91视频

Light rail trains in a 7.3-mile-long corridor being developed through Southeast Portland and into Milwaukie are projected to carry up to 25,500 weekday riders to nearly 100,000 new jobs by 2030, according to TriMet data released in August 2012. The MAX orange line will have 10 stations, 675 motor vehicle park-and-ride spaces and 400 bicycle parking spaces.

Within two months after TriMet issued those projections, Joseph Bradford, owner of local development company Urban Evolution Inc., announced his plans to build a 68-unit multifamily complex 鈥� Moreland Crossing 鈥� in Sellwood, just 800 feet from the Southeast Tacoma Street/Johnson Creek station.

The timing and location weren’t coincidental, Bradford said. He chose the location at 8118 S.E. 23rd Ave. because he believes that the orange line will revitalize the neighborhood.

鈥淚 studied Sellwood in college through the (University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts‘ urban design program) and found the trolley lines in the early 1900s were spot-on in how neighborhoods should function close to the downtown,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e lost a lot of urban planning ideas through the onset of the automobile (from the 1950s through the 1980s), and now people are re-embracing urban amenities and 鈥榤ain street’ living close to transit.鈥�

Bradford’s development isn’t the only one planned or already under construction near the new light rail corridor. Portland-based SolTerra is developing a 46-unit apartment building in the Brooklyn neighborhood, at the corner of Southeast Schiller Street and Milwaukie Avenue. SolTerra began as an electrical, roofing and landscaping company specializing in creating environmentally conscious systems 鈥� eco-roofs, solar systems and living walls. Earlier this year it started acquiring land for ground-up development.

Director Andrea Wallace said SolTerra chose the property because it’s in a great neighborhood, but added that the proximity to the orange line is a bonus.

鈥淲e focus primarily on, and are passionate about, urban properties,鈥� she said. 鈥淗aving it near the MAX line is a happy coincidence, because we believe it’s important that people have access to public transportation.鈥�

SolTerra considers the proximity a happy coincidence, but the owner of a property at 4215 S.E. 17th Ave., slightly north of the future orange line station at Southeast 17th Avenue and Holgate Boulevard, is well aware that the property is adjacent to the future MAX station, according to paperwork from the Bureau of Development Services.

Works Partnership Architecture on Oct. 28 submitted an application for a land use review of the vacant lot. The developers are seeing permission to build a mixed-use project that would feature between 30 and 36 residential units and up to 3,000 square feet of commercial space.

Not every developer following the Southeast Portland area is ready to commit to construction based on orange line ridership projections. Josh Schlesinger, vice president and asset manager of Portland-based Schlesinger Cos., said his company is eyeing a surface parking lot, but isn’t ready to bite just yet.

鈥淲e’re excited to see the orange line fully operational and are waiting until (it opens in) September 2015 to see if it has the ridership and the economics to support development,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’re interested in reviving sites that are close-in in proximity, and what’s attractive from a developer’s perspective is what’s going on in Southwest Portland.鈥�

TriMet officials predict that much of the job growth along the orange line corridor will be driven by Oregon Health and Science University and Portland State University. Their projections indicate that more than 9,900 residents and 13,600 jobs will come to the South Waterfront District by 2030.

That predicted density also piqued Bradford’s interest in developing housing along the transit corridor.

鈥淚n our studies of these areas in urban design, we found that there is only one thing that stops an area from being vital 鈥� it is people,鈥� he said. 鈥淒ensity along main streets and on the edges of neighborhoods that are walkable and close to transit are key.鈥�

Bradford believes the addition of the orange line, along with the existing Springwater Trail to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians, will vitalize Southeast Portland and Milwaukie.

鈥淚 believe that our project at Moreland Crossing will contribute to the neighborhood vitality by supporting the retail, the environment, and (offering options) for transportation,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e think this is ideal and more affordable than the other new apartments further north.鈥�