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

The proposed garage at the Convention Center Hotel

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 HotelThe 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.

 

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

Broadway Tower

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: New Seasons, Little Big Burger, Flying Fish Company, Hop Dog and more

New Seasons has opened at the Slabtown Marketplace

New Seasons has opened at the Slabtown Marketplace

At Portland Architecture Brian Libby interviewed Kengo Kuma, the Japanese architect behind the Japanese Garden ExpansionThe acclaimed architecture shared his thoughts on thoughts on Portland, the role of Japanese Gardens in urban settings and the material choices made for his new buildings in Portland.

The first building in the Conway Masterplan opened this week. New Seasons are the anchor tenant at the Slabtown Marketplace on Conway Block 296. An adjacent apartment building on the same block, the LL Hawkins, will open later in the year.

The Portland City Council voted to make changes to the property tax exemption system designed to entice developers to build affordable housing. The annual cap will be lifted from $1 million to $3 million, and the competitive application system will be scrapped. The changes are intended to create up to 200 affordable units a year. Separately, the Portland Housing Advisory Commission recommended that Portland should increase the share of urban renewal money used for affordable housing from 30% to 50%.

As news broke that local chainlet Little Big Burger had been sold to Chanticleer Holdings, it was announced that the burger company will open a location at Hassalo on Eighth in late 2015.

Hop Dog, the latest restauartant concept from former Little Big Burger owners Katie Poppe and Micah Camden, has opened in the 12|Stark building downtown.

The Alameda retail development Lyon Court has secured its first tenant. The as yet unnamed wine bar will be operated by J. Mikey Lynch.

According to the Hollywood Star News, neighbors in NE Portland have created a petition to keep the Regal Lloyd Cinemas 10. The buildings are set to be replaced by the 1510 NE Multnomah development.

Flying Fish company has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund an oyster bar and new retail location at The Shore on NE Sandy Blvd.

The Portland Chronicle reported on a planned 18 unit building at 6205 N Minnesota. The development will replace a vacant single family home.

Weekly Roundup: Oregon Square, Lents Town Center and more

GBD Architects' Oregon Square

GBD Architects’ Oregon Square

  • The Design Commission offered Design Advice on Oregon Square to GBD Architects. The project by American Assets Trust will redevelop a superblock in the Lloyd District, with 4 new buildings of 10-32 floors.
  • The Historic Landmarks Commission offered Design Advice on the Worldmark by Wyndham building to SERA Architects.
  • The City Council backed a plan by the Portland Housing Bureau to commit $20 million for affordable housing in North and Northeast Portland.
  • Zidell Yards was the subject of an email accidentally sent to OPB news and published by the Oregonian. The PDC and the Zidell family are currently negotiating on whether the Zidell property should include affordable housing. The Portland Housing’s Bureau’s preferred location is Riverplace Parcel 3, which the Portland Tribune wrote about in the article “Can South Waterfront be made affordable?
  • Portland Monthly reported that Providore Fine Foods and Pastaworks are scheduled to open this fall in The Shore, an under construction project by Guerrilla Development on NE Sandy Blvd.
  • The PDC has selected developers for 6 of the 12 acres of property in owns in Lents Town Center. Property #1 and #2 are to be developed by Palindrome Communities. The south portion of Property #3 is to be developed by Williams & Dame, with the north portion by ROSE CDC. Asian Health & Services Center and REACH CDC are the selected developer for Property #4.
  • The first office tenants are moving into Washington High School, an adaptive reuse project by Venerable Properties. The Oregonian was there to take photos.
  • Portland Monthly had a look at Ancient Heritage’s new creamery, set to open this May in the 626 SE Main building.
  • The Portland Chronicle published photos of the two houses set to be demolished on NE Glisan St, for the Treece & Lambert Apartments by Barry R Smith Architect.
  • The Oregonian visited the Stadium Fred Meyer on West Burnside, the remodel of which is nearing completion.