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A mixed-use project planned on North Lombard Street is expected to take advantage of a 鈥済ateway鈥� location.

Alan Jones, principal of Portland-based Jones Architecture, on Jan. 9 applied to the Portland Bureau of Development Services for early assistance with plans to construct a four-story building with 100 apartments, ground-floor retail space and between 70 and 80 below-grade parking stalls at 8247 N. Lombard St.

Farid Bolouri in August 2013 purchased the approximately 38,000-square-foot lot with plans to demolish the four existing buildings to make way for the new development, Jones said. Bolouri recently completed a smaller, similar project in Sellwood.

鈥淚 think (Bolouri) sees a lot of similarities between Sellwood and St. Johns,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淭he great thing about this site is that it’s really where Lombard changes into a more pedestrian-oriented street. It’s a real gateway into St. Johns.鈥�

The building will have a mix of mostly studios along with one- and two-bedroom apartments, Jones said.

鈥淲e haven’t decided the exact matrix of the units,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think (Bolouri) is interested in the University of Portland student market, but also wants to offer some larger units.鈥�

The building will likely be three wood-framed levels on a concrete podium, though Jones said that the possibility of all above-ground components being wood has not been ruled out.

鈥淲e’d really like to do the whole thing out of wood so the first-floor retail spaces can have the wood characteristics, like ceiling beams,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淲e’re really trying to be good urban neighbors and look at how we can make the building really fit well into the context of the rest of the St. Johns neighborhood.鈥�

The building will have approximately 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

鈥淚t’s being designed as flexible space that the developer would like to see as a mixture of two larger restaurant spaces and about a half-dozen smaller retail spaces,鈥� Jones said.

The area largely has single-family residences; however, Jones noted that Bolouri’s proposed 100-unit project is following the new, 165-unit Marvel 29 near the St. Johns bridgehead.

鈥淭here’s a great opportunity for growth in St. Johns,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s got a great downtown-like fabric, and I think these projects are going to change the neighborhood quite a bit.鈥�

A pre-application conference is scheduled for Feb. 4. Jones said the team would like to start construction this summer and deliver in summer 2016.