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For the first time, the Portland Development Commission is forming its own limited liability company and will act as developer and owner of a project.

The PDC’s board voted 5-0 on Wednesday to approve the plan for the agency to take over a mixed-use project in Lents after Williams & Dame backed out.

The PDC had planned on taking ownership of the project at some point, spokesman Shawn Uhlman said.

鈥淚t was always contemplated there was the potential for PDC to step back in and take ownership of this property and this project, and this was always contemplated by both parties,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don’t know if there was ever a clear delineation of when that would happen.鈥�

The project calls for a 65,504-square-foot building. It would include 54 apartment units, including 16 affordable units pegged at 60 percent of median income, nearly 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 32 parking spaces.

Uhlman acknowledged that the PDC’s role in the Lents project is unprecedented.

鈥淭his is the first time we’ve gone down this path of forming our own LLC and acting as developer,鈥� he said.

The PDC’s staff has the expertise to carry the project to completion, Uhlman added.

The PDC’s own documents suggest that the agency did not plan to complete the development on its own.

鈥淎s the project financial returns, public benefits and time commitments were refined and better understood, (Williams/Dame & Associates) decided not to proceed with the development beyond the design and permitting phase,鈥� a board report prepared for Wednesday’s meeting says. 鈥淭here was no intent, nor any reasonable ability to foresee that responsibility for project completion would be transferred to PDC. As such, no contracts between WDA and their consultants or contractors were entered into or had terms arranged that premeditated a transfer of project responsibility.鈥�

The board report merely lays out the reasons for going forward with a no-bid process to complete the project, Uhlman said.

Homer Williams, chairman of Williams & Dame, did not reply to a message seeking comment.

Williams & Dame principal Dike Dame said in a news release issued by the PDC that the developer has always believed in the future of Lents, and is proud to have been a partner in the project. The statement did not address Williams & Dame’s decision to hand off the project.

Williams & Dame’s move to forgo developing the Lents project placed the PDC in an awkward spot. Instead of reopening bids to develop the project, PDC staff approved a no-bid process to allow the PDC to act as developer.

The process is designed for PDC to keep together the firms already engaged on the project: Bremik Construction and Hacker.

鈥淭o take the designs out for open bids at this point could potentially increase costs,鈥� PDC senior project coordinator Will Thier told the commission on Wednesday. 鈥淭here’s a very strong argument to be made that moving forward with Bremik Construction is the most cost-effective way to do this.鈥�

Keeping Bremik on board makes sense, PDC Commissioner Aneshka Dickson said.

鈥淕eneral contractors spend a lot of time up front,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t does really seem appropriate to keep them on throughout the contract. That role takes time and money and effort.鈥�

The Lents community supports the PDC’s move to step up as developer, Dickson added.

No commissioner at Wednesday’s meeting raised serious questions about the move, although Chairman Tom Kelly asked if there was any precedent for the PDC developing a building from the ground up. PDC staff confirmed there was not.

The PDC has long sought to redevelop the Lents Town Center Urban Renewal Area. The 0.63-acre vacant parcel targeted for the building is at 9101 S.E. Foster Road, at the northwest corner of Southeast 92nd Avenue and Foster Road.

The PDC is providing financing up to $15.3 million to complete the project.

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Leadership changes

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, PDC officials bade goodbye to PDC Executive Director Patrick Quinton and Dickson.

Quinton announced in February he would step down after five years in the role. Chief Financial Officer Faye Brown is serving as interim executive director while a national search proceeds.

Dickson served two, three-year terms. She was first appointed in 2010. Mayor Charlie Hales recently named Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia, executive director of the Avel Gordly Center for Healing at Oregon Health & Science University, to take Dickson’s place on the commission. Moreland-Capuia will serve a three-year term.