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Three teams seeking the Portland Design Commission‘s approval for their projects’ designs will return for hearings next year.

The design commissioners on Thursday held no formal votes during their last meeting of 2014. Teams for the Block 136 mixed-use development, at 1241 N.W. Johnson St.; the Tess O’Brien Apartments, at 1950 N.W. Pettygrove St. and 1953 N.W. Overton St.; and exterior renovations to the Lloyd Center mall in Northeast Portland will return with revised project plans at hearings scheduled in January.

A second design review hearing for Block 136, designed by Seattle-based architecture firm Mithun, was scheduled for Jan. 22 after city planner Jeff Mitchem pointed out that the development’s proposed street-loading locations didn’t meet city approval criteria. The two buildings will occupy a full block bordered by Northwest 13th and 14th avenues and Johnson and Kearney streets. The block currently is home to the Pacific Northwest College of Art, which will relocate to the511 Federal Building.

Plans call for a five-story office building facing 13th Avenue and a 15-story residential tower on 12th Avenue separated by a public courtyard connecting Johnson and Kearney streets. The 13th Avenue building will contain approximately 15,000 square feet of retail space and 60,000 square feet of office space. The 12th Avenue building will have approximately 208 residential units and 211 underground parking spaces.

When potential neighbors of the proposed Tess O’Brien Apartments, designed by Portland-based FFA Architecture & Interiors, requested more time to craft a formal response to the design via the Northwest District Association, commissioners scheduled a fourth hearing for Jan. 15. Although the hearing continuance would further delay the project, commission Chairwoman Guenevere Millius said she wanted to be sure that neighbors could voice their concerns.

鈥淚’m concerned about the type of neighborhood feedback that we’re getting and the tenor of the concern,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey have a right to convene and craft a response that’s official.鈥�

Plans call for two six-story apartment buildings with a total of 126 units. A large courtyard is proposed between the two buildings with outdoor seating, stormwater planters and covered bike parking.

Because of an incomplete city staff report, the commission also held off on a vote on designs by Waterleaf Architecture for improvements to pedestrian and vehicular entrances at the Lloyd Center mall on Northeast Multnomah Street and the creation of a new plaza facing nearby Holladay Park. The design team will return for a second design review hearing on Jan. 22.

During the six-hour meeting, commissioners expressed lingering reservations with all three projects and asked each team to return with revisions. They praised the public courtyard and other design moves for Block 136, but expressed concerns about the use of board-formed concrete and whether the residential tower truly fit into the neighborhood.

鈥淚t feels very anonymous to me,鈥� Commissioner David Keltner said. 鈥淚 could put this anywhere 鈥� I could support it, but I’m disappointed.鈥�

Several neighboring residents who testified during Thursday’s meeting reiterated concerns expressed during a previous design advice request hearing for the Seattle-based Security Properties‘ development that the 150-foot tower would be inconsistent with shorter surrounding buildings.

Overall, commissioners said they were underwhelmed by the Tess O’Brien Apartments design and pushed the FFA design team to go beyond meeting the bare minimum requirements to gain approval. Commissioner David Wark said he appreciated the design team taking commission feedback to simplify the materials palette to brick and stucco, but was left wanting more.

鈥淚 feel like you checked every box, but I feel like it’s still pretty weak,鈥� he said.

Most of the commission’s criticism regarding the Lloyd Center improvements focused on the proposed plaza next to the Macy’s store on Northeast Multnomah Street. They also questioned the appropriateness of a metal mesh screening material that would cover a 22-foot-tall cooling tower on top of the Macy’s building and suggested using something less transparent.

Several commissioners worried that a planned green wall in the plaza would obscure the bike parking too much.

鈥淚 think you’re going to need to point out that the bike parking is over there,鈥� Millius said.

Wark said he’d like to see more protection from the rain in the plaza.

鈥淭ry to make it more of an attractor and the main entrance all year,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou’re creating a street basically. What are the qualities we look for on the street in Portland? 鈥� Apply those.鈥�