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As multifamily development catches on along Sandy Boulevard in Northeast Portland, one big upcoming project shows the auto-centric corridor’s past is coming along for a ride to the future.

A massive four-story Lexus dealership is planned for Northeast 31st Avenue and Sandy Boulevard. The project won unanimous approval from the Portland Design Commission last week.

The building’s ground floor will have a vehicle showroom and a coffee shop, the second and third floors will have auto inventory display and the fourth floor will have room for employee parking. One story below ground will provide space for a service garage and back-of-the-house functions.

The project comes from Holman Automotive, a national group based in New Jersey with 37 dealerships in eight states. The company previously acquired Kuni Lexus of Portland, Kuni BMW in Beaverton and Kuni Auto Center, also in Beaverton.

The Lexus dealership is intended to serve customers in the Portland-metro area’s northern portion, said Michael Graves, founding partner of The Gravity Co., a design-build firm specializing in auto dealership design that is working for Holman Automotive. The Sandy Boulevard dealership design is a collaboration of The Gravity Co. and Mackenzie, a Portland architecture firm that served as architect of record.

鈥淲e drove the conceptual design and they did the day-to-day coordination of the design efforts,鈥� Graves said. 鈥淭he original design concept we did, got 鈥� approved by Lexus, and then we worked with Mackenzie to get to a permittable, designed project.鈥�

The forthcoming Lexus building comes at the same time as hundreds of multifamily units are in development nearby. Security Properties‘ Pepsi Blocks project will have from 485 to 1,297 housing units, while NBP Capital‘s Sunshine Dairy site is envisioned as home to 300 to 350 apartments, according to an early assistance application filed with the Bureau of Development Services.

Sandy Boulevard has a long history as an auto corridor, where Portland residents would buy cars and have them serviced. The Lexus property once hosted a Pontiac dealership. More recently, it was a Comcast office. Holman Automotive purchased the 1.6-acre site for $6 million in 2016, according to Multnomah County records.

鈥淵ou want to pick a spot where it’s complementary of the zoning and the historical nature,鈥� Graves said.

The building will be highly visible not only on Sandy Boulevard but also to drivers on Interstate 84. The interstate curves behind the wedge-shaped property, which presented designers with some challenges, Graves said.

鈥淭hat site is both vertically and horizontally challenged, but it laid out really well when we started working with the utilitarian functions of a dealership,鈥� he said.

Mackenzie referred questions to The Gravity Co. The Kerns Neighborhood Association did not respond to an e-mail message seeking comment.

The building frontage will create a linear look along Sandy Boulevard, in keeping with the Design Commission’s wishes. The coffee shop will operate at extended hours, independent of the dealership.

Subject to the permitting process, Graves said the project team hopes to begin demolition of the existing building in May or June and start construction in September.