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A prime piece of real estate near the Rose Quarter and the Oregon Convention Center is being targeted for redevelopment.

Portland’s Kalberer Co. is considering ideas for a 0.6-acre site near the east end of the Steel Bridge, between the confluence of North Interstate Avenue and Oregon and Multnomah streets.

Phil Kalberer, the company’s president, said a study in the 1980s ranked the site’s view as No. 2 or 3 in the city.

“Anything over five stories would have a 360-degree view,” he said.

With a 12-to-1 floor area ratio possible, new construction could be much higher – up to 350 feet, Kalberer said. Also, the site is zoned central commercial, so it could accommodate most uses.

The existing 24,588-square-foot warehouse building, a former truck shop of sorts, was built in 1924. It used to have an old truck lift that would lower vehicles to the basement level, which Kalberer said is built like a concrete bunker.

Kalberer’s father, August Kalberer, partnered with Walt Elmer, founder of the iconic Elmer’s Colonial Pancake House franchise, to buy the property from the city in 1969. August Kalberer and Elmer planned to build a pancake house and a hotel on the site, but the plans fell through.

Eventually, construction of the convention center, the Rose Quarter and light rail changed the area’s landscape. Phil Kalberer said that site access from the east is now a challenge. Westbound travelers used to be able to turn left onto the property from Northeast Multnomah Street, but the entrance has since been redirected through a network of asphalt spaghetti.

Kalberer uses the lot for event parking from time to time, and for years donated space to Central City Concern for storage use. The organization moved out recently, and now Kalberer is weighing its options.

“We’re looking at our options,” Kalberer said. “It would be a great place for housing. It would be a great place for a boutique hotel. So we’re looking at what we can do to develop it.”

Block by Block is a weekly look at commercial real estate around Portland. Send suggestions for properties to [email protected].