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A half-acre site on North Lombard Street, given its zoning, could have accommodated a three-story, mixed-use apartment building. Such developments are popping up all over Portland, which has the nation’s no. 2 lowest vacancy rate.

Guerrilla Development wasn’t interested.

“We just didn’t want to fill and build vertically,” said Andres Ochoa of Guerrilla Development. “The nice thing about working with (owner) Kevin (Cavenaugh) is money is not the bottom line. We’re not trying to hit home runs. We’re trying to hit singles, get on base and then get on to the next project.”

Cavenaugh plans to turn a vacant brownfield site at 8735 N. Lombard St. into a bustling bazaar of office, retail and residential space. The plan calls for seven miniature buildings stacked and positioned to create angled passageways – and neighborhood revitalization, the developer hopes.

A source of inspiration was the Greek island of Mykonos, where a maze of alleyways weaves through boxy, white buildings. Guerrilla’s development will have four retail spaces, three office spaces and six residential spaces.

“This is going to build up like a Jenga puzzle pushed over backward,” Ochoa said.

Guerrilla is calling it the 2/3rd project because it will take up two-thirds of the site, use two-thirds of the baseline energy code, and (it hopes) be active two-thirds of the time. Also, the cost is two-thirds as much as a previous site development plan that fell through.

In this iteration, Cavenaugh said he wants to increase density without looking like he is. Lately, he has taken issue with projects that abut the lot line and ascend to the maximum height.

“I’m seeing a lot of greedy building in Portland,” he said. “The last building I did I would consider greedy building, so I’m not immune to my own criticism. But it would be nice to show the neighborhood what a less greedy building looks like, or in this case a cluster of less greedy buildings … Highest and best use doesn’t always mean the maximum size you can squeeze or shoehorn into a site.”

The St. Johns site formerly was a service station and vehicle repair shop, and has been a vacant brownfield since the 1970s. The Bureau of Environmental Services acquired it from the Portland Development Commission, and in 2006 conducted a cleanup with $200,000 in grant money. BES pulled seven fuel tanks from the ground – several had fuel inside; several more were leaking.

Following the cleanup, BES launched a community forum process to decide the site’s future. After more than a year, a citizen steering committee developed a request for qualified developers; Cavenaugh’s team won.

“It is very satisfying, and it’s exactly why our program is here,” said Jenn Bildersee, program coordinator for Portland’s brownfield program. “This was a site that was a very negative place for the neighborhood. It didn’t contribute economically; it was an eyesore; there was contamination in the ground; and now it’s a clean site that’s going to become something really positive for the neighborhood.”

It’s also in the heart of downtown St. Johns, and Ochoa believes Guerrilla is entering at the right time. A block away, where North Philadelphia Avenue and Ivanhoe Street meet, W&K Development is building a 165-unit apartment project. A few blocks south of there, Summit Real Estate is building 72 units. Also, one block south on North Lombard Street, a husband and wife are planning to convert an old tavern into a boutique hotel.

A private investor who preferred not to be identified is helping fund the approximately $2.75 million 2/3rd project. He plans to live in one of the units after the development is finished.

“What attracted him to it was the location,” said Peter Andrews, a Melvin Mark broker who introduced the investor to Guerrilla. “The (development has) creative ability to create some vibrancy in an already vibrant and up-and-coming neighborhood, with something that looks and acts very authentic to that neighborhood.”

Brett Schulz of Brett Schulz, architect – the architect of record – said that because the project doesn’t follow community design guidelines, it will need to go through design review. Guerrilla is hoping to break ground in the next three to five months.

The group also is in talks with the owner of the adjacent Jower building with plans to renovate it.

Ochoa said it’s time to believe the hype that St. Johns will be the next neighborhood to pop. As with the Division Street and Hawthorne Boulevard corridors, Guerrilla plans to jump-start life in St. Johns with food.

“Verbally, we’re overcommitted,” Ochoa said of future tenants at the 2/3rd development. “People are hungry to get in, and once we go a little further down the line, and we have (letters of intent), we’ll be able to share who those are.”