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The design for a 290-unit mixed-use building planned in the Pearl District gained unanimous approval Thursday from the Portland Design Commission.

The 1420 Pearl Apartments, at 1420 N.W. 14th Ave, will step down from nine stories to seven and include 200 below-grade parking spaces. The U-shaped building will have a central courtyard, two roof decks and a 24,000-square-foot eco-roof.

SERA Architects last week presented plans for the $70 million Mill Creek Residential Trust project to the design commission for a second time. Commissioners reviewed plans in March, but declined to issue approval until revisions were made.

Taking into account commissioners’ feedback received in March, SERA designers scrapped plans for an oval-shaped roof form in favor of a more traditional rectangular one. The modified design includes changes to the courtyard, a simplified color palette for the facade and the addition of six live-work units on the ground floor, principal Kurt Schultz told the commission Thursday. A fiber cement facade was scratched in favor of metal panels.

To mask the garage exhaust for the below-grade parking, SERA designed planters to go around them.

“We’re actually doing the garage exhaust in the middle,” Schultz said. “We made it from a strong visual element to something that actually fades away.”

Because the building must be raised above the floodplain, the design now includes an elevated, wraparound porch that will serve as a public gathering space with tables and chairs.

The modified design sticks to a more neutral palette, with subtle stripes of color dispersed across the facade.

“They never create a rigid pattern; we wanted something a little more playful,” Schultz told commissioners. “Previously, we had a thick pinstripe. We got suggestions from you guys to break it up.”

Commissioners said they were pleased with the revised design and SERA’s efforts to take into account their suggestions.

“I think it’s actually excellent at this point,” Commissioner David Wark said. “From the first presentation, it’s come a long way and we’ve seen it become something that will be quite striking.”

Commission Chairwoman Guenevere Millius praised the elimination of the roof’s oval shape.

“I appreciate the big move you made on top, and I’m sure somebody’s heart was broken at SERA about the oval,” she said. “I think it’s a much more elegant solution.”

The project site, bound by Northwest Quimby and Pettygrove streets, and 13th and 14th Avenues, currently has a 25,000-square-foot retail building and a parking lot. Construction could begin as soon as December, but is dependent on tenant Cash & Carry finding a new home before its lease expires in March 2015, said Sam Rodriguez, managing director of Mill Creek Residential Trust’s Pacific Northwest office.

The 1420 Pearl Apartments will be built a few blocks away from another Pearl District multifamily development that recently gained the Portland Design Commission’s OK. Ground is expected to be broken this summer on Unico Properties‘ 26-story Overton Apartments, a 285-unit complex on Northwest 12th Avenue.