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The first development to go up near the east end of the Burnside Bridge should have some pizzazz, Myhre Group Architects associate Philip Stewart said.

鈥淲e鈥檝e taken (that) approach assuming this one is the first one out of the gate as far as being built,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t needs to have a pretty good stage presence. While I wouldn鈥檛 say that there鈥檚 a definite design concept necessarily, we just felt it was a project that should have good visibility and be reflective of sort of the up-and-coming nature of the neighborhood.鈥�

Myhre Group Architects is working with Dallas, Texas-based Trinsic Residential Group to design a six-story, 118-unit mixed-use building on the former Falcon auto lot at 419 E. Burnside St.

Red Hills Holdings, a Portland-based private equity firm, bought the site in April; TRG now is scheduled to close on its purchase next spring. The development company is one of several that are converging around the east Burnside bridgehead, which is dominated by vacant lots.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very bullish on that area and that site in particular (because of) the emergence of the creative office space that鈥檚 being developed in the close-in east side, the resurgence of new retail, and the desirability factor of folks wanting to live in that neighborhood and close in,鈥澛爏aid Jack Paauw, managing director of TRG鈥檚 Pacific Northwest office in Seattle.

On Block 67, Hood River鈥檚 Key Development is planning a 21-story tower with approximately 224 units. On Block 75, Beam Development and Urban Development Partners are planning a large, mixed-use project. Directly across the street from TRG鈥檚 property, Guerrilla Development is planning to build a 30,000-square-foot Class A office building with 5,000 square feet of retail space. Guerrilla鈥檚 crowdfunding effort for that project, launched a week ago, has already garnered promises of more than $640,000 from 163 private investors.

Also, at 139 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Ash Street Development is considering development of a 12-story mixed-use building with 307 residential units. All of the aforementioned projects are within blocks of聽each other.

TRG hopes to make its project stand out.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a very cool design 鈥� design forward,鈥� Paauw said. 鈥淚t will have a very good 鈥榳ow factor鈥� we hope.鈥�

The team is early in the design process, but Stewart said that in order to attract the 25- to 35-year-old tenants TRG is banking on, the building needs to be edgy 鈥� similar to the bSIDE6 and Central Eastside Lofts.

Paauw has participated in such efforts, including Alliance Residential鈥檚 development of the Enso Apartments in the Pearl District. That project, also designed by Myhre Group Architects, featured a sleek, modern design with a creative composition of oriel windows. Paauw said the bar will be set equally high for the design of the East Burnside Street building.

Early iterations explored an eight-story concept, but the current plan calls for a wood-framed building with five stories of residential units over a concrete floor of retail space. Myhre Group had its first design advice request meeting with design commissioners on Thursday. Stewart said the team will reach out to the Kerns Neighborhood Association and the Central Eastside Industrial Council in the coming weeks.

Paauw hopes to break ground in May or June 2014. He said it鈥檚 too early to say what the project might cost.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fluid with costs and rents and unit mix and all that,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then design review greatly influences that as well. We鈥檙e pretty confident it will work, but that鈥檚 what this whole next phase is about 鈥� making it feasible.鈥�