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The Portland Design Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to approve the design of the Multnomah County Health Department headquarters, allowing the nine-story building to rise to 145 feet.

The 157,000-square-foot building will be constructed at Northwest Sixth Avenue and Hoyt Street, on a vacant lot adjacent to the Bud Clark Commons building, which provides apartments for people battling homelessness.

A lobby and a pharmacy will be located on the ground floor. Clinics, administrative offices and work areas are planned for upper floors. A terrace and stormwater planters will be installed on the roof.

The building will have a floor-to-area ratio of nine to one.

Design Commissioner Andrew Clarke voted in favor of approval, but said the design missed the mark.

鈥淚 think we missed an opportunity here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t still feels like it was too much of a compromise to me.鈥�

Chairman David Wark recused himself from the vote.

Earlier versions of the design were rejected in design review meetings on Sept. 22 and Nov. 3. In response, the architects revised certain aspects. Metal panels were turned a darker shade. Brick was extended upward on the building.

The design was revised at ground level to present a more 鈥渙pen and friendly front door to the county,鈥� according to a staff report. Deep masonry punched openings are intended to reflect the character of nearby warehouses.

ZGF Architects‘ Jimmy Gantz is responsible for the design.

Public art will be installed as a condition of occupancy.

The development will be visible from the Broadway Bridge and Union Station.

The project will rise immediately east of the 14-acre U.S. Postal Service property purchased earlier this year by the Portland Development Commission. That site is envisioned to be home to a massive redevelopment totaling some 3.8 million square feet, including residential, office and retail uses.