Category Archives: Press Blocks

Metro Reports: Baldwin Affordable Housing, Press Blocks, Koz on N Killingsworth 2, and more

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The Baldwin Affordable Housing project is being developed by Home Forward in collaboration with the Urban League of Portland, and will comprise of 60 units of affordable permanent supportive housing. The project will be specifically targeted to serve residents from the Kenton community who are most in need.

Every week, the Bureau of Development Services publishes lists of Early Assistance applications, Land Use Reviews and Building Permits processed in the previous week. We publish the highlights. This post covers June 1st, 2020 to June 7th, 2020.

Early Assistance has been requested by Studio 3 Architecture for a project at 4738 SE Belmont St:

New 3-Story, mixed-use structure. 19 apartment units are proposed. The ground floor will contain 1,150 sf of commercial lease space along Belmont St. The project total square footage is 11,473. A drywell on the south end of the site will serve to dispose of stormwater. They plan to meet community design standards.

Early Assistance has been requested by Marathon Acquisition And Development for a project at 2202 E Burnside St:

New 5-story, mixed-use building. Approximately 114 units, 115,800 SF. Stormwater management is TBD. Proposal is expected to meet community design standards, however, applicant would like update/info about DOZA implementation.

Early Assistance has been requested by SERA Architects and Home Forward for The Baldwin Affordable Housing at 7688 N Interstate Ave:

Develop a 4-story low-income apartment building with ground floor permanent supportive service offices, community room, and courtyards. Stormwater disposal method is pending results from geotech report.

A Pre-Application Conference has been scheduled by Barghausen Consulting Engineers to discuss a project at 1525 SE Grand Ave:

A Pre-Application Conference to discuss construction of a 12,450 square foot retail building (CVS Pharmacy). A drvie through window and a surface parking lot for 30 vehicles is proposed. There are curb cuts on both SE M L King and SE Grand for the parking lot and the drive-through. The drive-through exits onto SE Clay Street. An Early Assistance meeting was held in 2019 to discuss this project (19-238518)

A project at 1675 NE 41st Ave has been submitted for building permit review by Doug Circosta Architect:

PDOX PS – new 5 story 17 unit apartment building with associated site work; site work to include common area and detached trash enclosure < 120 sf ***mechanical permit to be separate***

The Large Division Apartments at 11518 SE Division St has been submitted for building permit review:

LARGE DIVISION – New 4-story building with 138 affordable housing units, support services, and surface parking; includes associated site work *** w/20-145394-CO, 20-145396-CO, and 20-145399-MT ***

The Kōz on N Killingsworth 2 at 1430 N Killingsworth St has been submitted for building permit review:

New 6 story, 154 unit apartment building with ground floor retail and associated site work. W/20-146522-MT

A foundation only permit for the Press Blocks Full Block has been submitted for building permit review:

Building Foundation Only for new 24 story multi-family tower & 4 story plaza office building

A building permit was issued to LRS Architects for an addition to the Gateway Baptist Church at 13300 NE San Rafael St:

Two story addition to west side of existing worship hall. Includes demo of stair, lobby, restrooms, exterior ramp on west side and siteworks to add new elevator, accessible restrooms and stair and siteworks.

Focus: The 25 Most Popular Posts of 2018

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Block 216

The 35-story Block 216 tower was approved in December. Our post about the project’s Design Advice Request was our most popular post of the year.

Happy New Year.

2018 is the fourth full year Next Portland has been in operation and I’m excited to see what 2019 brings. I’m currently on vacation in Scotland, so new posts will continue to be sporadic until I return next week.

Last year was another busy year for the site. Of the course of the year 141 new posts were published, with nearly 900,000 page views.

The year started with the last of the pre-inclusionary zoning (IZ) projects working their way through the design review process. In February it was reported by the Portland Mercury that Portland’s inclusionary zoning mandate was getting lackluster results, with only 12 qualifying building in the pipeline.

By the end of the year Next Portland had posted about a number of large post-IZ developments that have been approved through design review. These include 815 W Burnside, 1715 SW Salmon, Nomad, the ART Tower Block 216, 1935 N Killingsworth and the Pepsi Blocks. The Portland Housing Bureau now estimates that there are 43 projects subject to inclusionary zoning in the pipeline, with 362 affordable units in projects that have permits or are close to permitting.

Despite the uptick in post-IZ proposals, new design review and building permit applications remain down relative to years ago. At the end of the year the Bureau of Development Services was forced to lay off staff for the first time since the recession, citing “quite sobering” forecasts.

Similarly to 2017, many of the most popular posts were published in previous years, a reflection of the fact that the content Next Portland remains relevant for a long time, as buildings move through construction and into occupancy. One post in the top 25 most popular posts was from 2015; seven posts were from 2016; six posts were from 2017; and eleven were published in 2018.

In reverse order, here are our 25 most popular posts of the year:

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Weekly Roundup: Metro Housing Bond, Multnomah County Courthouse, Beatrice Morrow, and more

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Multnomah County Central Courthouse

The new Multnomah County Central Courthouse has now reached its full height of 325′.

The Oregonian reported that voters approved a $652.8 million bond for affordable housing in the Portland metro area and a constitutional amendment which will allow funds to be leveraged with private money and federal tax credits.

The Daily Journal of Commerce reported on the demolition* of one of the old Oregonian publishing buildings, which is making way for Canvas at the Press Blocks.

The Oregonian took a look inside one of the units at The Carson in Slabtown.

The last structural beam has been lifted to the top of the new Multnomah County Central Courthouse, reports the Oregonian.

The Beatrice Morrow, an affordable housing development targeted to displaced residents of NE Portland, has opened on NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.

The Portland Diamond Project has withdrawn their offer for the Portland Public Schools Site, to clear the way for the Albina Vision. The group says they will announce a preferred location for an MLB stadium site by end of the month.

Eater Portland took a look at the menus for the Radisson Red’s Ouibar and Kitchen, which will be located in the Broadway Tower.

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

Metro Reports: N Williams Center, Canvas at the Press Blocks, Riverplace Redevelopment, and more

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Press Blocks

A building permit has been issued for the first phase of the Press Blocks, the 8-story Canvas office building.

Every week, the Bureau of Development Services publishes lists of Early Assistance applications, Land Use Reviews and Building Permits processed in the previous week. We publish the highlights. This post covers October 15th to October 21st, 2018. 

Early Assistance has been requested by GBD Architects for the Riverplace Redevelopment at 0150 SW Montgomery St:

Proposal is for a master plan development and possible land division of approx. 8 acres.

Early Assistance has been requested by Salazar Architect for a project at 6723 NE Killingsworth St:

4-Story, 140 Unit affordable housing project with 3 floors of residential over on-grade parking, community space and additional residences. The project will also feature a mid-block pedestrian crossing and public plaza facing Killingsworth. On-site storm water disposal will be accomplished through dry wells.

A project at 9720 SE Holgate Blvd has been submitted for building permit review by Mentrum Architecture:

New 2 story 3 unit apartments. each unit with attached garage and driveway and associated with site works.

A project at 1627 N Willis Blvd has been submitted for building permit review by Fosler Portland Architecture:

Construct new 3 story (31) unit apartment building with associated site work and bike storage area in basement

A project at with two buildings at 2242 SE 158th Ave has been submitted for building permit review by Partin & Hill Architecture:

Construct new 3 story (16) unit apartment building

Construct new 3 story (16) unit apartment building with associated site work

The N Williams Center at 2156 N Williams Ave has been submitted for building permit review by Ankrom Moisan Architecture:

New 5 story Type III B affordable family apartment building

A building permit was issued to Partin & Hill Architecture for a project at 14755 NE Couch St:

Building 3 of new 30 unit multi-familly housing unit complex; this building contains 3 units; 3 story buildings with lower level private garages. Included associated site work.

A building permit was issued to Studio 3 Architecture for a project at 5120 N Lombard St:

New 3 story 18 unit apartment building with enclosed trash/recycling area and associated site work

A building permit was issued for a project at 1801 N Rosa Parks Way:

New 3 story 18 unit apartment building, includes associated sitework *** no revisions to original plans allowed, see comments 10/18/18 and IQ folder 18-254905-iq ***

A building permit was issued to GBD Architecture for Canvas at the Press Blocks:

New 8 story office building with 1.5 levels of below grade parking

Weekly Roundup: 7 Southeast Stark, 1727 NW Hoyt, Press Blocks, and more

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7 Southeast Stark

7 Southeast Stark will include four floors of office space above 6 levels of structured parking.

The Daily Journal of Commerce looked at construction progress at 7 Southeast Stark, the 10-story mixed use building being squeezed into a parcel between I5 and the Union Pacific railroad tracks*. Plans for a nearby 9 story office building at 129 SE Alder, also designed by Works Progress Architecture for Harsch Properties, have been put on hold.

Construction on the Press Blocks will start this month, reports the Oregonian. The first phase of development will include the half block office building, now known as Canvas. Construction on the 23-story tower is expected to start in 2019, however financing has yet to be secured.

The Northwest Examiner wrote about the impact of the ethics complaints leveled against Historic Landmarks Commissioner Wendy Chung, over her involvement in the review of the affordable housing development at 1727 NW Hoyt St.

The City of Portland is moving to preserve and create new affordable homes near the proposed SW Corridor MAX line, reports the Oregonian.

The Daily Journal of Commerce published photos of the progress at the TwentyTwenty Condominiums in Sullivan’s Gulch.

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

Focus: Our 25 Most Popular Posts of 2017

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Vista Pearl

The Block 20 condominium tower, now known as Vista Pearl, was the subject of our most popular post of the year

2017 is the third full year Next Portland has been in operation. Although the onset of Inclusionary Zoning has slowed down the number of new applications submitted, there was a lot to write about in 2017 while the projects submitted in late last year and early this year worked their way through the development review process.

Over the course of the year we published 176 new blog posts, and our development map now has over 1,000 unique projects listed (including completed and cancelled projects). In 2017 Next Portland had over 900,000 page views, a slight increase from the previous year.

Sixteen of the articles that made the top 25 most viewed posts were published this year; seven were published in 2016; and one was published in 2015. Our second most popular article from the 2015 list and fourth most popular article from the 2016 list—about the Goat Blocks—was still the fifteenth most popular article of 2017 despite having been written in December 2014. The 2016 roundup of the tallest buildings planned in 2016 was the third most popular article of the year, and although there wasn’t an equivalent list published in 2017 we hope to write one in early 2018.

So, with that Happy New Year to all. In reverse order, here are our 25 most popular posts of the year:

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Metro Reports: 5415 SE Milwaukie, Press Blocks, Riverplace Parcel 3, and more

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Press Blocks

The Press Blocks have been submitted for building permit review

Every week, the Bureau of Development Services publishes lists of Early Assistance applications, Land Use Reviews and Building Permits processed in the previous week. We publish the highlights.

Early Assistance has been requested by Tahran Architecture & Planning for a project at 5415 SE Milwaukie Ave:

Proposal is for two five story apartment building; one with 32 units; one with 48 units and with 31 surface parking spaces. The buildings will be designed to meet Community Design Standards. Stormwater handled with rain gardens and storm planters.

Early Assistance has been requested by Soderstrom Architecture for a project at 5826 N Willamette Blvd on the University of Portland campus:

Review under current code: New building w/offices, meeting rooms classrooms including related site development and landscaping. Two stories above grade, plus basement. Approx. 63,500 sq. ft. Sanitary will go to exisiting campus sewer system, storm water to new drywells.

A project at 808 SE Alder St has been submitted for building permit review:

Full building renovation, change of use and occupancy; addition of 3rd story. Full seismic upgrade (with 17-192142 MT)

The Press Blocks have been submitted for building permit review by GBD Architects:

24 story half block multi family apartment building with ground floor retail on top of 4 story full block parking garage

4 story quarter block mixed use building with ground floor retail on top of full block 4 story below grade parking garage

New 8 story office building with 1.5 levels of below grade parking

Riverplace Parcel 3 has been submitted for building permit review:

New 13 story Type I concrete high rise apartment building over concrete podium structure with ground floor commercial and daylight basement parking – 2nd 6 story tower permitted under 17-156305-CO

New 6 story 5 over 1 TYpe IIIA and Type I wood apartment over concrete podium structure with ground floor commercial and daylight basement parking – 2nd 6 story tower permitted under 17-156297-CO

A building permit was issued to Mentrum Architecture for a project at 4950 NE 7th Ave:

New 18-unit, three-story apartment building, attached trash enclosure, drywell

A building permit was issued for NW 14th & Raleigh:

12 story, multi-family affordable housing, 93 units, parking for 15 cars, 654 misc. retail on 1st floor

A building permit was issued to William Wilson Architects for a project at 310 SE 12th Ave:

New 4 story 84 unit apartment building with basement garage and bike storage; associated site work

Design Commission approves the Press Blocks (images)

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The Design Commission has approved the Press Blocks, the redevelopment of the former Oregonian publishing buildings in Goose Hollow. The development will include three buildings, spread over one and a half city blocks. The project is developed in partnership by Urban Renaissance Group and Security Properties. The architects are Portland based GBD Architects and Seattle based Mithun.

Press Blocks

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Press Blocks Reviewed by Design Commission (images)

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An initial Design Review hearing has been held for the Press Blocks, the redevelopment of the former Oregonian publishing buildings in Goose Hollow. The development will include three buildings, spread over one and a half city blocks. The project is developed in partnership by Urban Renaissance Group and Security Properties. The architects are Portland based GBD Architects and Seattle based Mithun.

Press Blocks

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Weekly Roundup: Press Blocks, Vista Pearl, Swift Headquarters, and more

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Image of the Press Blocks development in Goose Hollow, from the project’s second Design Advice Request hearing in October 2016 (image by Mithun)

According to the Portland Business Journal the sale of the former Oregonian printing facilities in Goose Hollow has closed. Urban Renaissance Group and Security Properties paid $20 million for the site, which is set to be redevelopment as the Press Blocks.

The Business Tribune wrote about the new leadership at Holst Architecture.

After more than 20 years, Mark Edlen has handed over the reins at Gerding Edlen, reports the Portland Business Journal.

The NW Examiner reported that the amount of ground retail at the Vista Pearl (formerly Block 20) will be reduced from what was originally approved.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation is looking for feedback on what type of bike parking should be required at new apartment buildings, reported BikePortland.

The DJC wrote about how local architecture firms make decisions on whether to speak up on political issues.*

The prospect of lower corporate taxes under President Trump is having a chilling effect on one of the main sources of financing for affordable housing developments, wrote the Portland Mercury. Local projects affected include Innovate Housing’s NW 14th & Raleigh development, which now has a $1.8 million funding gap.

The Portland Business Journal took a look at the Swift Headquarters, completed last year in the former Rose City Awnings building in NW.

As part of their Architect’s Questionnaire series, Portland Architecture interviewed Nat Slayton of ZGF Architects.

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