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Early concepts for a large mixed-use development in Old Town Chinatown call for blending past and present.

“A big focus is compatibility with the existing historic buildings in the district,” said Jill Sherman, a vice president at Gerding Edlen. “We’re not trying to match them or copy them, but do something that … stands alone so it’s compatible but clearly (is) a modern, contemporary building – and reads as such.”

Gerding Edlen and Works Partnership Architecture recently requested design advice from the Historic Landmarks Commission for a $19.8 million development planned for the L-shaped block that wraps around the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. In November 2013, Gerding Edlen announced that the Portland Development Commission had awarded it the rights to acquire and redevelop the vacant property.

The developer’s proposed six-story building would include 102 residential units, nearly 51,000 square feet of office space and approximately 4,600 square feet of retail space. To inject a touch of modernism, the building would incorporate architectural themes in the Skidmore/Old Town Historic District.

While the windows, doors, porches and other features would be built to the size and scale of those in historic buildings nearby, their articulation would be varied. For instance, the window openings would be set in a somewhat irregular pattern, while the traditional off-white brick facade would be sloped slightly at varying angles as it ascends to the roofline.

Also, deep cuts in the building would be included to break up massing and help generate a rhythm and interest in the facade. As envisioned, the development would create a multiuse alleyway between the new building and OCOM’s building at 75 N.W. Couch St. to encourage pedestrian activity.

And while commercial workspace would be oriented toward Northwest Naito Parkway, the residential units would be oriented toward the alleyway in an effort to play up the pedestrian experience there – a significant challenge for the project, and indeed the somewhat blighted neighborhood.

“It’s just really important to bring market-rate residential units to the district,” Sherman said. “One of the things I think will help is having more people there, more of the time – more eyes on the street, more people taking ownership of the neighborhood. That will contribute to addressing some of the things that people who live and work there are trying to figure out how to improve.”

Sherman said Gerding Edlen is still looking at options for debt and equity project partners, and working with Apex Real Estate Partners to secure preleases of office space. Conversations with several interested parties are in progress.

Sherman said the project, if it were to move forward, would be the first new market-rate construction in the neighborhood in more than two decades.