91视频

After several meetings and design tweaks, Las Vegas-based Fore Property Co. on Thursday got the go-ahead from the Portland Design Commission to add 250 apartments to the northwest riverfront.

The commissioners voted 5-1 to approve SERA Architects‘ design for the Riverscape Lot 8 development. Commissioner Tad Savinar cast the lone dissenting vote.

The $40 million development of two six-story buildings will be constructed slightly east of Northwest Front Avenue, north of the Fremont Bridge, on what is now a vacant lot. Building A will be aligned with Front Avenue and have a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments. Building B will have the same mix, but be u-shaped with a north-facing central courtyard. Tenants of both buildings will have access to yoga, fitness and commons rooms in Building B and adjacent to its central courtyard.

Both buildings’ designs call for a series of tiered steps on the upper floors along the north edge, with the top three floors sequentially set back to create large, open terraces for those units.

In addition to 200 underground parking spaces for tenants, a street-like parking area between the two buildings will allow for two loading areas and six parallel parking spaces.

鈥淭hat was the biggest change of all 鈥� to revise the street-level parking area to look like a street,鈥� said Kurt Schultz, a SERA principal. 鈥淲e also introduced street-level unit entry on all sides of the parking lot.鈥�

There are two spaces for retail in Building A, including one for a boat rental business. During Thursday’s hearing, the commissioners asked Schultz if his firm had been able to secure river access for the boat rental company. Schultz said he hadn’t gotten permission from the sheriff’s office, but said he was hopeful he would be able to do so.

鈥淚t’s a sad state of affairs when a boat rental place can’t get into the water,鈥� Commissioner Ben Kaiser said. 鈥淔or some reason they won’t let people touch the Willamette (River) in Portland.鈥�

The development completes a missing portion of the Greenway Trail along the river on the property’s north and east sides, including installation of trail lighting, landscaping and seating.

SERA had designed a rooftop movie-watching area for Building B, but was forced to ax those plans when the Bureau of Development Services determined that it would violate city code because it would be a 鈥渃hanging image sign.鈥� Commission Chairwoman Guenevere Millius found that regrettable.

鈥淚 really wish I could watch a movie on that roof,鈥� she said.

Savinar said his main reason for dissenting was that the two buildings were so similar in design.

鈥淚 think this is a lost opportunity,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have a real difficulty when we have multiple buildings that look the same.鈥�

All in all, the commissioners commended SERA on its effort to make what Millius called 鈥渋ncreasingly finer-grain adjustments鈥� that they had requested during several design advice meetings.

鈥淵ou’ve taken it to a level beyond our expected response,鈥� Commissioner Jeff Simpson said.

Tess O’Brien Apartments: changes needed

Also on Thursday, FFA Architecture and Interiors principal Troy Ainsworth and associate Karl Refi presented to the Portland Design Commission their plans for a multifamily development 鈥� the Tess O’Brien Apartments 鈥� in Northwest Portland.

The firm sought design approval for two six-story apartment buildings, one facing Northwest Pettygrove Street and the other facing Northwest Overton Street, with a shared courtyard connecting them. The Pettygrove building would have 52 studios and the Overton building would have 74.

The buildings would be functionally independent of one another, but share access to the central courtyard. Additionally, tenants from both buildings would have access to the commons room in the Overton building and the fitness center in the Petttygrove building.

Refi explained that the firm intentionally designed the two buildings to look the same at the request of developer, Martin Kehoe. Savinar took issue with the plan.

鈥淭his district 鈥� is the most diverse in Portland,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t seems like you would want to continue this diversity in the design and actually play with it.鈥�

Commissioner Ben Kaiser agreed, adding that because one building faces north and the other south, identical designs aren’t prudent in regard to heating and cooling.

The commissioners disapproved of several design factors, including substantial fiber cement lap siding, uncovered bicycle storage in the courtyard area, first-floor units facing streets, and the overall plainness of the shared center courtyard.

When going through the critique process, several commissioners pointed out that the architects’ presentation did not match the plans presented in the staff report.

鈥淪eventy-five percent of the facade is HardiePlank (siding), and that needs to change,鈥� Simpson said. 鈥淭he drawing on the screen (of the courtyard area) is not in our packet, and I tend to think that’s deliberate, because there’s nothing in that drawing that we’d want to see.鈥�

Ainsworth told the commission that the developer requested a vote during Thursday’s meeting. The commission voted unanimously to deny the staff report as written because of the many discrepancies between the presentation and the report.

Portland planner Tim Heron scheduled a second design review hearing, with the revised staff report, for Nov. 20.