Analog Approved by Design Commission (images)

The Design Commission has approved Analog, a seven story residential building in Lower Albina / Eliot. The project design is by Works Progress Architecture for Ethos Development. The building will include 130 dwelling units; 23 vehicular parking spaces in a mechanical parking system; and 201 long term bicycle parking spaces.

The building will be subject to the city’s inclusionary housing rules, which require the provision of affordable housing or the payment of a fee-in-lieu.

The site 15,500 sq ft site at 1835 N Flint Ave is currently occupied by three single story industrial buildings. The site is adjacent to the planned I-5 Rose Quarter Project, which proposes to remove N Flint Ave between N Broadway and N Tillamook in order to widen the freeway. N Hancock St will remain, and will connect into a new street linking N Dixon St to NE Hancock St.

The light grey ribbons on the facade will be formed of Viroc fiber cement panels with an integral color, while the darker grey bands will be formed of black vinyl windows set into painted Hardie fiber cement panels. A dark grey Viroc panel will also be used at the ground level.

When built, Analog’s lobby will have glazing facing onto N Flint Ave. Once the Hancock-Dixon Crossing is constructed the building has been designed so that new storefront glazing can be added on the south side of the lobby, facing the new street.

Analog was approved by the Design Commission at the project’s second hearing, held on August 20th, 2020. A Condition of Approval will require that the ribbon at the corner of N Flint and Hancock be raised, in order to provide more glazing at corner live/work unit.

The Final Findings and Decision by the Design Commission describe how the project responds to a context that is likely to significantly change in the future:

The proposed building is likely one of the first new buildings in an area that will see further redevelopment over the next several years due to recent rezoning to EX and to potential future redevelopment of the nearby Portland Public School District education services building site. As such, it is helping to establish a new context of mixed-use development, as envisioned by the Albina Vision project, that will bring residents back to the once-thriving neighborhood known as Lower Albina that was destroyed by development of the Rose Quarter campus and Interstate 5, among other projects. In doing so, the proposal meets these guidelines in the following ways:
• The proposal adds to the residential/mixed-use scale of the remaining existing neighborhood fabric on the west side of I-5, comprising the Paramount Apartments, the Leftbank Loft and Annex buildings, and the landmark Portland Van & Storage Building
• The proposal also relates to the scale of residential mixed-use development to the immediate east of I-5 and helps to tie the two halves of the neighborhood together again.
• The sculptural design of the building creates an easily recognized wayfinding element for travelers on and crossing I-5 and travelling along the Broadway Weidler corridor. The sculptural design of the building also relates to the greater context of the Lloyd District and to the character of development in the Rose Quarter.
• At the pedestrian scale, the proposed development provides pedestrian relief and active uses which support and enhance the adjacent bikeway and which improves the pedestrian experience in a relatively underdeveloped section of the district.

A building permit for Analog is currently under review.