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The Portland City Council on Thursday tentatively struck down a condition attached to the Historic Landmarks Commission‘s approval of a plan to repair the Portland Building. The council also tentatively denied an appeal by architect Peter Meijer of the entire project approval. Both decisions, by 4-0 votes, are expected to become final on Sept. 13, when they are formalized by city staff and given a final reading by the council before another vote.

The plan for the $195 million project is to address water leakage, interior lighting and air problems by covering the fa莽ade with a metal rain screen. It would closely, but not exactly, be true to the building’s postmodern appearance.

鈥淚t’s considered a sick building,鈥� Commissioner Chloe Eudaly said. 鈥淚t’s the best plan possible.鈥�

The project team’s plan calls for placement of a larger HVAC system on the building’s roof as well as larger tiles on the fa莽ade and lighter windows. The Historic Landmarks Commission approved the design with the condition that the size of the mechanical equipment on the roof be reduced by 50 percent or moved inside.

Project designer DLR Group asked the City Council to remove that condition.

鈥淚n order to function, (HVAC units) need to take in fresh air,鈥� said Erica Ceder, a project architect with DLR Group. 鈥淭he best source for high-quality outside air is at roof level.鈥�

There is no technical way to meet the condition without significantly impacting the building’s performance, Ceder said. Moving the units inside would require adding louvers to take in air from outside the building at a lower level. Since the building sits near downtown bus lanes, air quality issues inside the building would persist, according to Ceder.

Currently, the HVAC system takes up much of the building’s second floor. A change to meet the condition would also increase the project’s cost, according to Ceder. Also, the equipment would not be seen by the vast majority of people outside the building, she said.

鈥淲e have provided sightline diagrams that prove that from any location around the building or across the street you would not be able to see the proposed mechanical units,鈥� she said.

Regardless of the size of mechanical equipment, Meijer claimed, the entire plan is flawed, should be scrapped and the city should start over. He cited a letter from the National Park Service that stated the proposed plan could cause the building to be de-listed from the National Register of Historic Places.

鈥淭he project is also bad urban design,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 am asking you to reverse the commission’s approval. Go back to your design team and have them start over because this is the wrong approach to this project.鈥�

Historic Landmarks Commissioner Matthew Roman said that given a choice between having the entire approval thrown out or having the condition removed, he would prefer the latter. He recognized designers’ limited options.

鈥淲e didn’t see the materiality of the building as being its most character-defining feature,鈥� he said.

After a hearing that lasted nearly two hours, the City Council engaged in discussion for approximately 10 minutes before agreeing to remove the condition and reject Meijer’s appeal. The council knows many people have strong opinions about the Portland Building.

鈥淚 am one of those people who have always been critical of this building,鈥� Mayor Ted Wheeler said. 鈥淚t’s like one of those artworks that sparks a lot of conversation and a lot of debate. It would be my preference to not put large HVAC units on the roof, but I also understand why we are doing it.鈥�