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NBP Capital is moving ahead in the planning process for development of the RiverPlace area south of downtown Portland. It could gain up to 3 million square feet of new space in coming years.

A pre-application conference was held Tuesday for representatives of GBD Architects and various city bureaus to discuss infrastructure and planning issues related to redevelopment of the 8-acre site.

GBD plans to submit a design advice request for a master plan around May, Katherine Schultz, director of GBD Architects, said at the meeting. Final design review could come in 2020.

No decisions have been made on how to program the site, Schultz said.

鈥淭he master plan is, for us: how do we set up success as the program evolves?鈥� she said.

But the development, Schultz added, is likely to include more housing than any other element, which could include retail, hotels and office.

鈥淚t’ll be more housing than all of those other things,鈥� she said.

The development would likely be required to include inclusionary housing units if a minimum threshold of 20 units in a building is met, said Brett Eisenbrown, a Housing Bureau program specialist. The inclusionary units could be clustered in one building or spread throughout several buildings on the site.

Maps from GBD Architects show eight potential tower sites within the RiverPlace property ranging from approximately 25,000 to 47,000 square feet.

NBP Capital’s plans would displace existing housing at the site. Several residents of those buildings attended Tuesday’s meeting. One woman asked Schultz when demolition of the existing buildings might begin, but Schultz did not commit to a time frame, saying the developer hasn’t made those decisions yet.

鈥淢y guess is the soonest it would start is early 2021,鈥� Schultz said, adding that the developer may choose to start with the unoccupied RiverPlace Sport & Spa building. The gym business closed in 2015.

The site is bounded by Southwest Harrison and Montgomery streets, River Avenue and Harbor Way. It is governed by the Central City 2035 plan approved by the City Council in June 2018.

The site has a number of issues, from transportation access to contaminated soils. An existing parking garage acts as a cap on contaminated soil, and one looming question for NBP Capital is whether it wants to disrupt the cap and remove the soil or build around it.

鈥淲e probably don’t want to do a lot of digging,鈥� Schultz said.