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Metaphorical flourish wasn’t enough to convince the Portland Design Commission to approve plans for the proposed Press Blocks development.

The commission spent more than three and a half hours Thursday afternoon scrutinizing every design aspect for three buildings at 1621 S.W. Taylor St. and 817 S.W. 17th Ave.

The idea that Mithun and GBD Architects came up with was, in theory, to pay homage to the site’s history as the former home of The Oregonian newspaper.

鈥淚 am struggling to stitch the metaphor and the architecture together,鈥� Commission Chairman David Wark said.

Development would actually take place on two parcels. Seattle-based Security Properties and Mithun are in charge of聽the full block on Southwest Taylor Street. Plans there call for a 250-foot-tall tower with approximately 340 apartments as well as a 55-foot-tall plaza building with 41,500 square feet of office space.聽Both would have ground-floor retail space.

Meanwhile, Urban Renaissance Group is teaming up with GBD Architects to build an eight-story mixed-use building on half of a block on Southwest 17th Avenue.

The tall tower garnered much of the commissioners’ attention because most of them found the north and south elevations lacking.

鈥淚 like the east and west elevations,鈥� Commissioner Tad Savinar said. 鈥淚t dies on the north and south.鈥�

The entire building is intended to evoke newspaper elements, according to the development team.

鈥淚t was metaphorically driven,鈥� Mithun associate principal Heidi Oien said. 鈥淭he back pages, or the classifieds, are oriented to the east.鈥�

The north and south sides are designed to represent a newspaper’s edges.聽Commissioners, however, said that those sides only served to stress the building’s verticality and were too generic compared to the heavily articulated east and west sides.

Commissioners were also concerned about the open area connecting the tower to the neighboring plaza building. The concept was for a public area where ground-floor businesses’ activities could spill out into.

Commissioners said they believe the area would be too tight and closed off.

鈥淚t feels private,鈥� Commissioner Don Vallaster said. 鈥淚f it’s public it needs to be more open.鈥�

While the majority of the commissioners felt it needed refinement, they also said relatively minor changes could be enough for the project to pass muster.

鈥淚t’s not a do-over,鈥� Wark said. 鈥淚t’s a refinement.鈥�

The tower’s neighboring brick building won nearly universal praise from the commissioners, who praised its use of brick and color.

鈥淚t’s warm and fuzzy,鈥� Vallaster said.

Commissioners were less complimentary of GBD’s efforts for the half-block office building on Southwest 17th Avenue. They believe the building lacks sufficient grandeur for such a prominent location next to Providence Park.

鈥淚t needs an infusion of life into it,鈥� Wark said. 鈥淚t’s just there. This is a Pulitzer Prize-winning site, and this isn’t a front-page article. Challenge yourselves a little more. The folks from Seattle are winning the race right now. You (GBD) need to represent and come with your A-game here.鈥�

Neighbors testified both in favor and against the project. Those in favor claimed it would bring in needed residents and businesses. Those in opposition expressed concern about the height of the tower.

The project is expected to return before the commission on May 4.

Also on Thursday:

Raleigh 22 Apartments

The design for a mixed-use building at 2222 Raleigh Street was sent back for further revisions. SERA Architects presented a plan for a six-story building with 173 market-rate apartments.

Commissioners took issue with elements ranging from the brick patterns and detailing to the use of materials. They questioned the consistency of windows on the facade.

Another hearing for the project is scheduled for April 13.