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A new 21-story condominium building is coming to the Pearl District, but its design is still being refined.

Plans call for a 246-foot tower at the northwest corner of vacant Block 20, which is bounded by Northwest Pettygrove and Quimby streets, and 11th and 12th avenues. A six-story podium to the south would have a rooftop garden and step down at the fifth floor with another rooftop terrace.

The project’s review by the Portland Design Commission on Thursday was its first, according to city planner Staci Monroe. City staffers have been working with Bora Architects on the design, she said, and requested several modifications. These include reducing the size of a large loading space, reducing the width of long-term bike parking spaces from 2 feet to 18 inches, adjusting the fa莽ade length and providing more active ground-floor use.

During the meeting, however, it was apparent that commissioners objected to the proposal for ground-floor residential units. The project’s developer, Hoyt Street Properties, is looking to provide 150 residential units and 2,000 square feet of retail space.

Commission Chairman David Wark said that because the building will face a park, it should have a more active use than residential on the ground floor. He suggested live-work units.

Commissioner Tad Savinar agreed that ground-floor residential use doesn’t work and suggested micro-retail stores or even a movie theater to provide more active use at the lower level.

Commissioner Julie Livingston said people living in units on the ground floor would tend to keep their blinds drawn for privacy and diminish the building’s active use at the sidewalk level.

Other commissioners agreed.

鈥淗ousing on the first floor was a mistake,鈥� Wark said.

Savinar added, 鈥淭he challenge is not to fall back and say you want residential on the first floor because retail doesn’t work but how can you make it work. Pearl need to be an extremely active space.鈥�

But architect Leslie Cliffe, a principal at Bora, said after the meeting that if the design commission is adamantly opposed to ground-floor residential space, then it should be part of city code.

鈥淚t’s not actually in the zoning code, but it is what the commission is enforcing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel it should be incorporated in the zoning code so we don’t get blindsided at design review.鈥�

The design team knew from prior meetings with city staff that the commission had issues with residential space at the ground-floor level, Cliffe said, but didn’t know it was a hard-and-fast rule.

鈥淚 thought it was something we could discuss and persuade them that our location was appropriate,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat I’m understanding is that it is more of a rule, but when it becomes a rule, it should be incorporated.鈥�

The Block 20 design will receive a second review on June 30.

Also on Thursday, the commission approved the design for a new five-story, 52-unit apartment building at 10506 E. Burnside St. in the Gateway District. The design for a 14-story apartment building at 1133 S.W. Market St., will come back for a second review on June 16.