91视频

Portland design commissioners and architects who are designing the forthcoming Press Blocks project in Goose Hollow crowded around a small table in a city meeting room.

In front of them was a model of Goose Hollow. One building was loose like a puzzle piece. It represented a 22-story residential building that would, as proposed, be 250 feet and tower over all other buildings in the neighborhood. Design commissioners took turns with the model about the size of a sand castle, turning it first this way and then that.

The issue was whether the tower’s skinny profile should run north-south or east-west. The answer will determine which Goose Hollow residents face a wall, and which face a thinner profile.

The Seattle-based developers 鈥� Urban Renaissance Group and Security Properties 鈥� preferred a north-south orientation, while Design Commission Chairman David Wark initially preferred an east-west orientation.

鈥淚 was kind of in convince-me mode last time,鈥� Wark said. He added after the model demonstration that he was OK with the north-south orientation.

Plans for the Press Blocks, also known as the Oregonian Publishing Blocks project, call for knocking down a retired newspaper printing plant on two parcels, at 1621 S.W. Taylor St. and 817 S.W. 17th Ave., and constructing a 250-foot residential tower, along with two smaller office buildings. Each building would have ground-floor retail space. Security Properties is primarily developing the full-block residential tower and a small office building, while Urban Renaissance Group is focusing on building an eight-story office building on the half-block parcel.

The combined project returned to the Design Commission on Thursday for a second round of advice.

Design commissioners said the project is shaping up well.

鈥淚 really liked the project when you brought it in last time, and I like it just as much this time,鈥� Commissioner Julie Livingston said.

The full-block parcel at 1621 S.W. Taylor St., designed by Seattle-based Mithun, would include approximately 340 apartment units in the residential tower above ground-floor retail space. A 60-foot-tall low-rise office building would complete the parcel. The tower and smaller office building would be divided by a pedestrian walkway to connect Yamhill and Taylor streets. Retail spaces would line the pathway.

鈥淭he idea was to create some vibrant retail and engage the street,鈥� said Tom Kilbane, vice president and general manager of Urban Renaissance Group.

The neighboring half-block building at 817 S.W. 17th Ave. would include eight stories of offices and retail space. The office tower, designed by GBD Architects of Portland, would hold approximately 180,000 square feet, including about 117,000 square feet of usable space for tenants.

Livingston commended the developers for using two different architecture firms for the project.

鈥淚t’s a great approach and one we don’t see very often,鈥� she said.

The design will feature nods to the publishing plant’s newspaper heritage, Mithun Chairman Bert Gregory said.

Much of the discussion centered on the residential tower’s height. The Goose Hollow Foothills League Neighborhood Association preferred a design that topped out at 150 feet.

鈥淲e looked at various massing options early on and presented those to the neighborhood,鈥� Gregory said. 鈥淭he preference from the neighborhood association was for a 150-foot building that was pretty chunky and didn’t have open space, and we felt it didn’t fit into the neighborhood.鈥�

With bonuses, the tower could rise as high as 325 feet, but Gregory said the proposed height of 250 feet provides the right balance.

鈥淎s we looked at other strategies, we thought this was the best strategy,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t would offer the maximum amount of apartments in the neighborhood, and at a cost that will help alleviate some of the housing costs. We felt 250 (feet in height) was the right solution for this particular site.鈥�

Currently, the tallest building in the neighborhood is 735 St. Clair, an apartment building completed in 1964. Gregory estimated 735 St. Clair tops out at 225 feet.

Gregory displayed a graphic of neighborhood properties that are believed to be under development or on the market, along with their maximum heights. It showed that the Press Blocks will soon be joined by several buildings of similar height.

鈥淭he height is coming to the neighborhood,鈥� Gregory said.

Goose Hollow is changing quickly. Lincoln High School is planned to be redeveloped, reportedly growing to eight stories. The Portland Timbers have discussed expanding grandstands at Providence Park. An 11-story residential building has been proposed at Southwest 15th Avenue and Taylor Street, and several smaller projects are in the works.

Some neighborhood residents oppose any project taller than four stories, said Jerry Powell, chairman of the neighborhood association’s planning committee. Many Goose Hollow buildings are quarter-block developments.

鈥淎 200-foot-long building at this point in the development of Goose Hollow is a significant departure from the development history of the neighborhood,鈥� Powell told design commissioners.

Residents are generally in favor of the redevelopment, Powell added.

鈥淲e will continue to work with the developer to make this building a productive member of the neighborhood,鈥� he said.

The Publishing Blocks have sat empty since they were retired by The Oregonian. Gregory said there would be 鈥減lenty of eyes鈥� on the street once the new buildings open, which will help activate the neighborhood and deter crime.

Powell, in a brief interview after the Design Commission meeting, said neighborhood residents are eager to move forward.

鈥淎nything’s better than that concrete sarcophagus that’s there now,鈥� he said.