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The developer of a proposed 61-unit affordable housing project in the Gateway Plan District is hoping the third time is the charm.

On Oct. 24, Ricardo Berdichevsky of Quail Court Management and Alberto Rinkevich of ARDesign will seek advice from design commissioners for a third time. Quail Court manages three affordable housing properties in the Portland area, but for this project – Hazelwood Plaza – is struggling to find common ground between what it can afford to build and what neighboring residents and design commissioners desire.

“They want finishes and they want you to put a lot of money into the (exterior),” Berdichevsky said. “They don’t realize the need is not for that type of finishes, but more for the interior of the apartments – that they will be livable.”

Berdichevsky acquired the site at 222 N.E. 102nd Ave. approximately five years ago. He works with various social service agencies to try and help people who need affordable housing.

“My motivation was to give a second chance to people,” he said. “I have a lot of people that work for me that have been in recovery, or are in recovery now. Through them I learned they had a need, and needed to be supported basically. That motivated me to help them … be able to go back to a normal life.”

City officials are on board with the plan. This month the Portland Housing Bureau’s investment committee approved a 10-year tax abatement for the approximately $6 million project through its Multiple-Unit Limited Tax Exemption program. Hazelwood Plaza will be 100 percent affordable for households at or below 60 percent of the area’s median family income – $29,160 for a single person, and $41,640 for a family of three.

Design commissioners, however, previously expressed multiple concerns about plans for Hazelwood Plaza, according to Chris Caruso, the city planner handling the project. They took issue with its lack of ground-floor retail space; its extensive use of cement-panel siding; and its color scheme, which in previous iterations relied heavily on blue, orange and turquoise.

Berdichevsky said design commissioners have been helpful, but that little wiggle room exists to include high-end materials. He said he won’t pursue bank financing until he navigates the design approval process, which could be slowed by opposition.

“(The project team has) been given recommendations by both the design commissioners and planners at the Bureau of Development Services, and it doesn’t seem to quite jell together with our aspirations,” said Arlene Kimura, president and land use committee chairwoman of the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association.

Kimura said she understands that making a development pencil is a delicate balancing act, but added that she’s concerned about the proposed appearance and lack of storefront space for Hazelwood Plaza. She said the intersection at Northeast 102nd Avenue and Burnside Street is a significant space in the neighborhood, and introducing a four- and five-story building atop surface parking won’t do much to grow its potential.

Rinkevich, the architect and a partial owner of Hazelwood Plaza, has heeded those comments and worked to break up the facade by introducing some metal paneling to the cement fiber system. He said it has been difficult for this project to find materials that are both aesthetically pleasing and economically feasible.

“Many times it looks like the commissioners … are looking at a project that is not in Gateway (but one that is in) more expensive areas,” Rinkevich said. “We are trying to do our best, and this is maybe the biggest challenge.”

Portland City Council is scheduled to give final approval for the project’s tax exemption on Oct. 16. The design advice request meeting on Oct. 24 will begin at 1:30 p.m., at the BDS offices downtown; Hazelwood Plaza is the second item on the schedule.