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A wave of protestations by neighboring residents on Thursday greeted the design team of a hotel planned in Portland’s Pearl District. That reception came during the team’s first advice hearing before the Portland Design Commission, which offered a number of criticisms on the initial proposal.

Minneapolis-based ESG Architecture & Design presented its plans for a 13-story, 131-foot-tall hotel, which would sit on a quarter block at the corner of Northwest 14th Avenue and Everett Street. Local firms make up the rest of the team, with DCI Engineers serving as structural engineer, Humber Design Group serving as civil engineer, and Mortenson Construction acting as owner, developer and general contractor.

The brand of the hotel has not yet been disclosed.

Plans call for a 105,000-square-foot building with 221 guest rooms, a fitness room on the top floor and a ground floor occupied by bar, lounge, market and meeting spaces. The entrance, lobby, lounge and only loading zone would be on Everett Street.

In taking cues from the Pearl District’s industrial past, a metal frame would wrap around the building’s exterior. It would also have metal panels, a healthy portion of glass windows, and smaller bits of metal and brick veneer.

The design was only partially responsible for the influx of Pearl District residents who came to voice their disapproval. Besides a few comments about the proposed dark color, opponents mostly took aim at the prospect of such a large building in the particular location, as well as possible traffic issues, because 14th Avenue essentially serves as an off-ramp for Interstate 405.

鈥淚ts appearance and proposed height overwhelm this corner of the south Pearl,鈥� said Patricia Cliff, president of the Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design.

Cliff went on to say the area is gaining too many hotels, which are designed to maximize owners’ profits, and not serve the community’s interests.

Resident Glen Traeger similarly said the proposed building would be too dark and should better represent the neighborhood’s history. He also proposed conducting a traffic study to determine the potential ramifications of building a hotel in such a car-crowded area.

Commissioners for the most part did not address the points brought up by the public, but rather the design’s more nuanced elements 鈥� including the overall massing, the shape and the use of materials.

Much was made of a need for a setback in the building’s middle floors, to give more of a shape. Commissioners said the current design looks too much like a box. While a decrease in the upper massing was offered as a solution, there was also a suggestion by Commissioner Jessica Molinar to cave in the windows, which are currently flat against the exterior walls.

In the same vein, Commissioner Don Vallaster and others said the metal frame would be too flat and needs to be more distinguished. As designed, the building wouldn’t have the industrial look being pursued, they said, but it could if it were more protruded. The design team provided examples of other hotels with this aesthetic in locations outside of Portland.

Commissioners also said the materials used would be too various and cluttered. They said there was too much color, and the aesthetics would clash when combined.

鈥淚t needs to be simplified,鈥� Commissioner Samuel Rodriguez said. 鈥淚 don’t have a problem with the material; it’s how you’re using (it), how you’re putting it all together.鈥�

The Design Commission will schedule a follow-up hearing for the hotel project.

Also on Thursday:

Parking garage office addition approved

The Design Commission OK’d plans for a nine-story office building addition to an existing six-story parking garage being built in Lloyd. The 100 NE Multnomah Office Building will be built across Northeast Holladay Street from the Oregon Convention Center.

The project was designed by ZGF Architects for owner and developer Prosper Portland. Mortenson Construction will serve as the general contractor.