Plan which will shape the development Downtown, South Waterfront, the Pearl and Goose Hollow for the next 20 years. The lone no vote was Amanda Fritz, who stated that she was “disgusted” at the way the hearing was conducted.

The public got their first chance to see the PNCA 511 Building when it opened for its first First Thursday event. At Portland Architecture Brian Libby writes about his experience of visiting PNCA’s “transformational new home” now that it’s finished and the students have moved in.

The Portland Mercado  has set an opening date of Saturday, April 11. The market will include food cart vendors from regions of Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Argentina and El Salvador.

After years where South Waterfront was a retail desert, Urban Works Real Estate is now reporting that they are running out of space to offer in the district. They recently announced that have leased the entire 14,000 square feet of retail space at The Ardea.

The Portland Chronicle published photos of the stretch of N Williams / N Vancouver on which the Cook Street Lofts, The Woods and the Cook Street Apartments are all either planned or under construction. They noted that “between the two blocks 360 residential units are in development on property formerly home to three residential dwellings”.

The Oregonian published two articles about the Oregon Square development. The first article focused on the proposed public plaza, and quoted Kyle Anderson of GBD Architects who said that they “definitely see it as being both an amenity and asset to the development, but also a destination.” The second article revealed that that the tower might be the first building in Portland to undergo a peer review of its seismic design, instead of using the prescriptive requirements of the building code.

Chad Rennaker’s Palindrome Communities won the development rights to Lents Town Center Property #1 and Property #2. The Portland Tribune wrote about his plans for Lents, which also includes the Z Haus brewpub and restaurant.

Weekly Roundup: Oregon Square, Lents Town Center and more

GBD Architects' Oregon Square

GBD Architects’ Oregon Square

  • The Design Commission offered Design Advice on Oregon Square to GBD Architects. The project by American Assets Trust will redevelop a superblock in the Lloyd District, with 4 new buildings of 10-32 floors.
  • The Historic Landmarks Commission offered Design Advice on the Worldmark by Wyndham building to SERA Architects.
  • The City Council backed a plan by the Portland Housing Bureau to commit $20 million for affordable housing in North and Northeast Portland.
  • Zidell Yards was the subject of an email accidentally sent to OPB news and published by the Oregonian. The PDC and the Zidell family are currently negotiating on whether the Zidell property should include affordable housing. The Portland Housing’s Bureau’s preferred location is Riverplace Parcel 3, which the Portland Tribune wrote about in the article “Can South Waterfront be made affordable?
  • Portland Monthly reported that Providore Fine Foods and Pastaworks are scheduled to open this fall in The Shore, an under construction project by Guerrilla Development on NE Sandy Blvd.
  • The PDC has selected developers for 6 of the 12 acres of property in owns in Lents Town Center. Property #1 and #2 are to be developed by Palindrome Communities. The south portion of Property #3 is to be developed by Williams & Dame, with the north portion by ROSE CDC. Asian Health & Services Center and REACH CDC are the selected developer for Property #4.
  • The first office tenants are moving into Washington High School, an adaptive reuse project by Venerable Properties. The Oregonian was there to take photos.
  • Portland Monthly had a look at Ancient Heritage’s new creamery, set to open this May in the 626 SE Main building.
  • The Portland Chronicle published photos of the two houses set to be demolished on NE Glisan St, for the Treece & Lambert Apartments by Barry R Smith Architect.
  • The Oregonian visited the Stadium Fred Meyer on West Burnside, the remodel of which is nearing completion.