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A geyser of construction activity is about to erupt at the east end of the Burnside Bridge, and one final development is bubbling to the surface.

Hood River-based Key Development is purchasing from the Portland Development Commission the tiny spit of land (Block 76W) on the west side of the Couch Street couplet, and planning to build a two- to three-story commercial building. The firm already is preparing to break ground in August on a 21-story mixed-use tower on Block 67, due west of Block 76W, and other developers are hot on its heels with projects.

PDC commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved Key Development’s offer for the 8,414-square-foot sister site. Given its small size, sharp slope and the presence of submerged support structures for the Burnside Bridge, the property was not expected to draw an offer.

“When I looked at this plan I never thought that piece of property would get developed,” PDC Board Chairman and Melvin Mark President Scott Andrews said during the hearing. “It’s got a 20 percent slope (and) it’s holding up Couch Street … God bless Key Development.”

Development of the small site wasn’t initially part of Key Development’s plan, principal Jeff Pickhardt acknowledged, but was instead born out of a need to create a stronger pedestrian connection with the bridge.

Key Development’s original plan was to make that connection via Block 67, but Pickhardt said that fizzled when his team learned that the railing on the Burnside Bridge is historically significant – and therefore untouchable. Then, during a design assistance meeting with the city, team members shifted their attention to the grassy island.

“I have to give credit to Skylab (Architecture) in coming up with the design,” Pickhardt said. “They took it upon themselves to create the first run at the design, and then reintroduced it as part of the larger project.”

The proposed 20,000-square-foot building looks like a miniature version of the nearby tower’s podium structure. A large, glass storefront system, triangular frame and green roof suggest a mountain or steep hillside.

The Block 76W development is estimated to cost $6.4 million; Andersen Construction is Key Development’s general contractor for both that project and Block 67.

The PDC is selling the property to Key Development (via Block 76 LLC) for a July 2013 fair market value of $336,000, but the true price will be the cost to perform “extraordinary” geotechnical work – estimated at $361,000. As the development firm pays for that work, the PDC will reimburse it the purchase price.

Key Development also is required to make a $33,600 earnest payment that will be nonrefundable following a 30-day due diligence period. The deal is scheduled to close within 90 days, and the development firm must begin work within three years or the PDC can buy the property back for the original purchase price. The PDC also would gain a 10 percent interest in any resulting sale of the developed site within five years of completion.

Block 76W was the PDC’s last property at the east end of the Burnside Bridge. A planning effort for the bridgehead began some 15 years ago. In 2004, the PDC selected Opus Northwest to develop all of the properties at once; however, that plan dissolved during the recession.

Momentum picked back up in 2009, when the PDC tweaked its framework plan to attract smaller projects in lieu of a larger one. Beam Development got the ball rolling with its redevelopment of the Eastside Exchange building.

Many other projects are planned in the area. Guerrilla Development has a six-story commercial building on tap for Block 76E (the other two-thirds of the block divided by Couch Street); Beam Development and Urban Development Partners are planning a mixed-use project at Block 75 (due north of Block 76); the Seattle office of Texas-based Trinsic Residential Group is preparing to begin a 159-unit mixed-use project on the block due east of Block 76E; and NFN Investments and Arthur Mutal are remodeling the R.J. Templeton Building on the south side of the bridge.

All of those projects are expected to be under way by early 2015.

“We expect that to be a pretty serious construction zone starting in about two months,” said Eric Jacobson, a senior project manager for the PDC.

He added that the tiny commercial building proposed for Block 76W will play an especially important role for the Burnside bridgehead.

“Our design objective was to treat this as a gateway to the entire Burnside Bridge,” he said. “This is – especially for (bicyclists) and pedestrians coming to the bridge – this is the first property they’re going to encounter. So it was really important for us for it to be activated.”

For Pickhardt, the project has been a long time coming. His company has been working on the Burnside bridgehead development since responding to a PDC inquiry in July 2010.

Pickhardt and Jeff Kovel, a Skylab Architecture principal, first presented drawings of the 21-story tower to the Portland Design Commission in April 2013, to mixed reviews. They received the commission’s approval in December.

“It’s been a really interesting project for us,” Pickhardt said. “And it’s certainly rewarding getting to a point where we’re actually ready to come out of the ground.”