91视频

Portland鈥檚 development pipeline is overflowing with 14,000 proposed multifamily units 鈥� about three times as many as usual 鈥� as major developers rush to submit applications ahead of affordable housing requirements set to take effect Feb. 1, 2017.

The situation could lead to a series of unintended consequences. Architecture firms are reporting that they have little or no multifamily work scheduled in 2017.

Now, Portland鈥檚 entire development community is wondering how it鈥檚 going to play out.

Developers have rushed to apply for any significant multifamily project slated for 2017, 2018 and even later. As a result, few projects are expected to be submitted for permit or design review in the months after the Feb. 1 deadline.

鈥淭his is a significant concern for us,鈥� said Kurt Schultz, a principal at SERA Architects. He told the City Council that the firm has no multifamily work scheduled for next year.

Other architecture firms鈥� representatives told the Daily Journal of Commerce they face similar shortages.

City officials have seen policy-driven jumps in permit applications before 鈥� a brief spike was evident before the city鈥檚 construction excise tax took effect Aug. 1 鈥� but the current surge in permit applications may be unprecedented.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e seen a rush like this before,鈥� said Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who took office in 1999.

Before the City Council approved the ordinance on Dec. 21, a rumor spread that the effective date might come before Feb. 1, causing some developers to rush application submissions, said Brian Wilson, a principal at Mainland Northwest.

鈥淭here鈥檚 been a bit of panic at the disco,鈥� he said.

Many of the projects that developers are applying for won鈥檛 get built for years 鈥� if at all, industry officials said.

鈥淎 vast majority of these projects are not getting built,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of entitlements that are being put on the shelf.鈥�

The city鈥檚 Bureau of Development Services has responded with a hiring spree. Still, a substantial backlog has formed.

Commercial building permits for significant projects are taking well over a year to process. For example, a commercial building permit was issued Dec. 12 for a five-story, 54-unit apartment building at 2405 N. Vancouver Ave. An application for the project by local developer Lane Lowry was submitted on April 10, 2015 鈥� a lag of 18 months.

City staff members are working to clear the backlog, Saltzman said.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e very busy,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been busy all year. But they鈥檙e doing their best to keep up and get people their permits as fast as possible.鈥�

Commissioner Nick Fish said the city understands that not every application will come to fruition.

鈥淣ot everything that鈥檚 filed is fully cooked,鈥� he said.

Portland鈥檚 inclusionary housing ordinance, approved in a unanimous Dec. 21 City Council vote, will require developers of multifamily projects that include 20 or more units to designate certain units as affordable for lower-income renters.

Projects submitted before Feb. 1, 2017 are not subject to the regulations. Seeking certainty in their business plans, developers flooded architects鈥� offices with projects in recent months. The architects in turn have dropped an enormous stack of applications on the Bureau of Development Services.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to play, you get through early,鈥� said Greg Goodman, co-president of Downtown Development Group.

Another unintended consequence: Developers have shown their cards for their major projects planned for the next two to three years.

Cairn Pacific recently requested design review for up to four residential towers in the South Waterfront District. The buildings will be on land owned by Prometheus Real Estate Group of San Francisco. Initial plans call for two seven-story mixed-use buildings fronting the Willamette River. Each mid-rise building would have 200 to 300 market-rate apartments and 5,000 square feet of parking with 150 to 250 parking spaces in underground and ground-level structures.

A second phase would add two larger towers set farther back from the river. The two larger towers would each have 300 to 550 market-rate apartments and approximately 7,000 square feet of retail space, with below-ground parking.

The second phase is an example of a project that has been submitted ahead of inclusionary housing rules, but won鈥檛 be built anytime soon.

鈥淭he in-blocks, frankly, we鈥檙e keeping our position,鈥� said Tom DiChiara, a principal at Cairn Pacific. 鈥淭he front blocks we鈥檝e been working on for a while.鈥�

GBD Architects and Jones Architecture are designing the buildings in a joint venture.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not in a huge rush to get them done, but we certainly want to get them entitled,鈥� DiChiara said.

Meanwhile, Downtown Development Group is moving forward with the initial projects of the 11-site Ankeny Blocks proposal.

GBD Architects is designing the first building, a half-block project at Southwest Ash Street and Second and Third avenues, near a Voodoo Doughnut shop. That project will have 133 apartments, approximately 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and one floor of underground parking.

The apartments are intended to appeal to millennials in their mid-20s and early 30s, Goodman said. A roof deck will offer views of Mount Hood.

Downtown Development Group has hired Brock Switzer of HSM Pacific to attract a mix of local retailers.

鈥淲e want to make it really cool,鈥� Goodman said. 鈥淲e want to put the right retailers down there.鈥�

The Ash Street project has been submitted for design review, and construction should begin in mid-2017, Goodman said.

Next up will be Block 38. Plans call for a 20-story mixed-use building at 418 S.W. Second Ave. with ground-floor retail space, office space on floors 2-8 and 182 multifamily units on floors 9-20. The project also includes four floors of underground parking.

A grocery store is being sought for the ground floor, Goodman said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the gateway to the Ankeny Blocks,鈥� he said.

The building will have large floor plates 鈥� a feature valued by tech tenants, Goodman said.

Then there鈥檚 11 West. A skyscraper on the West End block would be one of Portland鈥檚 tallest at approximately 320 feet, a block east of Indigo at Twelve West. ZGF Architects is designing the project. The lot is currently vacant with a portion used for surface parking.

11 West will have approximately 90,000 square feet of office space, with apartments on top. It will have two roof decks 鈥� one at the level of the first floor of apartments, and the other on the roof. A swimming pool will be included.

鈥淚t鈥檒l be the nicest project yet in Portland,鈥� Goodman said.

Goodman served on the panel of experts that examined inclusionary housing. The policy process exposed the problems with the city鈥檚 commission system, he said. Commissioners didn鈥檛 have enough expertise to delve into the intricacies of development, he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like asking me to make decisions on a nuclear power plant,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 know enough to do it.鈥�

He warned that city leaders who backed inclusionary housing will have to face any negative consequences in the housing market.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to have to learn the hard way 鈥� and frankly, that鈥檚 why they should be held accountable for decisions like that,鈥� he said.

Saltzman said he鈥檚 willing to be held accountable if the policy goes awry. The commissioner noted that he softened requirements for affordable units in response to concerns from developers.

鈥淲e鈥檝e tried to be responsive,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut at the same time to move forward with the policy that鈥檚 important to Portlanders.鈥�