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The Portland Design Commission on Thursday questioned plans for a zigzagging, elevated section of the Green Loop that would act as an artery for public movement through the massive Broadway Corridor redevelopment.

Commissioners questioned whether the Green Loop would be successful as designed.

鈥淚 don’t think there is enough detail here for me to be confident that the Green Loop is going to work,鈥� Commissioner Zari Santner said. 鈥淚 need to be convinced.鈥�

Commissioner Jessica Molinar said the zigzag pattern was the intent of designers, but wouldn’t necessarily be required in the final project. She said the ultimate priority should be open space, and could see a spiral design working well, as on the Morrison Bridge.

鈥淚’m trying to imagine an alternate option to this,鈥� Molinar said. 鈥淗owever this path proceeds, it needs to provide the maximum amount of space for a park.鈥�

Owned by Prosper Portland and designed by ZGF Architects, the Broadway Corridor would bring 4 million square feet of housing and commercial space to a 32-acre area linking the Pearl District to Old Town, at a price tag of $1 billion to $1.5 billion. Continuum Partners of Denver is serving as development adviser.

The first design advice session focused on the open space portion of the site, including a park and a section of the city’s larger Green Loop. On Thursday, the design team went into detail on the massing of the buildings, and further illustrated how the Green Loop could be integrated into the site.

Renderings reveal a plan to incorporate several buildings, with one reaching a height of at least 400 feet, and others reaching 250 feet or more. There are multiple medium-sized parcels of affordable housing, which are distributed around the property, so as to avoid grouping them together.

The Green Loop enters the property from the Broadway Bridge, cutting through the Y-shaped intersection that splits into Northwest Lovejoy Street and Northwest Broadway. From there it will cross a bridge that will hang above Northwest Johnson Street, before descending in a zigzag pattern to ground level at the project’s park.

The Green Loop has been revised since the last design advice request, with the design team changing the dimensions to allow more space for sitting between the zigzags, and stairs on either end for pedestrians to separate from cyclists. Commissioner Chandra Robinson found this change to be a positive one, as concerns had previously been raised about interactions between different forms of commuters.

On Thursday, the design team also revealed a three-phase plan for the project, which sees many of the largest towers being built at the beginning, and the park and Green Loop developing at the end. Commissioners were in agreement that the schedule should be revised, and that the open space should be prioritized from the start.

Robinson said that businesses on site will depend upon the park, and Santner added that when parks are placed near the end of projects, there is sometimes not enough money left over to do a proficient job.

鈥淭he success of the park is integral to the success of this development,鈥� Santner said.

Another main point of discussion was the massing of the buildings. With so many tall buildings clumped together, commissioners found setbacks to be an important consideration. As the plan was presented, the buildings would feature 15 feet of setback from the street.

On the northern portion of the project, the tallest buildings would lie on either side of Northwest Kearney Street, which commissioners said could create a dark alleyway. Santner said the Old Town location is already known to have social problems, and that safety will be a concern on this block if there are not enough eyes on the street.

Molinar agreed that the street would become an alley as proposed, and Vice Chairman Sam Rodriguez said the master plan doesn’t work if there is not enough light or air in the street.

The commission has not yet set a return date for the Broadway Corridor project, but the design team said they intend to seek a design review during their next appointment.