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A proposal to construct a five-story mixed-use building in Portland’s historic Alphabet District is scheduled to be discussed by the Bureau of Development Services at a pre-application conference on Oct. 10.

The applicant, GBD Architects, is set to lay out plans for construction on two parcels fronting Northwest 23rd Avenue and stretching between Marshall and Northrup streets. As described in city documents, the development at 1137 N.W. 23rd Ave. would feature one level of below-grade parking (approximately 48 total parking spaces), with an entrance on Northrup Street. The upper four floors would hold around 70 apartment units.

The project’s developer is CE John, a commercial real estate development firm based in Vancouver, Washington, that started in the 1940s as a residential homebuilder. The company develops and builds retail, office and industrial products, and also offers property management services and commercial construction. CE John normally operates in a build-hold fashion, and has produced developments including Beaverton’s Cedar Hills Crossing and Columbia Shores in Vancouver.

For this project, CE John purchased the Northwest 23rd Avenue property earlier this year for $6.57 million. The two 0.23-acre parcels have a pair of aging single-story commercial buildings. The Quality Pie diner occupied the building on the corner of Northwest 23rd Avenue and Northrup Street until 1992. That structure has been vacant since. The adjacent building was the home of Shogun’s Gallery, an antique dealer, until it closed in 2017.