91ÊÓƵ

Fundamentally, John’s Landing was ripe for development.

The Southwest Portland neighborhood’s residential vacancy rate, at 2.8 percent, was one of the lowest in the city; office space was nearly 100 percent leased; and the average salary in the area hovered around $95,000, according to a recent market study by Guardian Real Estate Services.

Thomas Brenneke, Guardian’s president, lived in the area for a number of years, and found it highly livable, walkable and accessible to downtown Portland. The area had just been lost in the shuffle of new development.

“It’s a suburban feel in an urban setting, in my opinion,” Brenneke said. “I think that’s very unique about this site … I think there has been a ton of focus on the South Waterfront the last 10 to 15 years. That’s the glitzy concrete and glass stuff, and this just hasn’t got much attention, and gosh, it’s been sitting here the whole time.”

More than three decades after developer John Gray began transitioning the area from furniture warehousing to housing, little vacant land remains – aside from some surface parking lots between Southwest Macadam Avenue and the Willamette River. Few of the undeveloped parcels are for sale.

Nevertheless, the tide may be changing: Three large apartment projects – with a total of nearly 500 units – are on tap for a four- to five-block stretch between Macadam Avenue and the river. Guardian’s plans came about serendipitously.

“Everything just spoke to a project there,” Adrian Boly, vice president of acquisitions and development for Guardian, said of the market study findings. “It just so happens we were looking at the area, and this opportunity fell in our lap.”

As Guardian began scouring the area, real estate investor Barry Menashe presented the company with the former Willamette Athletic Club at 4949 S.W. Landing Drive. The 32-year-old facility, acquired by Menashe in 2010, had become an eyesore.

Guardian closed on its $3.1 million purchase of the property in February. Now it plans to break ground in late summer or early fall on an approximately $40 million mixed-use building with 166 apartment units.

About a mile north, the South Waterfront District is due to gain several hundred-million-dollar expansions and at least two large multifamily developments. Guardian plans to compete with those by offering rents that are 10 to 15 percent lower. Brenneke believes John’s Landing, with access to bicycle trails and the river, will become the preference for people who want to live near the city’s center, but not in it.

“Our tenants will most likely have stuff,” he said. “They’ll have cars, and they’ll want amenities and (to) be close to the city. But they don’t want the hassle and downside that comes with high-density living.”

Next to Guardian’s project site, Fore Property Co. is considering plans for a 190-unit development on two parcels near the river. Fore recently applied for early assistance with the city, but isn’t commenting on its plans yet. The property is still owned by an affiliate of Holt Homes, which acquired it during the recession.

Meanwhile, another project is percolating four blocks south, on a vacant lot off of Southwest Boundary Street. The Boathouse is planned as a six-story apartment building with 133 units, and tuck-under parking for vehicles – either land-based or waterborne.

Dan Neal, the owner of Eugene development company Paradigm Properties, is developing the project with business partner Hank McCurdy. He said John’s Landing has always been alluring because of its proximity to downtown Portland, Lake Oswego and the “charming” commercial area along nearby Southwest Corbett Avenue. But its real appeal lies in nature.

“We really think that best of all is the connection between The Boathouse and the river and the bike path, and the immediate access to some of the best outdoor facilities in all of Portland,” Neal said. “We are going to have a boathouse in The Boathouse for personal watercraft like kayaks, and paddleboards and canoes.”

Neal and McCurdy bought the property, formerly home of the Rusty Pelican bar, this past August for $2 million. Because of the site’s proximity to the water, construction of a six-story building would normally require piles be driven 25 feet below the slab – a detail that led other developers to pass. Neal’s group, however, is using a mat-slab foundation, which essentially turns the entire floor into an anchor.

Neal declined to provide the project’s cost, but said he’s working with HomeStreet Bank on construction financing, and is hoping to break ground in June. Both The Boathouse and Guardian’s development are expected to rent for approximately $2 per square foot.

Also, The Boathouse and Guardian’s development will feature modern facades that wrap around central courtyards designed to play up the pedestrian experience. It hasn’t flourished in an area dominated by heavily traveled Macadam Avenue (aka Oregon Route 43) and associated auto-oriented development.

The John’s Landing office market is good, stakeholders say. Al Kennedy, a broker at Melvin Mark, which owns and operates the 114,976-square-foot Water Tower building, said occupancy is consistently at 95 percent, and vacancies rarely require more than a month to fill. He thinks the new developments will improve upon that.

“(John’s Landing) does have a stigma of being dated,” he said. “It hasn’t been a cool, hip neighborhood in a long time, so maybe this will change that.”

John’s Landing residents previously favored low-scale development with sweeping setbacks. That is no longer the case.

“It’s funny – our vision for that area has changed since then,” Southwest Neighborhood Association Land Use Chairman Jim Gardner said of the master plan’s early days. “We now actually prefer something that looks a little more urban, with buildings closer to the street as opposed to that campus look.”

Katherine Schultz, a principal at GBD Architects, the architect for Guardian’s project, said those have been her marching orders since day one. She expects the development to help get the ball rolling.

“This is creating a better pedestrian vibe – that’s what I see this whole area needing,” she said. “One building is a start, but you need critical mass to get things going and create a ‘there’ there.”