Weekly Roundup: Albina Yard, Slate, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and more

Posted on February 1, 2016 by nextportland

Construction is underway on the Albina Yard office building, which is using Cross-laminated Timber

Venerable restaurant Besaw’s reopened last week at the LL Hawkins apartment building in Slabtown. Eater PDX published photos of the new interior.

History Treasured & Sometimes Endangered wrote about the demolition of a number of houses in order to make way for a mixed use development at 2301 NW Savier. The new building by GBD Architects will wrap around the building that was formerly home to Besaw’s restaurant.

BikePortland reported that a “gear sphere” sculpture was set to be installed outside the under construction Cook Street Apartments by LRS Architects.

OHSU is in the early stages of planning for a major expansion of the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, according to a story in the Portland Business Journal.

The Portland Chronicle wrote about the potential demolition of a building at 3336 SE Belmont St, slated to be replaced by a three-story mixed use building by BKL/A Architecture.

Construction is about to begin on the Works Partnership designed PDX Commons senior co-housing at SE 43rd and Belmont. The site was formerly the location of the Good Food Here food cart pod. As The Oregonian reports more than half of the carts have now relocated across the street to form the Bite on Belmont pod.

As the Pine Street Market gets ready to open The Oregonian published their ultimate guide to the vendors planned for the Old Town food hall.

Portland Architecture published their notes from the Centennial Mills public forum, which explored how the historic building complex might still be saved.

The developers behind 3rd and Taylor have laid out their plans for the block, wrote the Portland Business Journal. The design review package for the hotel portion of the project has been submitted by Ankrom Moisan Architects. The office building is planned to move forward separately in the coming months.

In [mis]representation Places over Time wrote about the tools architects use to visualize their designs, how these can shape the design itself, and how it is easy to present a false sense of reality.

Coworking firm CENTRL Office will expand into the Slate building at the Burnside Bridgehead Block 75, according to a story in the Portland Business Journal. The 10 story building by Works Partnership is scheduled to open later this year.

Construction is underway at the Lever Architecture designed Albina Yard. The 4 story office building is the first commercial building in the United States to make use of domestically fabricated Cross Laminated Timber as a structural element. A video posted last week shows the progress made so far:

Weekly Roundup: Centennial Mills, 3rd & Taylor, Veritable Quandary and more

Posted on January 24, 2016 by nextportland

A sculpture park adjacent to the renovated Feed and Flour Mills was one of the options being explored for Centennial Mills by Harsch Investment Properties

With the fate of Centennial Mills uncertain, the Pearl District Neighborhood Association held a meeting to discuss the future of the site. Presenters included Jordan Schnitzer of Harsch Investment Properties, who had previously been selected as the developer for the property. The PDC allowed the memorandum of understanding between them and Harsch to expire in November, leaving open the possibility that all the buildings on site will be demolished. More information about the future of the property can be found at www.millmeeting.org.

Residents have started moving into the Union Apartments by GBD Architects, according to a story in The Oregonian.

Two historic buildings set to be demolished to make way for the 3rd and Taylor development have gained a temporary reprieve, according to the Portland Business Journal. The developers have agreed not to demolish the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple or the Hotel Albion until at least April 30. The developers made the agreement with advocacy group Restore Oregon, who in return withdrew their appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals. A blog post at the Restore Oregon site states that “while the development team continues to assert that saving the buildings is not financially feasible, they have been engaging with Restore Oregon and others about options that could retain the Workmen Temple.”

A topping out ceremony was held for the 21-story Yard building, with 30 people in attendance including Congressman Earl Blumenauer. The Skylab designed project has been gaining a lot of attention lately due to the changes made between the design review process and the issuance of the project’s building permit. The Daily Journal of Commerce reported that the situation could lead to changes to the City’s design review process in response.

The Oregonian reported that the restaurant Veritable Quandary will close this summer in order to make way for the new Multnomah County Courthouse. The County will demolish the restaurant building. The adjacent Jefferson Station building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will remain.

The Willamette Week noted that Commissioner Steve Novick has called out environmental activists for failing to make the case that bigger and more dense housing can reduce car use.

The Portland Chronicle wrote that an apartment project proposed at 2915 SE Division St would likely see the demolition of a 106-year-old home.

Weekly Roundup: Toyoko Inn, Post Office redevelopment, Legacy Central Lab and more

Posted on January 18, 2016 by nextportland

SW 3rd & Oak, the planned location of a Toyoko Inn

The Oregonian reported that the board of the Portland Development Commission approved the terms of a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the United States Post Office site in the Pearl District. The City will pay $88 million to acquire the 13.4 acre site.

At the same meeting, the PDC board also approved the sale of a site at SW 3rd and Oak to Toyoko Inn. The Japanese hotelier plans to build a 300 to 400 room hotel on the site, which would be the company’s first West Coast location.

Demolition crews have begun work at the former home of the Oregon Ballet Theater. The building is demolished to make way for the Modera Belmont apartments.

Places over Time published their analysis of 2015 in Portland architecture and development.

The Portland Business Journal reported that despite an ongoing lawsuit, Metro still expects that the Convention Center Hotel will open in 2018.

Demolition is underway on the former Plaid Pantry and Sammy’s Flowers on NW 23rd and Glisan, according to the Portland Chronicle. The buildings will be replaced by a new Restoration Hardware. Revised designs for the project will be presented to the Historic Landmarks Commission on January 25th.

Legacy Health held a grand opening for its new Legacy Central Lab building in the Lloyd District. The 62,000 sq ft building sits on a site previously used as a surface car park.

The Oregonian reported that builders are weighing lifting their opposition to overturning Oregon’s 17 year old ban on inclusionary zoning.

The Portland Business Journal reported that the Ballou & Wright building in the Pearl is set to undergo a $10 million makeover into creative office space. The historic structure was most recently used as Hanna Andersson’ headquarters. The children’s clothing retailer recently moved to a building in Kerns.

The Iron Fireman building at 4784 SE 17th will be converted into creative office space, according to the Portland Journal. The 115,000 sq ft was most recently home to aircraft parts manufacturer PECO Manufacturing, who have moved to a site in Clackamas County.

Weekly Roundup: Inclusionary Zoning, Growth in the Pearl, Airbnb taxes and more

Posted on December 20, 2015 by nextportland

The Courtyard at Block 136 in the Pearl

Next Portland is taking a break over Christmas. Blogging will be light in the coming week, but will resume at the normal frequency the following week.

The building that used to house Starky’s Restaurant and Bar has been demolished, reports The Portland Chronicle. A permit is currently under review for a 46 unit, 3 story apartment building on the site at 2913 SE Stark St.

An article in GoLocalPDX asked “will growth kill the Pearl?” Quoted in the article was a representative of Preserve the Pearl, the organization that has now appealed the approval of Block 136 to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

The City Council voted 4-1 to dedicate revenue raised from short term rentals including Airbnb towards affordable housing.

In a record setting deal, Singaporean investors paid $45 million for the Janey II apartment building, which will in the future become a “temporary home for visiting employees at Portland-area companies.” The deal includes both the first phase building, completed in 2012, and the recently completed Janey II addition.

The Portland Mercury reported that the State Legislature may take up inclusionary zoning again during the 2016 session. A bill that would have lifted the current ban on local governments from mandating that developments include affordable housing failed during the 2015 session.

Weekly Roundup: 12th & Morrison office, Grant High Modernization, the Truman Apartments and more

Posted on December 6, 2015 by nextportland

1139 SW Morrison by Design Department and LRS Architects

The Portland Business Journal took a first look at the 6 story office building planned by Menashie Properties for a site at 1139 SW Morrison. The building is being designed by Design Department and LRS Architects.

Construction is underway on the PSU School of Business Administration. The Daily Journal of Commerce published photos of the work underway.

The Oregonian published 5 takeaways from Portland’s plan for next 20 years of growth.

Portland Architecture interviewed the architects and developer behind the development at 3rd and Taylor, which threatens the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple and the Hotel Albion.

The Oregonian reported on the new 20 story condo tower planned for Block 20 of the Hoyt Street Yards in the Pearl. The building would have 150 residential units and 190 parking spaces.

The James Beard Public Market is set to close on the deal to acquire the land at the west end of the Morrison Bridge, according to The Oregonian. The current schedule envisions the market opening to the public in 2020.

Design work has begun on the Grant High School Modernization, one of the projects funded as part of the $482 million bond passed in 2012. Grant Magazine published the first conceptual drawings of what the rebuilt school will look like.

The Portland Chronicle published images of The Truman apartments at SE 44th and Hawthorne. Construction on the 30 unit building is due to begin in early 2016.

Weekly Roundup: 3rd and Taylor, Clay Creative, Centennial Mills and more

Posted on November 22, 2015 by nextportland

The proposed developed at SW 3rd and Taylor by Ankrom Moisan Architects

Restore Oregon announced that they filed concurrent appeals to the City and to LUBA, arguing that the City erred in removing the Albion Hotel and Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple from the Historic Resource Inventory. The buildings are threatened by the development at 3rd and Taylor.

Online bank Simple will be the anchor tenant for Clay Creative, according to a story in the Portland Business Journal. The new space will be “nearly double the size of Simple’s current home and will be able to accommodate 500 people.”

Writing about Framework, the proposed 12 story building in the Pearl, the Portland Mercury looked at how the use of wood in high rise construction could “help solve the city’s affordability problem, create living-wage jobs in rural communities, and help save the planet”

The Portland Business Journal reported that the concrete slab for the AC Hotel by Marriott was poured last weekend. The pour included 1,100 cubic yards of concrete, enough “to cover a football field with a six-inch slab.”

The Daily Journal of Commerce published construction photos of the Burnside Bridgehead Block 75, which has now reached its maximum height. The project is scheduled for completion in mid-2016.

The Portland Development Commission has walked away from a deal with Harsch Investment Properties for development on the site of Centennial Mills, determining that it wasn’t financially viable. Partial demolition is currently underway on the long vacant site. The current demolition work will leave the feed and flour mills in place, but with no plan in place for what to do with them a decision will need to be made in the new year whether to also demolish those buildings.

In a piece on Division Street, KGW looked at how it “got so popular and why the growth is causing problems for people who live, work and dine at Portland’s new restaurant row”.

The Portland Chronicle reported that demolition is likely imminent on two single family homes at 1515 SE 44th, which will be replaced by a four-story mixed-use development with 30 residential units facing SE Hawthorne Blvd.

Weekly Roundup: Holladay Park Plaza, One North, Convention Center Hotel and more

Posted on November 15, 2015 by nextportland

The Holladay Park Plaza East Building

In ‘Respecting History‘ Places over Time looked at Historic Landmarks Commission, which “will far more influence on Portland’s built fabric than previous commissions due to both the sheer number of new projects being built at this time and the fact that this commission is rewriting the guidelines for most of the city’s historic districts.”

A $177 million loan will help finance the $50 million Lloyd Center Remodel, according to the Portland Business Journal.

The proposed office building at Station Place Lot 5 is gearing up for its first Design Review hearing, according to a story in the Portland Business Journal.

BikePortland revealed that the City may require developers to offer residents, employees $600 for biking or transit.

The Oregonian published photos of the completed One North office development on N Williams, which is set to open this week.

Salt & Straw is the latest business to announce a presence in the Pine Street Market.

The Portland Tribune reported that one of sites being looked at for the proposed USPS relocation is in Troutdale. The move will be required for the Post Office Redevelopment.

The Daily Journal of Commerce published photos of the recently completed Society Hotel.

The fight over the Convention Center Hotel will go to the state Supreme Court, according to The Oregonian.

A Portland renter has been offered her home for free, if she can relocate it to a new site. The house will otherwise be demolished to make way for a 10 unit expansion of Holladay Park Plaza.

The Portland Chronicle reported that a single-family home at 7420 SE Milwaukie Blvd has been demolished to make way for a 76 unit apartment project.

Weekly Roundup: United Workmen Temple Building, Post Office Redevelopment, Porter Hotel and more

Posted on November 8, 2015 by nextportland

The mixed use development at 930 SW 3rd Ave, which originally proposed to incorporate the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple

Restore Oregon noted that two downtown buildings have been removed from the City’s Historic Resources Inventory. The buildings are on the site of a proposed mixed use development at 930 SW 3rd Ave, which will include a 20-story hotel and 10-story office building. As part of the development the Hotel Albion (which includes the Lotus Café and Cardroom) will be demolished. The Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple Building will ~~be incorporated into the development~~ will also be demolished.

In a 5-0 vote, the Portland City Council adopted the Broadway Corridor Framework Plan, which will form the vision for how the 14 acre Post Office site in the Pearl will be developed. The acquisition of the site, worth between $135 and $177 million according to developer Mark Edlen, will cost the City up to $80 million.

Construction will begin by the end of the year on the 299 room Porter Hotel at SW 2nd and Jefferson. The 16 story building will be included in Hilton’s “Curio” collection of hotels.

The Society Hotel opened this week in Old Town / Chinatown. The Portland Mercury published photos of the low cost hotel meets hostel, and described the “gorgeous rooftop deck” as the project’s “crowning jewel”.

Shortly after acquiring trucking company Conway, XPO Logisitics laid off 101 Portland based workers. Though headquartered in Ann Arbor until its acquisition, Conway was a large landowner in Northwest Portland. What effect, if any, the acquisition will have on the redevelopment of the Conway Masterplan area is currently unclear.

Kaiser is planning a 700 space parking garage at 500 NE Multnomah in the Lloyd District. According to BikePortland the structure “aims in part to free up space on Kaiser’s other parking lots, which could then be developed or sold in order to continue the surge of big developments [in] the Lloyd District”.

The Portland Chapter of the AIA held its annual design awards last weekend. Portland Architecture wrote about the winning projects, which included Lever Architecture’s Treehouse and Allied Works’ PNCA 511 Building.

In a post titled ‘The City of Fabric Buildings‘ Places over Time noted how curious it is that “Portland has developed such an international reputation as a city without the assistance of any real place-specific visual aides”.

Design work is about to start on the Multnomah County Health Dept HQ, which will be located on a site near Union Station. The new building will be “nine stories and run between $85 million to $95 million” according to a report in The Oregonian.

Portland Monthly reported that health food “haven” Prasad opened a second location at the Portland Rock Gym, which recently completed a major expansion.

NOTE: This post has been revised to reflect that the Temple building will be demolished, as shown on drawings published on the City Auditor’s website Monday.

Weekly Roundup: Broadway Tower, FrameWork, New Season Woodstock and more

Posted on October 25, 2015 by nextportland

The Broadway Tower by GBD Architects

The 98 year old Oregonians Credit Union at 1431 SW Broadway will be razed to make for the 19 story Broadway Tower, reported the Portland Chronicle. The office and hotel building by GBD Architects is going in front of the Design Commission for Design Advice on November 5th.

The Oregonian covered a report by Jones Lang LaSalle that found Portland now has the third lowest office vacancy rate in the nation. In a contrast to previous decades, almost all the new office development “is taking place in the central business district and close-in submarkets” and “‘virtually none’ [is] happening outside the central city.”

Portland plans $67 million more in funding for affordable housing over the next decade, according to The Oregonian. The funding will come from existing Urban Renewal Areas, at the expense of other commitments such as streets and parks.

The blog Wood Skyscrapers published images of Works Partnership’s recently completed FrameWork building at NE 6th and Davis.

The Portland Mercury looked at what Portland will look like in 2025.

As Portland experiences a building boom, BikePortland covered the fact that pedestrians and cyclists are often forced into mixed traffic when passing construction sites.

The New Season Woodstock branch opened this week with a rooftop bar.

The AIA Northwest & Pacific Region recently handed out its annual design awards, with Waechter Architecture, Works Partnership Architecture, and Hacker all winning awards. Among the winning projects was the Langano Apartments by Works Partnership.

Pastaworks will close its SE Hawthorne space, reported Eater PDX, and move into Providore Fine Foods Market on NE Sandy Blvd. According to the article other tenants will include “Flying Fish Co., florist Emerald Petals and Arrosto, Pastaworks’ upcoming rotisserie chicken spot”.

In other food market news, Eater PDX also wrote about Pollo Bravo, the “chicken-centric tapas joint” by John Gorham, set to open in the Pine Street Market. The market is now expected to open late this year or early next year.

Urban Development Group is a planning a 30 unit apartment building at 3701 SE Caruthers St, across the street from what the Portland Chronicle described as a “controversial” building by the same developer.

Three houses owned by Concordia University will be demolished to make way for the Faubion Elementary School Rebuild, according to the Portland Chronicle.

Weekly Roundup: Water Avenue Yards, Pearl affordable housing, protest on Hawthorne and more

Posted on October 18, 2015 by nextportland

Concept for the Water Avenue Yards by Boora

Boora Architects have developed a speculative concept for the ODOT Blocks, which they have dubbed the Water Avenue Yards. Their vision would see the currently vacant site redeveloped with flexible spaces that could be used various kinds of production.

Demolition began on a fourplex house at 3423 SE Hawthorne Blvd, which will be replaced by a five story 30 unit apartment building. As a squatter tied himself to the roof to protest the demolition, a crowd of fifty people and one goat gathered to watch.

Pretentious PDX interviewed Jonathan Cohen and Matt Seigel of the Society Hotel, the Old Town hotel which is getting ready to open on November 5th.

Eater PDX covered the possible closure of the Lotus Cardroom, which would be replaced by a new hotel and office building at 930 SW 3rd Ave.

Innovative Housing has been chosen as the developer for an affordable housing project on Pearl Block 26, according to The Oregonian. The quarter block building will include at least 40 units, and could include as many as 64.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the PSU School of Business Administration by Behnisch Architekten and SRG Partnership. The 143,000 sq ft facility is expected to open in 2017.

Amid an apartment building boom, The Oregonian reported that the City’s property tax exemption program for affordable housing had done zero deals in 2015.