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GBD Architects principal Kyle Anderson, in an effort to get the green light for Oregon Square on Thursday, spent more than four hours before the Portland Design Commission and left with a date to return.

The commission was complimentary at times and critical at others, but the end result was that Oregon Square will need another review on Nov. 5. Anderson is confident that at that time the team will secure approval for the Lloyd District superblock project.

鈥淣ext time it will be an approval; it will be short,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he things that we need to study, we can study and I’m sure build consensus. It feels better to sit in a four-and-a-half-hour meeting knowing that the next one is going to be a lot shorter.鈥�

The massive project is due to include four buildings 鈥� one 30 stories, one 21 stories, and two 11 stories each. An enormous plaza will provide nearly 100,000 square feet of open space and be approximately two and a half times the size of Pioneer Courthouse Square. In total, the development will included 940 residential units, 50,000 square feet of retail space and 908 vehicle parking spaces underground.

鈥淚n reality it’s four buildings and a large plaza, so it’s five projects,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淔ive projects in four and a half hours doesn’t sound that bad when you parse it up.鈥�

GBD Architects has spent nearly a year working on the Oregon Square project for San Diego-based developer American Assets Trust. The Design Commission has provided design advice three times and design review twice.

Overall, the commission was pleased Thursday with many of the steps taken by GBD Architects. Commissioner Jeffrey Simpson liked the redesign of the plaza.

鈥淵ou guys have come leaps and bounds with this space,鈥� he said.

Commissioner Ben Kaiser was adamant that the plaza needed to receive more sunlight, though others were OK with the amount of shade.

However, the commissioners expressed concern that the bridges in the plaza looked temporary. And Commissioner Julie Livingston opposed the use of bridge grating because women would have a hard time walking across in high heels.

鈥淚’ll always represent my gender,鈥� Livingston said, drawing laughs.

The planned courtyard sculpture 鈥� a kinetic effort by Jeffery Laudenslager estimated to cost $500,000 鈥� also drew criticism.

鈥淲e’ve seen this before,鈥� Commissioner David Wark said.

Commissioners’ concerns with the sculpture aside, they said that the art is probably not something that would hold up approval.

鈥淭here were some good comments,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淭here’s some things we need to study and take a position on. We made a lot of progress this time with the feedback we got from the last meeting.鈥�

Oregon Square is poised to dramatically change the face of the Lloyd District. The 30-story building will be the largest building in Portland on the east side of the Willamette River, and the plaza is expected to become a massive gathering spot.

Anderson, though weary after Thursday’s meeting, was excited talking about there being a light at the end of the tunnel.

鈥淲e’re looking at a 30-story high-rise that’s got some really interesting moves on it that are going to be pretty cool and pretty exciting,鈥� he said. 鈥淭o see that tower going up, along with the other development, is just going to change the eastside. It’s really exciting to be a part of it.鈥�