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Killian Pacific‘s Goat Blocks is nearly complete, and tenants are filling the superblock complex in Southeast Portland.

The massive development includes 347 apartments, a grocery store and a hardware store surrounded by industrial businesses in the Central Eastside. Tenants can walk to many of Portland’s hottest restaurants and bars.

Three of the four apartment buildings are finished; the building at 888 S.E. Ninth Ave. is set to open in July.

It’s been a long road for Killian Pacific, which acquired the 2-acre superblock and adjacent property in 1999. CEO George Killian negotiated with a consortium of Italian-American produce distributors who connected Willamette Valley farms to Portland restaurants.

Several economic cycles came and went as Killian Pacific pursued a grocery-store tenant and institutional financing while considering the best use for the sprawling urban property.

鈥淕eorge is known for long, long land plays,鈥� said Jeremy McPherson, Killian Pacific’s development manager.

The project team endured a hard fight through design review, with representatives of the Central Eastside Industrial Council questioning the number of residential units planned for the industrial neighborhood. But the City Council backed the Design Commission’s approval in August 2014.

Workers broke ground on the project on Feb. 26, 2015, more than 15 years after Killian purchased the property. Construction was slowed by harsh winter weather.

Goat Blocks occupies the parcel bounded by Southeast Belmont and Taylor streets, and 10th and 11th avenues. The superblock is broken up into four towers with different design features, and is bisected by Yamhill Alley, a long-vacated path. The project also includes a building across 11th Avenue that will hold Kachka, a well-regarded Russian restaurant.

Goat Blocks was able to open after luring Market of Choice to build a grocery store of approximately 26,000 square feet. The project team had discussions with every major grocery chain in the Portland urban market before coming to an agreement with the Eugene-based company, McPherson said. The Goat Blocks location is Market of Choice’s fourth Portland-area store, and it’s the only grocery store within a one-mile radius.

Some grocers were reluctant to come to the urban location in part because of parking concerns, McPherson said.

鈥淏y and large, I think groceries were afraid to make the leap to understand how much parking they’d need in a large, urban format,鈥� he said.

The Goat Blocks team settled on what McPherson called a 鈥渧ery aggressive鈥� parking offering of 2.5 stalls per 1,000 square feet.

鈥淭hat was what was necessary to get the deal done,鈥� he said.

Orchard Supply Hardware took another large storefront. The retailer offers lots of home d茅cor at the Goat Blocks location, in addition to the usual paint selection and tools.

The developer is looking to fill 98,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Micro-retail spaces line Yamhill Alley. RoseLine Coffee, a homegrown Portland roaster, is taking one space, as is Schilling Hard Cider, a Seattle-based beverage manufacturer that’s opening a 50-tap bar with a gluten-free food menu on June 16, manager Jennie Dorsey said.

A highly efficient central HVAC system serves the entire development.

The retail offerings will add amenities to the neighborhood, but apartments are the heart of the Goat Blocks. The 347 units come to market amid signs high-end rents softened in the first months of 2017, with some properties offering concessions.

The market has since improved, McPherson said.

鈥淓verybody saw a little bit of softening,鈥� he said. 鈥淚’m seeing it pick up dramatically now.鈥�

Goat Blocks’ units were 24 percent leased as of June 5, said Virginia Barden, regional property manager for Pinnacle Property Management Services.

McPherson said he’s confident renters will be attracted to the close-in location.

鈥淲e’re very bullish on housing in the Central Eastside,鈥� he said.

All apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units, are priced at market rates. Rents range from $1,200 to $1,600 for a studio, from $1,400 to $1,900 for a one-bedroom unit, and from $2,400 to $3,000 for a two-bedroom unit, Barden said. No listed price was available for the five three-bedroom units 鈥� one on each floor of the 808 building.

McPherson said neighbors wanted market-rate housing for the area.

鈥淭hey felt they had their fair share of affordable housing projects in the last few years,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey wanted a different demographic. The fact is, what’s being delivered is what was asked for.鈥�

The apartments feature many nods to the Central Eastside’s industrial background. Bicycle parking is separated from an apartment hallway by chain mail, and a lobby sculpture is made from reused old-growth timber dating from 1594 that was sourced from Oregon Electric’s former headquarters.

Goat Blocks

Developer: Killian Pacific

Architect: Ankrom Moisan Architects

General contractor: Andersen Construction

Financiers: General Electric Pension Trust, HomeStreet Bank, U.S. Bank