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A proposal for an eight-story mixed-use building in the Kerns neighborhood will return before the Portland Design Commission next month for its first design review hearing.

The project team previously received design advice from the commission in April. Commissioners then criticized plans for lacking an identity. Ankrom Moisan Architects is designing the project for San Diego-based Fairfield Residential.

A tentative date for design review is set for Oct. 18.

According to city records, the project would be built on two tax lots covering a half block bounded on the east by Northeast Grand Avenue, on the west by Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and on the south by Northeast Davis Street. The properties are owned by DJ Grand LLC and Starks Inc., respectively, with PDX Motor Sports currently occupying an 89-year-old garage on the eastern parcel at 203 N.E. Grand Ave. The western parcel, meanwhile, is paved, but does not currently contain any structures.

The proposed L-shaped mixed-use building’s ground floor would feature a mix of retail space and residential lobby space, while the upper seven stories would contain 170 apartments, two amenity rooms and a private amenity deck on the roof. In all, the floor space would exceed 168,000 square feet.

A previous proposal for the project called for a mixed-use building up to 15 stories, according to a February 2018 early assistance intake.

Also of note, the project is subject to Portland’s inclusionary housing requirements, which mandate that the developer either make at least 20 percent of the residential units affordable to people who earn less than the area median family income or pay a fee in lieu.

According to public records, some 61 below-grade vehicle parking spaces would be included, along with space for 87 bicycles. The applicants, however, have given notice they intend to modify the size of long-term bike parking spaces on the ground floor. Additional modifications may also be requested, according to city staff, because some development standards have not been met yet.