Lee Fehrenbacher//October 11, 2013//

TMT Development may be preparing to resume construction on the long-stalled Park Avenue West project in downtown Portland.
The company plans to mobilize crews at the site within the next few days for cleanup and prep, said Kara Fioravanti, a planner with the Bureau of Development Services.
On Thursday, shortly before TMT was scheduled to participate in a type II design review at 1:30 p.m., the company withdrew its request and scheduled a new hearing for a type III design review on Nov. 21. Type III design reviews are more rigorous than type II reviews. TMT President Vanessa Sturgeon declined to comment on the change except to say that it was not motivated by SEIU Local 49‘s appeal of the project.
The labor union last month appealed the proposed 30-story tower’s lack of affordable housing, arguing that the people who work on the building would be unable to live there. Fioravanti said SEIU’s letter of appeal was vague in that it merely stated design guidelines had not been met.
“Meanwhile, if you’re scratching your head in a few days when you see construction out at the site – they have a permit,” Fioravanti said.
The $200 million project became Portland’s most iconic bellwether of the times when it stalled in 2009 due to a lack of financing. Except for some rusting rebar, the pit at 728 S.W. Ninth Ave. has been empty since.
In 2011, Sturgeon announced that construction would resume in late 2013, and in July TMT submitted new plans calling for a building with 30 stories – up from 26 planned in 2009. Now, developers are envisioning two floors of retail, 13 floors of offices and 15 floors of housing.