Category Archives: News Roundup

Weekly Roundup: Jantzen Apartments, Zidell Marine, Eastside Health Center, and more

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Eastside Health Center

The Eastside Health Center at 122nd and Burnside

After Portland-based ZGF Architects were named the nation’s top firm, Portland Architecture profiled the firm and looked at how it achieved the title.

Walls of the City looked at whether mid rise buildings can be family friendly.

With the Pearl District Post Office now in PDC ownership, Portland Monthly reported on the PSU students who are coming up with ideas for the future of the site.

After more than 50 years of building barges in South Waterfront, Zidell Marine is now building its last barge. The firm will now concentrated on the redevelopment of the Zidell Yards. Last year Design Advice was offered for office building on Zidell Blocks 4 and 6, although neither building has moved forward since then.

The Business Tribune reported on the “lightened up” iteration of Modera Davis, which was recently approved by the Design Commission.

OPB’s ‘State of Wonder’ covered the wood framed Albina Yard, the recently completed North Portland office building that is the first building to use domestically fabricated structural CLT panels.

The Portland Business Journal reported on the 6 Portland health organizations that have pledged $21.5M for low-income housing projects. The money will help fund three projects, in partnership with Central City Concern: the Eastside Health Center at  NE 122nd and Burnside; the Stark Street Apartments at 12647 S.E. Stark St; and the Interstate Apartments at 6905 N. Interstate Ave. The paper also provided renderings of the three projects.

The Business Tribune looked at the Jantzen Apartments, which recently went before the Design Commission for its first hearing.

The DJC published photos of the demolition of a single story building in downtown, which is set to be replaced by the new office building at 1127 SW Morrison St.

Weekly Roundup: The Woodlark, 1127 SW Morrison, 5 MLK, and more

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Cornelius-Woodlark

Image of The Woodlark hotel, after renovation

Architect magazine released its top 50 firms of the year, with Portland-based ZGF Architects in the #1 place. Also on the list from Portland was Hacker, at #13. In the design rankings of nationwide firms Works Partnership came in at #5, ZGF at #7 and Hacker at #17.

A single story commercial building at SW 12th & Morrison is about to be demolished, reports the Portland Business Journal. The building will make way for the 1127 SW Morrison office building.

The DJC reported on how “Sellwood growth stirs residents“*. Projects planned or under construction in the neighborhood include Spokane.13, 7119 SE Milwaukie, Galaxie Lofts and Sellwood Bridgehead.

Knot Springs Spa & Fitness has opened in the Burnside Bridgehead tower Yard, according to the Portland Business Journal. The 11,500 sq ft facility “offers monthly memberships as well as services by appointment”.

The Oregonian reported that ‘Top Chef’ finalist Doug Adams will be opening a restaurant named Bullard in The Woodlark, the Downtown hotel that be created in the Hotel Cornelius and Woodlark building. Existing business Johnny Sole, currently located at the site, will close according to the Portland Business Journal.

City Observatory asked if inclusionary zoning in Portland is “a good way to provide more affordable housing, or will it actually worsen the constrained housing supply that’s a big cause of higher rents?”

The Portland Business Journal wrote that the Portland Development Commission has agreed to spend a further $1 million to demolish the feed mill building at Centennial Mills. Current plans still envision the retention of the iconic flour mill.

An investigation by The Oregonian covered how Commissioner Saltzman withdrew the award of city owned land and funding for Meta Housing’s Creators Collective project, and instead gave it to Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives Inc, for their King Parks project.

The Abigail, the latest affordable housing development in the Pearl, had a grand opening on Friday. The 155-unit apartment building includes 128 units for families making between 30 and 60 % of area median family income.

Places over Time wrote about the latest iteration of 5 MLK in “How I Learned to Stop Being and Architect and Design by Committee.”

The Foster Powell blog wrote about the 131 Units of Housing Coming to Foster at 5811 SE Boise, with more on the way at other sites.

The Portland Business Alliance endorsed the city’s affordable housing bond as an “important part of the equation to address housing affordability in Portland,” reports the Portland Business Journal.

*This article will be unlocked for the rest of this week. After this week it will only be viewable by DJC subscribers.

Weekly Roundup: Press Blocks, The Woodlark, Hyatt House, and more

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Press Blocks

Concept for the full block building at the Press Blocks, by Mithun

The Business Tribune wrote about the Press Blocks, the redevelopment of the former Oregonian Publishing Buildings in Goose Hollow. The project would include two buildings. One building would occupy a full city block and another a half block, and are being designed by Mithun and GBD Architects respectively.

The DJC published photos of the under construction Rivage Apartments, formerly known as Riverscape Lot 8.

The Oregonian wrote about a Chinese group protesting the decision to hang banners in Chinatown with the name “New Chinatown/Japan Town”.  Though listed on the National Register of Historic Places under that name, it is otherwise rarely used.

The Oregonian reported that “outrage surges” as the deadline to put the $750 million Portland Public Schools bond on the November ballot has passed. If passed on the May ballot, which is much likely, the measure would pay for the rebuilds of Lincoln High School, Madison High School and Benson High School. Students at Lincoln High left class to protest the decision not to place the measure on the November ballot.

Portland Architecture interviewed Bora’s Brad Demby about the Cosmopolitan on the Park, the now complete high rise at the north end of the Pearl District.

The Portland Business Journal took a look at The Woodlark, the new Downtown hotel that will open in 2017. The hotel will combine two buildings: the Woodlark Building, most recently used as an office; the Hotel Cornelius, which has long been vacant.

The Hyatt House at Riverplace is now open, reports the Portland Business Journal. The hotel includes 203 extended-stay rooms.

Weekly Roundup: Convention Center Hotel, International School, Schools bond, and more

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Convention Center Hotel

The proposed Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center

The Business Tribune wrote about “Portland’s new international front porch“—the Convention Center Hotel. The Hyatt Regency branded hotel recently went in front of the Design Commission for its first Design Review hearing.

A change in policy at the Bureau of Development Services means that ranked properties on the city’s Historic Resources Inventory will now be subject to a 120 day demolition delay, even if the property owner requests that it be removed from the Inventory.

The Business Tribune wrote about how advocacy organization Restore Oregon wants to ensure that “we don’t want to lose those things that make Portland Portland” as the city grows.

As thousands of units per year get built in Portland, the DJC looked at how much parking developers are choosing to build. While investors once demanded a 1:1 parking to units ratio, 0.6:1—or less—has become common.

The Business Tribune reported that despite ongoing building boom, “Oregon’s construction industry ranked 47th overall in contribution to state GDP.”

Construction has finished on the International School Expansion, reports the Portland Business Journal. According to the paper the school “kicked off the school year this week with a ribbon cutting ceremony for its new Learners’ Hall, a 10-classroom building for fourth- and fifth-grade students”.

The Willamette Week reported that parents are warning that delays to Portland Public Schools’ $750 million bond could doom it to failure. If passed, the bond would pay for the rebuilds of Lincoln High School, Madison High School and Benson High School.

Weekly Roundup: Collective on 4th, The Redd, 3rd & Taylor, and more

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4th_and_harrison_dz2_img_03

The Collective on 4th, located at SW 4th & Harrison

The developer of The Collective on 4th intends to break ground in October, according to the Portland Business Journal. The 15 story building will include 417 apartments, with the possibility of a grocery tenant at the ground floor.

Portland has released its latest proposal for mandatory Unreinforced Masonry Buildings, reports* The DJC. The deadline for when buildings must be upgraded will be 25 years.

In “Temple of Doom“, published at the Business Tribune, architecture journalist Brian Libby lamented the fates of the Ancient Order United Workmen Temple and the Hotel Albion, respectively set to be replaced by the office at 3rd & Taylor and the hotel at 3rd & Salmon.

Portland Architecture took an in depth look at The Redd on Salmon Street, the Central Eastside food distribution hub planned by the Ecotrust.

The Business Tribune profiled the Seven Corners Community Collaborative, a building that will “ability to communicate via the Assistive Technology Lab and the building itself will serve as a model of accessibility for Portland and the Pacific Northwest region.”

*This article will be unlocked for the rest of this week. After this week it will only be viewable by DJC subscribers.

Weekly Roundup: Overlook Pointe fire, 10th & Yamhill Smart Park, Field Office, and more

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10th & Yamhill Smart Park

Conceptual image of a renovated 10th & Yamhill Smart Park garage (image by FFA Architecture & Interiors)

The Portland Development Commission received three offers for Centennial Mills, according to The Oregonian. All three offers, valued at $1,000, $100,000 and $3.45 million, were rejected. The redevelopment agency will now consider “how/whether to reengage the market”.

The DJC reported that the under construction Overlook Pointe condominium development at 5425 N Minnesota Ave was burned down in a fire* early Wednesday morning.

The PDC voted to sell property at 1053–1201 NW Naito Parkway to The Wolff Company for $9 million. The Oregonian reported that the developer plans to build 340 apartments on the site, 68 of which would be affordable for at least 10 years.

KGW covered the 1,200 apartments coming to the area in and around the Con-way Masterplan area in NW Portland. Construction is underway on Blocks 294E and 295E and the Leland James Building, which are following on from the LL Hawkins and Slabtown Marketplace. Immediately outside of the masterplan area is Q21, which is nearing completion.

The Portland Tribune wrote about the “new mood in Chinatown“, which after decades of divestment might be seeing a change in its fortunes. The Society Hotel opened last year, and will soon be joined by the newly renovated Mason Erhman Building Annex, Overland Warehouse Company Building and Grove Hotel.

The Portland Mercury profiled Swift Real Estate Partners, the San Francisco Investment Firm that is “Snatching Up Old Town Real Estate“. The company’s acquisitions include the New Market Theater, a historic building adjacent to the Skidmore Fountain that could receive a significant addition.

Project^’s Field Office will create a “300,000-square-foot urban campus“, according to the Portland Business Journal. Construction recently started on the Hacker-designed buildings at NW Front and 17th.

More than 1,000 people applied for the 65 housing units available to people displaced from North and Northeast Portland, according to The Oregonian.

The City is planning a $25 million renovation of the 10th & Yamhill Smart Park, according to the Portland Business Journal. The scope of the project will include addressing seismic and ADA deficiencies in the existing structure.

Three new surf shops are set to open in the next year, reports The Oregonian. These include Cosube, which will open in Slate at the Burnside Bridgehead, and Leeward Northwest Surf & Sea, which will open in New New Crusher Court at 2450 NE Sandy Blvd.

According to the Portland Business Journal, furniture retailer Room & Board will open next year in the Pearl District’s newly renovated Fisk Tire Company Building.

The Business Tribune wrote about a day in the life of the team at OHSU working on the Knight Cancer Research Building.

*This article will be unlocked for the rest of this week. After this week it will only be viewable by DJC subscribers.

Weekly Roundup: 120 SE Clay, Gateway Action Plan, 14th & Raleigh, and more

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120 SE Clay

120 SE Clay, by Ankrom Moisan Architects and Potestio Studio

The Portland Business Journal reported that Simple will move into developer Killian Pacific’s latest building, 120 SE Clay. The new building will be located directly adjacent to the recently completed Clay Creative office building, which is already occupied by the rapidly growing online bank.

The “Yes for Affordable Homes” bond measure is raking in campaign cash, reports the Portland Mercury. The $258.4 million affordable housing bond measure has raised $170,000, according to filings.

The City Council approved the Portland Development Commission’s Gateway Action Plan. The Oregonian reports that new plan will concentrate on the Halsey/Weidler commercial district.

The Business Tribune wrote about Innovative Housing’s first high rise project, at NW 14th & Raleigh. The 93 unit is set to go before the Design Commission for approval on September 22nd.

The DJC wrote about how Central City property owners are fighting changes that would see allowable building heights reduced* in parts of Downtown, as part of the Central City 2035 Plan.

*This article will be unlocked for the rest of this week. After this week it will only be viewable by DJC subscribers.

Weekly Roundup: Post Office Redevelopment, 419 SW Washington, NE 106th & Halsey and more

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Broadway Corridor USPS

Conceptual image of the Post Office Redevelopment, from the 2015 Broadway Corridor Framework Plan

A 30-story tower by ZGF Architects is planned at 419 SW Washington St, according to The Oregonian. The existing building on the site was recently being used as a temporary homeless shelter, and is now vacant.

The first public hearing of the proposed draft of the Central City 2035 Plan was dominated by concerns about building heights in West End and Goose Hollow, according to an article in the DJC*. Meanwhile, Portland Shoupistas argued that proposed changes related to parking in the plan represent a step backwards.

The Oregonian wrote that up to 1,200 more apartments are proposed on the Prometheus Property in South Waterfront.

Kimberly Branam has been picked as the next executive director of the Portland Development Commission, according to The Oregonian. For the past five years Branam has been second-in-command to former executive director Patrick Quinton.

The Portland Business Journal wrote about the 54 organizations that are backing the proposed $258M affordable housing bond.

OPB’s “State of Wonder” discussed Yard, the recently completed Burnside Bridgehead tower that has sharply divided the opinions of Portlanders.

The Oregonian discovered the premium that will be paid by the PDC for a piece of land near the airport, necessary to allow the Post Office Redevelopment to move forward.

After 92 years, the Lotus Cardroom & Cafe will close later this month, according to KATU. The bar will be demolished to make way for the 3rd & Salmon hotel tower.

An affordable housing development at NE 106th & Halsey by Gerding Edlen and Human Solutions has nearby residents worried, according to the Mid-County Memo.

The timeframe for the City and ZRZ Realty to agree on the price of a piece of land at the Zidell Yards has been missed, according to The Oregonian.  Under a development agreement signed last year, the City has the option to buy the property at an agreed price, for the purpose of building affordable housing.

The Willamette Week wrote about 5 MLK, the Burnside Bridgehead high-rise that will replace the 95 year old Fishels Furniture building.

Work has begun on the Union at St Johns, according to the Portland Business Journal. The mixed use building will include 100 apartments as well as 20,000 sq ft of ground-floor retail space.

*This article will be unlocked for the rest of this week. After this week it will only be viewable by DJC subscribers.

Weekly Roundup: 3rd & Taylor, Overland Warehouse, Osprey Apartments, and more

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3rd & Taylor

The proposed hotel at 3rd & Taylor, which will be located on the site currently occupied by the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple

In “Downtown Duo” the Business Tribune reported on the two buildings planned for a single Downtown block: the recently approved hotel at 3rd & Salmon; and the adjacent office building at 3rd & Taylor, which is currently going through Design Review.

Portland Architecture had a look inside the renovated 1320 Broadway building, formerly home to The Oregonian. The Portland Business Journal reported that D+H Financial Technologies have signed a lease for 45,600 sq ft of office space in the building, leaving just two spaces left for rent.

Moovel North America will move into the Overland Warehouse Company Building, the Old Town building that once housed strip club Magic Gardens. The building is currently being renovated by Urban Development + Partners.

The DJC wrote about the ongoing efforts* at the Lloyd Center to redefine what it “means to be a 21st-century mall”. As well as a major renovation to the skating rink and main entry, it includes turning the former cinema into creative office space, which will be leased by Providence Health Services.

The Portland Mercury reported that developers have sued the City over the methodology it uses to determine Parks System Development Charges.

The DJC published photos of the Osprey Apartments, under construction on South Waterfront Block 37.

The renovation and expansion of PSU School of Business Administration has reached a halfway point, according to an article in the Business Tribune.

The Portland Business Journal wrote about how Portland’s newest maker space is taking shape in the Iron Fireman Building.

The Oregonian reported that Portland Public Schools are pausing on the $750 million construction bond, and now intend to go to the voters in May 2017, rather than November 2016 as originally planned.  If passed, the bond would pay for the rebuilds of Lincoln High School, Madison High School and Benson High School.

*This article will be unlocked for the rest of this week. After this week it will only be viewable by DJC subscribers.

Weekly Roundup: N Williams Center, Prometheus Property, Con-way Masterplan, and more

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N Williams Center

N Williams Center will offer 61 units of affordable housing, with priority given to “longtime residents and those who have been displaced in the neighborhood”

The DJC reported* on how development fees are stacking in Portland, potentially affecting the viability of projects currently in development.

After two Design Advice Request hearings earlier in the year, Ankrom Moisan Architects’ 1430 NW Glisan has now been submitted for Design Review. The Business Tribune took a look at how the building has evolved.

The Portland Business Journal covered the 64 apartments about to go up on the site of the former Macadam’s Bar & Grill at 5833 SW Macadam.

With a Pre-Application Conference scheduled for development on the Prometheus Property in South Waterfront—which could include 4 buildings, of 200 to 300 apartments units in each—BikePortland wrote that the “dominoes keep falling for a continuous river path in South Waterfront“.

The Portland Business Journal wrote that the affordable housing development N. Williams Center will include 61 units, with a mix that includes “one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as a children’s area, gathering spaces, community gardens and a chicken coop.”

The Oregonian reported on the shortlist for the new director of the Portland Development Commission.

With development exploding in and around the Con-way Masterplan area, the Portland Business Journal took a look at completed and planned buildings at the far end of the Northwest District, including the LL Hawkins, Q21, Leland James Building and Blocks 294E and 295E.

The Oregonian wrote about how a conflict-of-interest probe marks the “latest chapter in Yard building saga”.

*This article will be unlocked for the rest of this week. After this week it will only be viewable by DJC subscribers.