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Crews are set to break ground in the Lloyd District next week on a project 17 years in the making.

Holladay Park Plaza, a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community, is developing a six-story apartment building across from its existing 16-story tower. Planning for the project, at 1605 N.E. Clackamas St., started in 1996 under the auspices of a different developer; Holladay Park Plaza took over when it purchased the property in 2006. Then a land-use battle ensued.

In 2007, a hearings officer approved Holladay Park Plaza’s request for a floor-area-ratio transfer from its tower property so that the planned building’s height could increase from 65 feet to 75 feet. The Sullivan’s Gulch Neighborhood Association objected, however, and in 2008 Portland City Council overruled the hearings officer’s decision.

Tuan Luu, a principal at Ankrom Moisan Architects Inc., the project’s designer, said that the property’s zoning allowed for development up to 75 feet in height; however, a 1996 land-use decision tied to the previously proposed development included conceptual plans specifying a 65-foot building – and City Council reverted to that decision to make its own.

The project team reduced the height to 65 feet, and secured a building permit. Then a new obstacle emerged.

“We were finally through permitting and about to sign off on construction, and that’s when the economic crisis hit in 2008,” said George Wheeler, executive director of Holladay Park Plaza. “It was kind of fortuitous that that whole thing happened because, looking back on it, it really wasn’t the best time to build the project.”

Earlier this year the team revived its Holladay Place project, and neighboring residents responded with some familiar criticisms over height and massing.

“It’s frustrating that we had to go through the process again,” Luu said. “When we resubmitted we got all this opposition again. Our frustration was: ‘We already got the permit once; why are we rehashing this and making another review?’ The requirements didn’t change between 2008 and now, so why?”

Jill Grenda, a city planner at the Bureau of Development Services, worked on Holladay Place in 2008 and recently. She said the main reason for the new review was because so much time had elapsed and because there were new political leaders who hadn’t been involved in the 2008 decision.

“I wanted to get everyone involved once again,” she said. “I thought BDS owed that to the neighborhood. Sullivan’s Gulch was very interested in the outcome of the council’s decision … Essentially we were starting from scratch. An expired permit is no permit in the eyes of the city.”

Grenda also had concerns with the level of activation on Northeast 16th Avenue. While the plans from 1996 called for several second-floor entries into units, those were scrapped when units were changed from condos to assisted care spaces. Holladay Park Plaza’s plan called for just one entrance on the south side of the building.

The compromise was for Ankrom Moisan to design in the side of the building a series of display spaces where residents and/or guest artists will be able to showcase works. Grenda said Ankrom Moisan also worked to add articulation to the building’s facade – that helped garner official support from the neighborhood association, despite opposition from a couple of neighbors who live across the street.

A unique aspect of the building’s design is that it will use post-tensioned concrete with a high-quality brick and curtain wall system, instead of comparatively inexpensive wood framing.

“Part of the reason is we wanted a quality building that has really good soundproofing,” Luu said.

The new building will have 19 units that range from 1,200 to 1,600 square feet. Each will feature nine-foot-tall ceilings, private decks and high-end finishes like granite and marble countertops. Luu said the post-tensioned concrete system allows for taller ceilings because the 8-inch slabs don’t require any additional insulation. Turner Construction is handling general contractor duties for the project.

“We are six stories, 65 feet, so every inch that we can eke out of the ceiling is better for the unit and better for the natural light,” he said.

Holladay Park Plaza is extending existing debt with Union Bank on its tower property to finance the approximately $9.5 million project. Wheeler said no additional equity was needed.

The tower is approximately 95 percent leased, and all Holladay Place units are preleased. Wheeler said the waiting list has grown since the nonprofit announced the project.

“Our location for our type of community … you just can’t beat it,” he said. “We’re right next to all the transit, shopping and everything else. Our residents are just a stone’s throw away from whatever they want to do, and if they’re not a stone’s throw they are a MAX ride or bus ride away from downtown.”