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The team designing the proposed 35-story Block 216 building faces a critical question: How to make a modern skyscraper that stands out, yet respects a surrounding context of century-old buildings?

The most advanced plans yet for the tower were presented at a special meeting of the Portland Design Commission on Thursday. GBD Architects Director Phil Beyl and Principal Kyle Andersen showed several options, including one in which the tower would descend into the podium and form a notch.

Commissioners focused on the building’s northeast corner at Southwest Ninth Avenue and Washington Street. GBD proposes a stairstepping podium massing that opens to O’Bryant Square across Washington. The podium would be topped by landscaped greenery and fronted with a pilaster expression meant to mimic the nearby Galleria building.

Several commissioners said the designs lack coherency between the podium and tower.

鈥淭he tower is doing a much better job of meeting context guidelines than the base,鈥� Commissioner Jessica Molinar said. 鈥淭he base really needs to be simplified.鈥�

Commissioner Don Vallaster agreed.

鈥淚’m having a hard time with the relationship of the base and the tower,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he podium portion is still kind of wandering around looking for its identity. 鈥� It’s hurting the whole coherency of your project.鈥�

The design discussion comes amid economic pressures to start the project. Beyl told the Design Commission he appreciated it holding a special meeting to accelerate the process.

鈥淚 want to thank you for helping expedite this project and its ambitious schedule,鈥� he said.

Beyl previously revealed, in an August meeting, that a hotel operator is on board.

The project may proceed next to a formal design review hearing, or the applicants could opt for another design advice meeting. Neither was yet on the Design Commission’s upcoming agendas Friday.

The full-block building from developer Walt Bowen would include hotel space, offices, condominiums and retail space totaling 807,000 square feet. A ground-floor food hall would face Southwest Ninth Avenue. Four floors of underground parking are proposed.

Construction would displace more than 50 food carts that rent space on the block bounded by Southwest Ninth and 10th avenues and Washington and Alder streets.

Beyl estimated the Block 216 project would generate $10 million in annual taxes and fees.

鈥淚n 10 years, that’s a high school,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n 100 years, that’s a billion dollars.鈥�

Beyl was responding to public testimony from Wendy Rahm, a downtown resident who said evicting the food carts would be an 鈥渋mpossible-to-quantify loss to Portland and her identity.鈥�

The design process comes as other projects in the West End proceed, including the Moxy Hotel across Southwest 10th Avenue. Both parcels are part of the remake of the Goodman family’s substantial landholdings in the central city. With breathtaking speed, buildings are replacing parking lots in downtown and Old Town Chinatown.

GBD’s preferred design would place Block 216’s podium along Ninth Avenue and Washington Street. It would step down toward Washington, opening up to O’Bryant Square. Rooftop landscaping would be on the podium instead of the tower, where dirt and plants would face high winds.

The top of the tower, in a roughly hexagonal shape, would be lit in a manner Andersen compared to a jewel.

鈥淚t appears like a gem, perhaps, sitting on the top,鈥� he said.

Beyl said the podium would return with some sort of stairstepping, because that’s what has been approved by the development team. Individual design guidelines should not get in the way of improvements, he said.

鈥淭hey fundamentally are there to keep bad buildings from happening,鈥� he said of the city’s design guidelines. 鈥淭hey aren’t there to dilute or keep good buildings from happening.鈥�

Commissioners told the architects to focus on delivering a world-class building.

鈥淵ou’ve got the best commission in town at this point,鈥� Vallaster told the architects. 鈥淲hat are you going to do with it? Phil, Kyle, there’s pressure on you two. We’re looking for a special building.鈥�

Beyl replied, 鈥淲e are too.鈥�