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

Posted on August 8, 2016 by nextportland

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.

Metro Reports: Bridgetown, 1139 SW Morrison, Union at St Johns and more

Posted on July 19, 2016 by nextportland

A building permit was issued for the Bridgetown apartments on NE Fremont St

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 for a project at 4540 SE Milwaukie Ave:

Proposal is for a four story multi-unit development. One single family residence and one commercial bldg to be demolished.

Early Assistance has been requested by C2K Architecture and Greenlight Development for a project at 2810 NE Broadway:

Proposal is to develop a mixed use structure with 74 apartment units, 22 parking spaces and 97 long term bicycle parking space with 4 short term bicycle parking spaces.

A Pre-Application Conference has been scheduled by SERA Architects for a project at 2222 NW Raleigh St:

Pre-application conference to discuss Type III Design Review needed for new mixed-use (market-rate) apartment building – with 178 units, ground floor retail, and underground parking.

A demolition permit is under review for the existing building at 1139 SW Morrison St:

Demo of existing building on site

A building permit is under review for a project at 5209 SE 18th Ave:

Construct new 6 story, 59 unit apartment building, parking, trash area, bike storage, electrical room and lobby on 1st floor, floors 2-6 include apartment living units, includes associated site work

Edge Development have submitted a project at 634 SE Spokane St for building permit review:

Construct new 3 story (12) unit apartment building with site work

A building permit is under review for a project at 5023 N Minnesota Ave:

New 6 unit apartment building

Dowl have submitted a project at 12045 N Parker Ave for building permit review:

New restaurant building with associated site improvements

A building permit was issued to Jones Architecture for the Union at St Johns, located at 7428 N Charleston Ave:

New construction of four story type VA 146,613GSF, LU 15-213895-mixed use building with 36,187 SF underground parking, ground floor retail/creative space, and 3 floors of R-2 apartments. The ground story structure is PT. Slab. The 2nd story floor structure is a PT slab. The 2nd-4th floors are wood framed below grade parking

A building permit was issued for the Bridgetown apartments at 4525 NE Fremont St:

New 4 story mixed use building with ground floor retail and 50 residential units on upper floors. Includes onsite parking; fenced in electrical transformer

A building permit was issued for a project at 6850 N Greenwich Ave (formerly 6846 N Greenwich):

New construction of three story, 23unit apartment complex; no onsite parking

Weekly Roundup: Framework, Park Avenue West, Block 75 Phase II and more

Posted on February 21, 2016 by nextportland

The 12 story Framework building by Lever Architecture, planned for a site as NW 11th & Glisan in the Pearl

The 12 story Framework building by Lever Architecture, planned for a site at NW 10th & Glisan in the Pearl

In an article titled “Wooden Buildings as Strong as Steel” Newsweek wrote about how Portland is leading the nation in the adoption of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT). The article includes quotes from Ben Kaiser of PATH, architect and developer of Carbon12, and Thomas Robinson of Lever who is the architect for Framework in the Pearl and Albina Yard.

An article and photo gallery in the Portland Business Journal showed how CLT is made. Riddle-based D.R. Johnson Lumber Co is currently the only domestic lumber mill certified as capable of producing the wood panels.

The Portland Business Journal covered Block 75 Phase II, the next high-rise building planned for the Burnside Bridgehead. The Works Partnership designed building is the latest partnership between Beam Development and Urban Development + Partners.

The Oregonian noted that a Travel Portland found that hotel prices have soared since 2010. The rising rates have led to a hotel construction boom, as Next Portland covered last year.

Construction is underway on the expansion of the SERA designed NW Portland International Hostel. In a story about the project KGW wrote that the hostel is trying “to keep up with the booming tourism in the Rose City”.

The Portland City Council approved a realignment to the route of the proposed extension of SW Bond between the Tilikum Crossing and SW River Parkway. The extension, which will begin construction this year, allows OHSU projects including the Knight Cancer Research Building to move head.

The first residential tenants are moving into Park Avenue West, reported the Portland Business Journal. The TVA Architects designed building is now the fourth tallest building in Portland.

The Portland Development Commission is increasing its contribution to projects in Lents by $6.3 million, according to the Portland Business Journal. The projects include the Asian Health and Services Center by Holst Architecture, Oliver Station by Ankrom Moisan Architects and 9101 SE Foster Rd by Hacker Architects. The developers behind Oliver Station have gained control of the Chevron station at SE 92nd and Foster, enabling the project to occupy the full block.

Commissioner Steve Novick wrote about an idea that is rapidly gaining traction as a way to bring affordability back to Portland’s neighborhoods. “Missing middle housing” is new term for old styles of development, currently prohibited in most of Portland, at a density between that of single family detached houses and large mid-rise apartment buildings. These include housing types such as rowhomes, courtyard apartments, triplexes, built to the same height and scale as single-family homes.

A post at Portland Shoupistas asked if the PDC’s $26 million garage at the Convention Center Hotel will be a money maker or a money loser. Though planned as revenue generator, the post points out that “just to break even, this garage will need to generate more than $12 per space every day of every year for 20 years, starting in 2020.”

KOIN reported that “Ivy Island may not be ‘gateway’ to St. Johns for long“. A street vacation in the St Johns neighborhood was approved this week. The vacation will allow the mixed use Union at St Johns building by Jones Architecture to move ahead, while creating a safer road layout.

Weekly Roundup: 21 Astor, Convention Center parking garage, Providore Fine Foods and more

Posted on February 14, 2016 by nextportland

The proposed garage at the Convention Center Hotel

The Portland Business Journal reported that the board of the Portland Development Commission approved a resolution to build a $26 million garage adjacent to Convention Center Hotel. The 425-stall parking garage will include 375 stalls dedicated to the hotel. The majority of the remaining stalls will be used by Trimet.

The City is looking for feedback on the Central City 2035 plan, according to the Portland Business Journal. The new plan will rewrite the zoning code for Downtown, the Pearl, the Lloyd District and other areas of Portland’s Central Business District, and was released for public comment this week. Public displays will happen at the Development Services Center from February 22nd to 26th and at the Olympic Mills Building from February 29th to March 4th.

An opinion piece by three employees of ECONorthwest, a regional economic consulting firm, asked if Oregonians really want housing that’s affordable. The authors argued that the first order of business should be to bring the supply of housing into line with demand, and that there are three options to achieve this: build out, build up, or do both.

History Treasured & Sometimes Endangered wrote about the pros and cons of the vacation of a piece of right-of-way in St Johns known as “Ivy Island”. The vacation, which went before City Council this week for a first reading, will allow the Union at St Johns development to move ahead.

Developer Bob Ball has set up a new company, Robert Ball Companies, and is moving forward with a new building at 915 NW 21st Ave. The 21 Astor mixed-use building will include 27 apartments and 4,500 sq ft of ground floor retail.

The Daily Journal of Commerce published photos of the under construction Albina Yard office building. The four-story, 16,000 sq ft building is using Oregon fabricated Cross-laminated timber for its primary structure.

Portland Architecture wrote about the lecture and interview given by Kengo Kuma at Portland Art Museum. The Japanese architect is the designer of the new buildings currently under construction at the Portland Japanese Garden.

The Oregonian reported that Patrick Quinton, director of the Portland Development Commission, will step down this year after 5 years leading the agency.

Deconstruction has begun on two 1920s houses at NE 45th and Fremont, according to the Hollywood Star News. The project is the first commercial development so far to take advantage of Bureau of Planning & Sustainability offered incentives for deconstruction over demolition. The buildings will be replaced by the Bridgetown mixed-use development, which include 50 units of housing and 6,000 sq ft of retail.

After news broke about the Ankeny Blocks development last weekend, Food Carts Portland noted that the project could threaten the food carts at SW 5th and Stark, SW 3rd and Washington and SW 2nd and Stark. Journalist Michael Anderson replied with an article published on Medium titled “Chill, Portland: The downtown food carts are not about to close“.

The Willamette Week wrote that like the house in ‘Up’, the Dockside Saloon will live forever in a slot in the Field Office by Hacker Architects.

The Portland Business Journal wrote about how the onsite sewer and stormwater treatment system at Hassalo on Eighth saved the developers $1.5 million in City levied development charges. The NORM system treats 100 percent of the grey and black water created by the three residential buildings, along with the Lloyd 700 Office building.

Providore Fine Foods opened this week on NE Sandy, with vendors that include Pastaworks, Flying Fish Company and Oyster Bar, The Meat Monger, Little T Baker, Rubinette Produce Market, Emerald Petals and Arrosto. Eater PDX published photos of the completed interior.

Metro Reports: Union at St Johns, Ballou & Wright Building, 4335 SE Belmont and more

Posted on November 24, 2015 by nextportland

The Union at St Johns by Jones Architecture

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

Works Partnership have requested Design Advice and scheduled a Pre-Application Conference for a project at 1732 NE 2nd Ave:

DAR for proposed buildng. See PC 15-265471

PC for proposed new building. See DAR 15-265477

Works Partnership have requested Early Assistance for a project at 1825 NW 23rd Ave:

DZ EA for proposed building not meeting CDS

Early Assistance has been requested for a project at 4450 SE 92nd Ave:

P&Z EA for proposed commercial development

Otak Architects have requested Early Assistance for a project at 4335 SE Belmont St:

New 4-story apt building with 65 dwelling units

Early Assistance has been requested for a project at 2034 NW 27th Ave:

Proposed performance venue to accommodate 2,800 to 3,000 people

Mackenzie have scheduled a Pre-Application to discuss the Ballou & Wright Building at 1010 NW Flanders St

Pre-app conference for reconfiguring freight elevator on NW Flanders frontage with ROW encroachment; remodel of existing office space with option to add approx. 6,000 sf penthouse on the roof.

606 NE 20th Ave has been submitted for Design Review:

New 6-story, 54 unit residential building with ground floor retail and 18 parking spaces. 2 modifications: parking space width and bicycle stall width.

SERA Architects have submitted the Worldmark by Wyndham for Historic Resource Review:

Historic resource review with adjustment to reduce the number of loading bays from 2 to 1 and a modification to change loading bay size from type A to type B. Project is for new construction of 74 room vacation ownership property, six floors on existing parking lot.

Building permits are under review for Con-way Blocks 294E and 295E by GBD Architects and Jones Architecture:

***14 story mixed use. 238 apartments over 1 story retail over 2 levels subgrade parking.***

STR 1 : 2 level subgrade parking below Blk 294E and Blk 295E ***14 story mixed use. 238 apartments over 1 story retail over 2 levels subgrade parking.***

6 story 5/1mixed use, 160 units over concrete retail, over 2 level below grade parking structure permitted under 15-260408-STR-01-CO

PATH Architecture have submitted Carbon12 for building permit review:

New construction of eight story mixed use building; 14 residential units with below ground parking; two ground floor retail units; rooftop deck for the top two condo units only; see comments re: review by State of Oregon Building Codes Division; see comments re: review by State of Oregon Building Codes Division

Jones Architecture have submitted The Union at St Johns at 8247 N Lombard St for building permit review:

New construction of four story type VA 146,613gsf, LU 15-213895-mixed use building with 36,187 sf underground parking, ground floor retail/creative space, and 3 floors of R-2 apartments. The ground story structure is PT. Slab. The 2nd story floor structure is a PT slab. The 2nd-4th floors are wood framed below grade parking

A building permit was issued for a project at 424 NE Stafford:

New construction of 10 unit apartment building with 110sf trash enclosure

A building permit was issued to SERA Architects for the NW Portland International Hostel and Guest House:

Construct new 5 story hostel building with 21 sleeping units, basement level includes storage, mechanical room, laundry room, restroom and housekeeping area; main floor includes lobby area and cafe with seating; levels 2-4 includes hostel units and restrooms, 5th floor is private residence; includes all site work

A building permit was issued to Brett Schulz Architect for a project at 10721 NE Sandy Blvd:

Insulated shell only; construct new 1 story building with associate site work. No occupancy this permit

Metro Reports: 811 Stark, PSU Viking Pavilion, Redd on Salmon St and more

Posted on August 10, 2015 by nextportland

811 Stark by Works Partnership

Every week, the Bureau of Development Services publishes lists of early assistance applications, land use reviews and building permits. We publish the highlights.

Woofter Architecture have requested Design Advice and scheduled a Pre-Application Conference for the PSU Viking Pavilion:

Design Advice Request for modernization and upgrade to existing building.

Modernization and upgrade of existing structure.

Early Assistance has been requested for the redevelopment of a hotel at 7101 NE 82nd Ave:

Construct 99 guest rooms, 4-story on-site parking suites hotel with indoor pool on existing red lion hotel site.

SolTerra Architecture have requested early assistance for a project at 3138 N Vancouver Ave:

New development of 100 units of housing with 3,000-4,000 sq ft of ground floor commercial space. Provide 44 parking spaces at grade and in parking garage below grade. 6 stories & basement collecting and re-using stormwater onsite.

Jones Architecture have submitted a project at 8247 N Lombard St for Design Review:

New 4-story mixed use building with basement. 89 residential parking spaces and 77 in basement garage. 2 public plazas and a couryard for residential tenants.

Opsis Architecture have applied for a building permit for The Redd on Salmon St:

Major renovation of and addition to existing building. New 2nd floor addition and new 2nd floor mezzanines. New courtyard, repave and stripe parking lot. Seismic upgrade. Core and shell only, no occupancy this permit. See permit 15-207907-CO for detached service building ( for trash enclosure, bike parking, and transformers).

A demolition permit was issued to Works Partnership for the existing building at 811 Stark:

Demolish existing 2092 sf existing single story commercial building and parking lot, disconnect and cap utilities as required

Building permits were issued to Dominek Architecture for the O|8 Townhomes:

New 4 story apartment building with 4 units, associated site work. West building (building b), 1 of 2

New 4 story apartment building with 4 units. East building (building a), 2 of 2.

A demolition permit was issued for an existing building at 3423 SE Hawthorne Blvd:

Demolish 2 story apartment complex

A building permit was issued to Works Partnerships for the MODS Willamette:

Construct new 2 story, 6 unit modular apartment building, no parking, partial street improvement, scope of work includes basement, foundation, exterior cladding, porches at 1st and 2nd floor, parapets, roof assembly, associated site work such as stormwater facility, bike parking and landscaping, detached trash enclosure is 52sf; modular unit construction prior approval by state of oregon permit #M638 14-542OC

A building permit was issued to GBD Architects for the 19th & Overton apartments:

New 6 story, 58 unit apartment building; ground fl parking, bike parking, leasing office, residential lobby, building services and 3 residential loft units; floors 2-6 include residential units; amenity deck on the roof

Metro Reports: Hyatt House, apartments in St Johns, townhouses in Richmond and more

Posted on January 12, 2015 by nextportland

915 SE Belmont, as proposed in 2013

Every week, the Bureau of Development services publishes lists of early assistance applications, land use reviews and building permits. We publish the highlights.

Developer UDG have requested an Early Assistance meeting for a project at 2100 SE Belmont St, a site which has previously been profiled by the Portland Chronicle:

New 56-unit apartment building with underground parking (19 parking spaces).

Jones Architecture have requested an Early Assistance meeting for a project at 8247 N Lombard St in St Johns:

Four story mixed use building that includes retail, 100 Apartments and underground parking.

Ankrom Moisan have applied for a Type III Design Review for a project at 915 SE Belmont St. The Oregonian reported on the project, as proposed in 2013:

Mixed-use building

A demolition permit was issued for a 1953 church at 5000 SE Lincoln, which will be replaced by 18 townhouses:

Demo 2 story building / basement

A building permit application was received for the Treece & Lambert apartments at 2238 NE Glisan St, whose architects is Barry R Smith:

New 5 story 37 unit apartment building; ground floor to include parking and 3 units;associated site work

A foundation permit was issued for the Hyatt House at 2080 SW River Drive, one of the last remaining parcels in Riverplace:

Foundation and concrete work up to the top of level 2 concrete deck. This includes excavation, piles, grade beams, pile caps, columns, level 1 slabs and level 2 concrete deck. Concrete, paving, and stormwater