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Six students from Portland State University’s Center for Real Estate last week presented their vision for a $53 million mixed-use development in the 1600 block of Northwest Thurman Street.

The students worked closely with Melvin Mark Companies and FFA Architecture and Interiors to come up with the design. Then they gave a presentation before attendees of a Building and Owners Management Association Business Briefing Breakfast at the Multnomah Athletic Club.

The proposal, in an area the students say people are calling 鈥�The Squish,鈥� is heavily industrial, but may be in transition.

鈥淲e believe that what was happening in the Pearl a decade ago is happening in this area now,鈥� presenter Jana Faro said. 鈥淭his would be the jewel in the crown of what will exist in the northwest industrial district.鈥�

The students, in their presentation titled 鈥淧olishing Up the North Pearl,鈥� called for a building with creative office space, an outdoor central commons area and an area dubbed 鈥淭he Outback鈥� in which students proposed using prefabricated modular and changeable spaces for offices or retail.

鈥淭he prefab modular construction would be much more open and 鈥� placed in triangular shapes to echo the triangle building already on site,鈥� Faro said. 鈥淭hey are much more open and could be used as flex space for office or retail tenants.鈥�

The site is already home to a recently remodeled, 100-plus-year-old building that formerly was a tire warehouse, according to the students. A triangular building, the owners of which chose not to participate in the students’ project, also occupies the block.

鈥淲e asked them if they wanted to participate,鈥� student Tom Remmers said. 鈥淭hey respectfully ignored us.鈥�

Remmers, Faro and four other PSU students 鈥� Jovan Young, James Wang, Maddie McMonies and Jason West 鈥� participated in the workshop, producing an original development plan 鈥� including concept, market analysis, concept design, economic analysis, management plan and budget.

The property, which sits at the intersection of Thurman Street and 17th Avenue, is bordered on the north by railroad tracks and on the east by Interstate 405.

Senior Adjunct Lecturer Vernon Rifer, who taught the workshop, said that more than 2,200 housing units are under construction in the North Pearl area. With that influx of housing, developments like this one will be needed to add office and retail space, he said.

Following the presentation, panel judges Kali Bader, vice president of Rembold Properties; Christe White, founding partner of Radler White Parks & Alexander; and Joe Zody, senior associate at FFA Architecture and Interiors along with audience members asked questions about the students’ market analysis, where they would find construction loans and whether the area would be able to draw businesses.

鈥淚t’s close to downtown and costs less money per square foot (than renting downtown),鈥� Remmers said. 鈥淚t got a walk score of 83 and a bike score of 97.鈥�

WalkScore.com helps people evaluate walkability and transportation in their neighborhoods via walk scores and bike scores between 0 and 100. A walk score between 80 and 90 indicates that an area is 鈥渧ery walkable鈥� and is within walking distance for most daily errand destinations. A bike score between 90 and 100 indicates that an area is a 鈥渂iker’s paradise鈥� and is within biking distance for most daily errand destinations.

Remmers said he believed the location 鈥� it’s near downtown, easily accessible by public transportation and in an area with ample parking 鈥� would draw potential tenants.

The students designed a one-level podium parking structure that would allow development of the property without removal of any of the existing 200 parking spaces.

鈥淭he buildings already have a loading dock feel with the first floor raised five or six feet off the ground,鈥� Faro said. 鈥淲e proposed excavating another six feet down and there you have a podium with parking underneath.鈥�

Rifer said there are no plans to begin construction anytime soon, adding that projects like these typically require about three years to start after plans have been drawn up. But he said the students came up with an ambitious and interesting design for a space that, with the railroad and freeway nearby, presents a host of problems.