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The Portland Historic Landmarks Commission on Monday got its first look at plans for Block 33, at 125 N.W. Fourth Ave., and advised the development team to consider closely how the building will fit in the neighborhood.

鈥淲e have been working on the project for two years,鈥� said Daniel Kaven, a partner at William Kaven Architecture, during the design advice meeting. 鈥淚t’s come a long way.鈥�

Plans call for a full-block, mixed-use glass and brick building. Still unresolved is how tall it will be. Currently, it’s designed to stand 125 feet, but the maximum allowed height in the New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District is 100 feet.

That height limit is expected to change with new rules being reviewed by the City Council. The rules, however, wouldn’t take effect until 2018 at the earliest.

The developers had planned to submit a design for review by Feb. 1. That date is important because anything submitted thereafter will be subject to the city’s new inclusionary housing rules.

鈥淲e are still examining our options,鈥� Kaven said. 鈥淲e thought the (height) guidelines would be in place by 2016 and here we are in 2017.鈥�

Currently, plans for Block 33 call for five stories of residential units, four levels of office space, a ground-floor retail market and more than 300 underground parking spaces spread over a 140,000-square-foot site.

鈥淭his is an unabashedly big building,鈥� Kaven said.

Some commissioners expressed reservations over a building stretching up to even the current 100-foot maximum.

鈥淚 would counsel the applicant to look more closely at the forms in the district,鈥� Commissioner Kristen Minor said. 鈥淵ou need to do a lot more context study. It’s not reflective of the district. You need to have a more fine-grain understanding of the scale and proportion at the ground floor especially.鈥�

The size of the opening bays was also a major concern of the commissioners.

鈥淚 would agree that the bays look like you could drive one of the contributing buildings right in there,鈥� Commissioner Matthew Roman said.

Commissioners also suggested looking at comparable districts for inspiration.

鈥淚 just wondered if you looked at other chinatowns,鈥� Commissioner Wendy Chung said. 鈥淎 giant building causes people to know they aren’t in a chinatown. This is a big step toward making it look like it’s not a chinatown.鈥�

The commissioners weren’t the only ones with reservations about the current design. It wouldn’t win the favor of the Portland Chinatown History Foundation, said Jackie Peterson-Loomis, its executive director.

鈥淭his is not necessarily a very strong response to the guidelines,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e want it. We want housing. We want retail. But we also want something that is going to be not only compatible, but respectful of this neighborhood and its Asian-American culture.鈥�

Commissioners did praise the modern elements, brick fa莽ade and canopies included in the design, but expressed desire for something more representative of the neighborhood.

The developers will return for a follow up design advice review on Feb. 27.

Also on Monday:

Southeast Portland garage

The commission voted 7-0 to approve a staff recommendation to deny demolition of a 94-year-old garage at 1445 S.E. Division St.

The garage, behind the house, was disassembled during an effort to convert it into an accessory dwelling unit. Contractors needed to work on the foundation, and gained access by taking apart the garage.

That was considered demolition, despite the builder’s intention to reassemble the garage using the same materials and a design approved previously. That required a trip back to the Historic Landmarks Commission because the structure was in the Ladd’s Addition historic district.

Had the commission approved the demolition, the homeowner could have had to return to the commission to seek approval of a new design for a new garage.

By denying demolition, the city allows the contractor to rebuild the garage with the current materials and approved building plans. It also ensures that the garage will stays on the register of historic landmarks.