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5 MLK, a mixed-use tower planned near the east end of the Burnside Bridge, received conditional approval from the Portland Design Commission on Thursday. Commissioners voted 3-0 to give a green light; Don Vallaster abstained, and David Wark, Samuel Rodriguez and Tad Savinar were not present.

鈥淚 thought you guys did a good job; it’s a great building,鈥� Commissioner Andrew Clarke said. 鈥淚t’s just a great addition to a growing cluster of buildings that is slowly forming in the neighborhood.鈥�

Plans for Gerding Edlen‘s project at 5 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., the former site of Fishel’s Furniture, call for a 17-story building that will include 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 220 residential units and 170 underground parking spaces.

Main conditions attached to the commission’s final approval are that planters in the lobby not become permanent and that a storefront be accessible by building patrons. Also, the vertical fins used on the building’s upper stories must match the color of the back-painted spandrel glazing used in the window wall system, and the canopy/parapet fascia at the 17th floor roof terrace must be clad with spandrel glazing that matches glazing used at the parapet of the 鈥渂ridge鈥� massing.

This was the project’s fifth appearance before the Design Commission. The final design features multiple rooftop terraces, vegetation and an open aperture between the retail and residential units to evoke a natural feeling. GREC Architects, of Chicago, is hoping that the building, along with Yard across the street, will serve to frame the Burnside Bridge and act as a gateway to the city beyond the Willamette River.

Commissioners Julie Livingston and Jessica Molinar debated much of the makeup of the entryway before giving their OK. Concerns focused on whether the design presented too many barriers to the public.

鈥淲e want there to be a very active intersection with a lot of pedestrian activity,鈥� Livingston said. 鈥淭o the extent that this interior space can really engage the urban environment that surrounds it, it will be more successful.鈥�

Lead project architect Donald Copper, a GREC principal, said the team sought to use fixed planters with trees throughout the lobby in order to appeal to passersby. The main entry to the lobby is on the corner of Southeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Burnside Street.

鈥淭he original concept was tied to the natural area,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he consensus was to use a step facade to start to engage the curve.鈥�

Commissioners said they believed that the trees combined with window screens would create a barrier to public sight and access into the structure. The compromise finally hashed out was to make the planters movable. As such, they became part of the building’s furniture and not under the commission’s purview.

鈥淥ur preference would be to have fixed planters so they could have drains,鈥� said Kelly Saito, Gerding Edlen’s managing partner.

However, most commissioners believed that fixed planters, combined with a lobby floor lower than the sidewalk outside, wouldn’t meet the city’s design guidelines.

鈥淚 think the elevation change between the sidewalk and the floor with the planting creates a great barrier,鈥� Livingston said. 鈥淢ake the street fantastic and you can do whatever you want with the planters.鈥�

Other smaller issues revolved around the prominence of the main entryway and the use of an open aperture.

鈥淭his entry does not seem particularly obvious or prominent,鈥� Vallaster said.