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Gerding Edlen is working on plans for a large multifamily development in Northwest Portland, but it has hurdles to clear before it can break ground.

The Portland-based development company is looking to partner with the owners of a half-block on the east side of Northwest 18th Avenue, between Irving and Hoyt streets, to build an 82-unit apartment building on the site. An existing 95-year-old commercial building is listed as a contributing structure in the Alphabet Historic District.

Jill Sherman, a Gerding Edlen vice president, said demolition of the building requires approval from the Historic Landmarks Commission and Portland City Council. She’s aware of only one other project in Portland – the Blanchet House of Hospitality – that has received such an endorsement.

“We’re a firm that is more likely to restore and renovate a historic building, so we do not take it lightly at all,” Sherman said. “But the … architectural features of the building, both interior and exterior, are no longer present, and it’s a contributing building in a historic district that’s really historic for the residential buildings that are there. This is a commercial building, and it’s actually not even allowed by right.”

The property is zoned only for high-density residential, so any renovation would have to accommodate that use. Sherman said Gerding Edlen looked at that option in conjunction with development of the surrounding lot, but it was neither attractive, nor economically feasible.

A few nearby neighbors support the project, but Sherman said many people oppose demolition and the size of the planned development, which would step up from four stories to six in the center.

The project is planned to have below-grade parking at a ratio of 0.8 stalls per unit; and feature a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom units. Gerding Edlen plans to rent-restrict 20 percent of the units at a rate affordable to people making 80 percent of the area’s median family income, if it can secure the necessary tax exemptions from the Portland Housing Bureau.

Gerding Edlen is still early in the design process, and recently applied for a pre-application conference with the city. Plans call for a facade composed primarily of brick, with bay windows and a mansard roof. Sherman said the company began seeking feedback from neighbors about a year ago.

“We have a road ahead of us, so we’ll see,” she said. “Honestly, for me it’s hard being in a position where we have a bunch of people in opposition because generally we’re able to work productively with neighbors. We care about that. We reach out to them early and often and bring them into what we’re doing.”