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Plans for a Pearl District mixed-use building and a proposed hotel in Southwest Portland have gained unanimous Portland Design Commission approval.

Design commissioners on Thursday approved with conditions Portland-based Vallaster Corl Architects’ design for Couch 9, a proposed 11-story, mixed-use building, at 115 and 125 Northwest Ninth Ave.

They also fully supported 鈥� with slight revisions 鈥� a design by Atlanta-based HC Architecture for the 299-room Porter Hotel by Hilton on the former Pendleton Building property at 202-218 S.W. Jefferson St.

Plans for the Couch 9 project, developed by Portland-based Urban Assets Advisors, call for 137 apartments, approximately 8,000-square-feet of commercial space and two levels of underground parking with 87 spaces.

Overall, commissioners said they were impressed with the design for Couch 9 and praised the bright red recessed balconies on portions of the facade. But, as in previous hearing for the project, they expressed lingering reservations with a wall of balconies in varying shades of orange on the proposed building’s west side. As a condition of approving the project, they requested modifications to that fa莽ade.

鈥淚 still am not comfortable with the west balcony elevation,鈥� Commissioner Tad Savinar said. 鈥淚t’s the opposite end of the spectrum from what’s on the other two faces.鈥�

During the public testimony portion of the hearing, neighboring residents also raised concerns with plans for that side of the building. The proposed designs for the west side made the building appear cheap and motel-like, neighbors testified. They also worried about seeing clutter from building tenants on the balconies. Several neighbors testified that they didn’t like the pops of bright color and would prefer a more neutral fa莽ade.

Vallaster Corl Architects partner Don Vallaster said the design team thought the loud colors would bring a new vibe to that portion of the Pearl District.

鈥淔or us, we thought it was time to add a little bit of color and texture to the context of the neighborhood,鈥� he said.

In response to Design Commission feedback at a design review hearing for the project last month, the design team on Thursday presented revisions to the west fa莽ade. This included removing the false columns, adding depth to the balconies and modifying the color gradation.

When the design team shared how plans for that part of the building had evolved, several commissioners said they preferred the previous design that they reviewed in March. Savinar, who earlier in the hearing said he couldn’t vote in favor of the project, moved to approve the project on the condition that the west fa莽ade again include the false columns between the balconies. This would add more interest to that side of the building, commissioners reasoned.

The commission also requested modifications to the Porter Hotel design before approving the project, developed by Syracuse, N.Y.-based Widewaters Group to be part of Hilton’s Curio brand. Plans for the 16-story, 200,000-square-foot hotel call for a ground floor lobby, restaurant, bar, market and pizza take-out window. Planned amenities include a rooftop restaurant and a basement pool, sauna and fitness area.

Commissioners praised the blue glass mosaic design on building’s main fa莽ade, but had worries about also using patterned stone tile for the pilasters on the ground floor. The pattern on the stone tiles was too busy in context with the glass mosaic, Commissioner Guenevere Millius said.

鈥淭he conflict I’m seeing is there are too many contrasts,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat stone wants to hold a big brick building on top.

As a condition of approving the project, commissioners asked the design team to replace the stone tile pilasters with narrower versions made from precast concrete. This revision would help offset the base with the rest of the building, Commission Vice Chairman Ben Kaiser said.

鈥淚t makes it feel lighter at the base,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he precast (concrete) quiets it down and brings attention to glass 鈥� because the project has come so far along, I think that would be a great improvement.鈥�