91视频

A large multifamily project that developers shelved back in 2008 at the onset of the recession may soon see a revival.

鈥淲e were about to start construction when the economy crashed, but the project was very big,鈥� said Sam Rodriguez, vice president of . 鈥淎nd it’s still a very big project, which presents a challenge for financing these days, but now the environment has changed and the financing environment has loosened up enough that a project of this size can get financed.鈥�

Mill Creek is planning to breathe new life into the Bridgeport Apartments, a two building, four-story, 367-unit project in Tualatin near Bridgeport Village. The massive 631,000-square-foot development (including 22,000 square feet of retail space) will feature a 鈥渨rap-around鈥� design, which centers on a concrete parking structure with wood-framed housing wrapping around it.

Residents will be able to drive into the parking structure, park on their apartment’s floor and walk a short distance to their apartment. The idea, Rodriguez said, is to create a high-density product in what is traditionally a low-density market.

鈥淚n Texas, they call it a Texas donut,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淚t’s a good innovation for our market to do this kind of project because it will allow higher densities that would otherwise not be achievable in the suburbs.鈥�

Rodriguez said that while the standard garden-style apartment design tops out at about 30 units per acre, the wrap-around design can reach densities between 55 and 60 units per acre. With suburban rents recovering from $1.10 per square foot a year and a half ago to between $1.30 and $1.40 today, Rodriguez said now was the time to get moving on the market-rate project.

When it does, the Bridgeport Apartments will be the first of its kind in the Northwest.

鈥淔or sure in the Portland market, I would say for sure in Oregon. I would go so far as saying I’m pretty sure there is none other like this in the Pacific Northwest,鈥� Rodriguez said of the wrap-around design.

Rodriguez said Mill Creek is currently in negotiations to purchase the property from , which originally proposed the development before the recession. Rodriguez was also a part of TCR at that time, and while he didn’t want to comment on the estimated construction costs for the project, the 91视频 reported them to be approximately $50 million back in 2008.

Rodriguez said he hopes to break ground in June and sees the wrap-around as a new model for suburban multifamily construction.

鈥淚t’s a great option for people who want to have somewhat the lifestyle of the downtown area but want to be closer to jobs in the suburbs,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he idea is to make it feel like a resort. It’s going to have a pool and this sort of club house that is going to be very Cascadian in design with a big fire place and very tall ceilings.鈥�

It also has a walk-ability score of 82 out of a hundred on , a score that Rodriguez said is unheard of in the suburbs. Located at 18049 S.W. Lower Boones Ferry Road, the property is just minutes away from major name-brand retail shops, restaurants and bars.

Ira Virden, director at , a national commercial real estate intermediary in Portland, said Bridgeport Apartments is a prime example of a well-located development taking advantage of a market hungry for inventory. He said less than 3,000 residential units have been built per year for the past four years, and that really nothing has been built in the suburbs since 2000.

鈥淧ortland, to keep up with demand, needs between 3,000 and 4,000 units annually, and so we’re coming off of a huge shortage of supply,鈥� Virden said. 鈥淎ll of these units that we have coming online, they’re going to get absorbed because the market is starving for units.鈥�

Robert Leeb of , the project’s designer, said the 8.96-acre site is permit-ready, pad-ready and ready for construction. He said the biggest challenge 鈥� the fact that the property is divided between the two jurisdictions of Tualatin and Durham 鈥� is already behind them.

鈥淲e did have to go through the planning departments of both, we did have to make presentations to both communities, and then we did a number of joint presentations to the two communities,鈥� Leeb said. 鈥淚t was pretty complex in terms of planning.鈥�

Leeb said the project will also include a dozen live-work units that will allow the owners of small companies to live above their businesses 鈥� a rarity in the suburbs.

鈥淭here are not a lot of places that you can live in this kind of quality and scale and be able to walk to all the services,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can walk to shopping, walk to theater, walk to restaurants, and I think that’s very exciting for the suburbs 鈥� We feel it’s a great bridge to kind of a new urbanism in that area.鈥�