Weekly Roundup: Pearl East, Park Avenue West, Stagecraft Building and more

Posted on March 20, 2016 by nextportland

The Pearl East building at NW 13th and Glisan

Modern furniture retailer Design Within Reach will move into the Pearl’s newly renovated Stagecraft Building, according to the Portland Business Journal.

A new 6 story office building is planned for the corner of NE 13th Ave and Glisan St, reported the Portland Business Journal. The Mackenzie designed Pearl East building will include 67,000 sq ft of office and retail space.

The Oregonian published photos of the completed Park Avenue West tower. The building includes 15 floors of apartments, 13 floors of office space and 2 floors of retail space.

Salt and Straw revealed images of their new soft serve ice cream concept, Wiz Bang, which will open in the Pine Street Market on April 1st.

Weekly Roundup: Oregonian Publishing Buildings, Asian Health and Services Center, and more

Posted on March 13, 2016 by nextportland

Site plan by GBD Architects for the proposed redevelopment of the Oregonian Publishing Buildings in Goose Hollow

Seattle-based developer Urban Renaissance Group is interested in purchasing in the Oregonian Publishing Buildings at 817 SW 17th Ave, according to a story in The Oregonian. Working with GBD Architects, the developer is looking at a two block project that “would range from 86 feet to 160 feet in height”.

The Willamette Week reported that “Portland’s scorching-hot apartment rental market may finally be cooling down—at least at its upper reaches.” The recently completed Block 17 apartments are currently offering six weeks of free rent, in order to help fill the 166 vacant units in the 281 unit building.

The Oregonian wrote about how “big out-of-town money” is buying up Portland rentals.

The Planning and Sustainability Commission declined to recommend a proposal to add parking minimums for new development in the Northwest Plan District, reported Portland Shoupistas.

FamilyCare Health will contribute $2 million to the Asian Health and Services Center in Lents Town Center, according to a story in the Portland Business Journal.

An article in the Portland Tribune questioned whether the planned capacity of the PSU Viking Pavilion will be enough. Original plans for the project in 2012 were for a 5,000 seat facility. As now envisioned the arena will seat between 3,000 and 3,100.

The Hollywood Star News wrote about the City Council’s unanimous approval of the N/NE Neighborhood Housing Plan, a “five-year plan for investing an additional $20 million in tax increment financing funds from the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area”.

Weekly Roundup: Inclusionary Zoning, Housing Affordability, Parking Minimums and more

Posted on March 6, 2016 by nextportland

The new location for the Post Office Processing & Distribution Center, formerly part of Colwood Golf Course. The site was rezoned to allow industrial uses in 2013. (Image: Portland Development Commission).

The Oregonian reported on a measure intended to “cut red tape for affordable housing”. Under temporary rules going before the City Council this week buildings in the Central and Gateway plan districts, with at least 5 units of affordable housing, will no longer have go before the Design Commission. The projects will instead by reviewed through a Type IIx Design Review, where the initial decision is made by Bureau of Development Services staff. Unless extended, the new code will last until October 6th.

BikePortland wrote that as the repeal of Oregon’s ban on Inclusionary Zoning heads to Kate Brown’s desk, “the fight for affordable proximity moves to City Hall“. Representatives for Mayor Hales Commissioner Saltzman told BikePortland that proposals to implement Inclusionary Zoning in Portland are currently being worked on.

Portland Shoupistas argued that “minimum parking requirements can neutralize inclusionary zoning”. A proposal to add new minimum parking requirements in Northwest Portland is set to go before the Planning & Sustainability Commission on Tuesday.

As reported here on Tuesday, a building permit is currently under review for a project at 5816 SE Foster Rd. The Foster Powell blog asked “Could Multi-unit Housing on Foster Help Maintain Affordability?”

The Portland Mercury reported on a proposal to move the Kevin J. Duckworth Memorial Dock, currently located adjacent to the Eastbank Esplanade, to a new site on Swan Island adjacent to the new Daimler Trucks North America Headquarters.

The City will pay $34.7 million to acquire land near the airport, in order to allow the Post Office Redevelopment in the Pearl to move ahead, wrote The Oregonian. The price is substantially more than the fair market value, which PDC Director Quinton told the paper “is in the ‘$17 to $20 million range.'”

Weekly Roundup: PSU Smith Student Union, A La Carts, Rheinlander restaurant and more

Posted on February 28, 2016 by nextportland

Concept for a renovated PSU Smith Student Union. Should the project move ahead architects will oarde selected to develop a final design.

Portland Architecture wrote an extended summary of the Restore Oregon hosted mayoral debate, where candidates discussed housing, density and preservation.

In article titled “Gatekeepers of Portland character” KGW wrote about the Portland Design Commission, who are responsible for reviewing all major developments in the Central City.

The Oregonian reported on the approval of 4th and Harrison, which neighbors believe is in error. The approved building has a floor area ratio (FAR) of almost 9:1, achieved through a combination of the 6:1 base FAR for the site and 3:1 in bonuses. While the applicants and City staff believe that the site is eligible for bonuses, neighborhoods contend that it isn’t, and that any building on the site should have an FAR of no more than 6:1.

A bill that would allow local governments to implement Inclusionary Zoning has passed the Oregon Senate, reported The Oregonian. The bill will now heads to the House, where it is likely to pass.

The Hollywood Star News asked if the Rheinlander building on NE Sandy is to bite der dust? An Early Assistance application was recently received by the City for the site at 5035 NE Sandy Blvd, indicating that the restaurant site could be redeveloped into a mixed use building of 2 to 4 stories.

The Multnomah County Health Department Headquarters will be named after Gladys McCoy. According to the Willamette Week McCoy was “the first black member of the Portland school board, the first black member of the Multnomah County Board and the first black chair of that board.”

The Willamette Week reported that the A La Carts food cart pod has closed. The site at 4926 SE Division St is set to be redeveloped by Urban Development Group, who are planning a mixed use building with a branch of the Green Zebra grocery chain at the ground floor.

A transcript of a recent American Assets Trust earning call indicated that the company is “currently evaluating various alternatives” for how to move ahead with Oregon Square. Leases at the existing office buildings on the site are being allowed to expire in order to allow the site to be redeveloped. Stating that they do not wish to “act in haste, repent at leisure”, CEO and Chairman of the AAT Board of Directors Ernest Rady stated that they are “looking at every opportunity, including some office, including some apartments, including phasing it and we are now working on examining each of those alternatives. It is a real opportunity and we want to make sure we make the most of it.” A decision on how to move forward is expected by September.

Portland State University students will this April vote in a referendum over whether to increase student fees in order to finance a major renovation of the Smith Memorial Student Union, writes the PSU Vanguard. Two possible solutions include a $65 million renovation and a $90 million renovation.

Kaiser Permanente will open a clinic in the Pearl District, in one of the retail spaces in the Cosmopolitan on the Park tower. Kaiser told that the Portland Business Journal that the clinic will offer “convenient access for routine everyday care and minor health issues.”

The Portland Chronicle published photos of Otak Architects’ under construction Cook Street Lofts on N Vancouver Avenue. The site noted that this project and adjacent project The Woods will “bring 154 units to the block previously home to three single-family dwellings”.

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: Ankeny Blocks, relocation of Jimmy Mak’s, closure of Sewick’s and more

Posted on February 8, 2016 by nextportland

Concept image for the Ankeny Blocks in Downtown

Goodman family controlled Downtown Development Group released a concept for the Ankeny Blocks, an ambitious $1.5 billion redevelopment of 11 surface parking lots between the Morrison and Burnside Bridges. According to the story in The Oregonian the intent is to “enter into long-term land lease agreements with developers and investors once an agreement for a project is reached.”

Jazz club Jimmy Mak’s will be relocating to make way for an 11-14 story residential development at 205 NW 11th Ave, reported the Willamette Week. A Design Advice Request hearing for the SERA-designed project is currently scheduled for March 17th.

Also in the Willamette Week was the news that Sewick’s bar on SE Hawthorne will close on Sunday January 31st. The building at 4917 SE Hawthorne Blvd will be torn down by Urban Development Group to make way for a 46 unit apartment building.

The Portland Chronicle wrote about the pending demolition of a commercial building at 1015 NW 16th Ave, set to be replaced by a 153 unit by WDC Properties. The currently vacant property was home to live music venue Slabtown until it closed in 2014.

The Portland Business Journal interviewed Robert Barton, CFO of American Assets Trust. The company recently completed the GBD Architects designed Hassalo on Eighth development, and is currently working on Oregon Square follow up project.

The Oregonian wrote that Royale Brewing will open a new bar named the Garrison in the Two/Thirds development. The St Johns retail, office, and residential project by Guerrilla Development will also include a second location of The Sudra vegetarian restaurant.

Tech company GuideSpark will lease the entire two floors of office space above the Pine Street Market, according to The Portland Business Journal.

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.