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Construction of a $60 million, mixed-use tower at the Burnside bridgehead will begin in August, now that Block 67 LLC has closed on a $1.5 million land purchase.

The project has been three years in the making: A disposition and development agreement has been worked out with the Portland Development Commission and the city design process has been completed, said Jeff Pickhardt, principal of Hood River-based Key Development Corp.

The project team – including Key Development, Skylab Architecture, Andersen Construction and Guardian Real Estate Services – this week submitted foundation permits. It’s planning to build a 21-story tower with 284 apartments and 20,000 square feet of commercial space, Pickhardt said.

The tower project also will have 200 parking spaces, he said.

“We’ve all been involved in the project for some time,” he said, citing an integrated project delivery model with Andersen as the contractor, Guardian as the property manager and Skylab as the architect. All were involved in the development process from the get-go.

Construction is likely to take 20 months, Pickhardt said.