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Portland Design Commission member David Keltner has high expectations for Oregon Square, the second phase of a massive development expected to draw thousands of new residents to the Lloyd District.

GBD Architects‘ designs for the first phase, American Assets Trust‘s $192 million Hassalo on Eighth superblock project scheduled to finish this summer, could have gone further to reinvent a part of the city that is notoriously harsh for pedestrians and populated by anonymous office towers, Keltner said.

鈥淚 just feel like the last project didn’t do that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 would love for it to go beyond that and have some sort of meaningful connection to the place.鈥�

Keltner on Thursday joined other design commissioners who offered extensive feedback to the GBD team during a design advice hearing for American Assets Trust’s next superblock project. Oregon Square will be located across Northeast Holladay Street from Hassalo on Eighth.

The hearing was the first of several planned meetings to discuss schematic designs for Oregon Square, bounded by Northeast Seventh and Ninth avenues and Northeast Holladay and Oregon streets. The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26.

Plans for the development that will encompass four typical city blocks call for four new mixed-use buildings that combined contain more than 900 apartments over ground-floor retail space and 800 below-grade parking spaces. Two buildings will be 11 stories, one will be 21 stories and one will be 29 stories.

The four L-shaped buildings are planned to surround a central plaza that can be accessed from the sidewalk through four mid-block entrances 鈥� one on each side of the development. At Thursday’s hearing, the design team sought advice on creating a large-scale plaza that will take up much of the 104,360 square feet of the site’s outdoor space.

鈥淲e realize the plaza itself is an asset, but it has a lot of challenges as far as activating it,鈥� GBD principal Kyle Andersen told the commission. 鈥淲e thought this project deserved an open space that would be compatible with other open spaces in the area.鈥�

Most of the discussion during the nearly four-hour hearing centered on the design of the plaza with several commissioners expressing doubts that the space as designed would be as successful as hoped. Among commissioners’ concerns were the plaza’s lack of green spaces where people could relax under a tree or on a lawn. They also wondered whether placing a plaza in the center of buildings would work as well in Portland as they do in Europe.

鈥淚t’s kind of a leap of faith,鈥� Commission Chairman David Wark said. 鈥淗ow do you know this is going to work? That’s what we’re looking for.鈥�

The design team studied various concepts for where to place a plaza on the site, but ultimately fell in love with the idea of building a large central courtyard in an area that with the exception of nearby Holladay Park has few public outdoor spaces, Andersen said.

鈥淲e think that in the end, through the design of that space, it can be a very nice complement to Holladay Park,鈥� he said.

GBD Architects’ designs, in collaboration with landscape architecture firm PLACE, call for a plaza geared toward hosting events, such as craft or food markets and outdoor concerts, said Mauricio Villarreal, a principal with PLACE. The plaza will feature stormwater planters, a large water feature, a covered pavilion and ample seating, he said. It will be ringed by retail spaces, such as a caf茅 or a brewpub, that spill out onto the plaza.

鈥淲e’ve been dreaming about having this large, open space that opens up the opportunity for all kinds of activities,鈥� he said. 鈥淥n Saturday, this is a food market (with) children playing in the fountain. This is just one of many different ways we think of this square being special and unique.鈥�

Wark joined other design commissioners who noted that confining the landscaping in planters would detract from the plaza’s success.

鈥淚t seems like it’s aching for people to be involved in the landscape rather than separated from it,鈥� he said.

Commissioner Tad Savinar praised the design team’s concept of a tilted square plaza within the frame of the four buildings, but said he was seeking a bolder look and encouraged installing a large public art piece.

鈥淚 think this is an opportunity for a signature,鈥� Savinar said. 鈥淚 love the tilted square in a square. It’s killer. I’d encourage you to think about this space to make a singular, dynamic proud-of-itself statement and not chop it up.鈥�

Keltner reminded the design team to consider how the neighborhood will change with an influx of so many new residents from American Assets Trust’s two superblock developments.

鈥淚 think what you’re creating in this open space is a whole new identity for what this neighborhood is,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f it’s just a big, open space, it fails.鈥�