91视频

A 10-story development under construction at the Burnside bridgehead will host a mix of uses ideal for financial backing from Metro‘s Transit-Oriented Development Program.

The $35 million Block 75 at 111 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. will include a combination of residential units, commercial offices and retail space, said Jonathan Malsin, president of Beam Development, one of the developers working on the project.

鈥淭ransit-oriented development is meant to induce more ridership on public transportation to provide Metro with a return on their investment in public transit,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his project is on multiple public transit lines, and the density of the project is very much in line with what Metro wants to see happen in terms of the type of development for the area.鈥�

Block 75 received $500,000 from Metro’s TOD Program based largely on the fact that it’s 10 stories 鈥� taller than many multifamily developments in the Portland area, Malsin said.

鈥淭hey’re really looking for projects that are replicable and are more dense than normal,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd the fact that we had office, retail and residential space was an advantage.鈥�

Metro’s TOD Program began in 1998 and currently has an annual budget of $3 million, according to program manager Megan Gibb.

鈥淲hen they started plans for Block 75 a few years ago, they came to us with plans for a six- to seven-story building,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e thought, 鈥榳e can do more’ and that it would be a waste to put just six or seven stories on that site.鈥�

Gibb said that, when determining which projects to invest in, Metro looks for developments like Beam’s that 鈥渁dd vitality to the district.鈥�

Developers struggling to get traditional funding from banks could benefit from TOD too, Gibb said.

鈥淏anks like funding developments that are comparable to other developments in the area,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e can help because our investment can show the bank that a project has backers.鈥�

Gibb said Clay Creative 鈥� the Killian Pacific project at the former Rexel/Taylor Electric Supply Co. site that will deliver 60,000 square feet of office space in the Central Eastside’s first new creative office building 鈥� was a perfect example of a nontraditional project perfect for TOD money.

鈥淭hey were having a hard time getting financing because there are no comparable buildings in the area,鈥� Gibb said. 鈥淲e were able to play a small role in getting that project developed.鈥�

The TOD Program invested $300,000 in Clay Creative, said Noel Johnson, vice president at Killian Pacific.

鈥淭he project is surrounded by mass transit, (so) it is an optimal jobs-focused TOD project,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭he innovative building design, systems and amenities being built are appealing to the employers (and) employees that are inclined to use transit options, so the result is a synergistic, positive-feedback loop.鈥�

More information about the TOD Program is available on Metro’s .