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To build up, Mill Creek Residential Trust wants to dig down.

The developer, after fielding concerns from Goose Hollow residents that its planned eight-story multifamily development would create traffic congestion, has proposed digging an underground tunnel to the Multnomah Athletic Club to funnel vehicles away from the site. Neighbors had mixed reactions to the proposal during a meeting of the Goose Hollow Foothills League last week, and asked for more time to think about the project.

But after nearly a year of discussions, Sam Rodriguez, managing director of Mill Creek’s Portland office, said time is critical – he’s already extended his contract with MAC once.

“It’s been almost a year since we started this process, so we have to get going,” he said. “As much as I wish I could slow things down and say, ‘Go home on vacation and forget about this for two months,’ I really can’t.”

Rodriguez plans to submit his application for a zone change to the hearings officer this week. The property is zoned for high-density residential, but Mill Creek is seeking a change to central commercial so that it can include two levels of underground commercial parking (229 spaces) in the development; two levels of underground residential parking (166 spaces) also are planned. The commercial parking is essential for Mill Creek because MAC is transferring ownership of the undeveloped lot (bound by Southwest Main and Madison streets, and 19th and 20th avenues) in exchange for the new parking spaces.

The zone change would be tailored to apply only to the commercial parking. The rest of the approximately 260-unit building would comply with the existing zoning. Also, if future owners were to demolish and redevelop the site down the road, zoning would revert to high-density residential.

The proposed tunnel would cut across Southwest Main Street and connect the new commercial parking garage to MAC’s existing one. Only residents of the new building would be able to access the underground parking from surrounding streets; MAC visitors would need to use existing entrances.

The introduction of the tunnel also would let Mill Creek move the loading area to the building’s interior, and better wrap the street-level facade with housing.

“A tunnel is an incredibly costly endeavor,” Rodriguez said during Thursday’s neighborhood meeting. “It seems like it shouldn’t be, but trust me, when I saw the price I was like, ‘Really?’ But it adds so many improvements to the project, it’s worth the proposition. The MAC is willing to share in that cost and that’s what makes it viable for us.”

Nevertheless, some neighbors remained skeptical.

“You’re maintaining that by adding 225 additional parking spaces there’s not going to be any net increase in traffic issues?” one attendee said. “I find that incredible.”

Rodriguez affirmed that argument, however, and cited the results of two traffic studies conducted separately by Mackenzie and Kittelson & Associates Inc. The reports, he said, will soon be available and show that additional spaces would help remove from the road vehicles that otherwise circle the facility in search of on-street parking.

Residents also maintained that the project would be too large and out of character with the neighborhood, despite the fact that a nine-story luxury condominium building sits directly across the street from the development site.

One neighbor questioned whether the cost of the new development would impact his membership dues at MAC, and said the concept seemed out of step with reality. He said that while the planned 700-square-foot “micro” units might be appropriate in places like Asia, Portlanders preferred to have more space.

“This is my opinion: The new small apartments of today are the slums of tomorrow,” he said.

Rodriguez responded, “I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree. The reality is that a lot of people want to live downtown. Living downtown in big apartments would be wonderful, but most people can’t afford to live in big apartments downtown.”

If the zone change were approved, Mill Creek would need to go through design review. Rodriguez said there might also be an opportunity to leverage the development and sway the Portland Bureau of Transportation into making additional street improvements that help mitigate existing traffic congestion issues.

Rodriguez said there would be more opportunities to discuss the building’s design later. Discussions with the neighborhood follow more than a year of negotiations with MAC, so the project is now some two years in the making.

“… We have heard a lot of comments, and heard a lot of concerns, and heard a lot of issues,” Rodriguez said. “It was important for us to include as much of the input that we’ve gotten from you guys … I think (the tunnel is) an important compromise and an important piece of the puzzle that might resolve our issues.”