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Final approval is expected Wednesday for the city’s plan to raise allowable building heights on the sprawling U.S. Postal Service property in Northwest Portland.

The new zoning would raise allowable building heights to 400 feet on the portion of the property north of Northwest Johnson Street, and to 250 feet south of Johnson Street. Both are significant increases from the 75 feet height allowed under current zoning.

The move to raise zoning heights comes as Prosper Portland prepares to guide redevelopment of the site. The Broadway Corridor Framework Plan envisions developing 3.8 million square feet of new space on the 14-acre Postal Service site, with a mix including housing and offices.

The new zoning could accommodate 4,000 jobs and 3,100 residents on the site, according to a city staff report.

City officials see it as an opportunity for dense, urban space, with an average floor area ratio of 6.7-to-1 across the site. If development proceeds along the lines of the Framework Plan, the North Park Blocks would be extended into the site.

City officials are trying to balance development options with maintaining views of the historic Union Station clock tower. ZGF Architects also conducted a shadow study to see how new development would cast shadows across the site.

Construction to maximum densities would impact views of the clock tower, according to the staff report. It recommended limiting these impacts by taking the clock tower’s location into account when designing new buildings and the Johnson Street extension.

The City Council did not discuss a motion to pass the zoning Thursday. It proceeded to a final reading scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday.