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Pearl District residents on Thursday voiced concerns to the Portland Design Commission about the height planned for a new 15-story residential tower in the neighborhood.

Neighbors and others who testified at a design advice request for Seattle-based Security Properties‘ Block 136 development said a 150-foot tower would be inconsistent with shorter surrounding buildings.

“It will dominate the neighborhood,” New Traditional Architecture principal John Czarnecki told the commission.

Seattle-based architecture firm Mith?n sought the commission’s advice on preliminary designs for a two-building, mixed-use development on the block bound by Northwest Kearney and Johnson streets and 12th and 13th avenues. The block currently is home to the Pacific Northwest College of Art, which is planning to relocate to the 511 Federal Building later this year.

The two new buildings planned for the property would be separated by a public courtyard connecting Kearney and Johnson streets. A five-story building with ground-floor retail space and either office or residential space on the upper floors would be located on Northwest 13th Avenue. A neighboring residential tower, also with ground-floor retail space, would be located on Northwest 12th Avenue. The proposal also calls for below-grade parking for 222 vehicles.

The two buildings will have distinctly different designs, Mith?n associate principal Heidi Oien told the commission. The shorter building will share elements with historic Pearl District structures nearby while the tower will be more like new developments in the neighborhood’s north end, she said.

“Those two areas have really inspired our design,” she said.

In response to the public testimony, design commissioners said they were OK with the height of the taller building and the overall concept for the development. Commissioner Ben Kaiser noted that taller buildings are being proposed in the Pearl District to keep up with demand for housing there and meet city desires for urban density.

“I think the general idea is fantastic,” he said. “I think it’s a good idea to have height when you can have it. I think the neighborhood will be just that much more livable because of the diversity (of buildings).”

Commissioner David Wark advised the design team to better define the relationship between the two buildings.

“I keep looking for the binding element between them,” he said. “They’re so different, but should they be that different?”