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A plan for a massive and wide-ranging mixed-use neighborhood near the Willamette River in downtown Portland continues to progress, though issues surrounding transportation and massing linger along with opposition from residents concerned about displacement and density.

During a second design advice hearing Thursday for the master plan of NBP Capital‘s planned redevelopment of the RiverPlace area, Portland Design Commission members, city staff and GBD Architects designers fleshed out the details of the 8-acre site.

The project would include thousands of new residential units, a possible hotel, commercial space and public open spaces between as many as six new high-rise buildings. GBD is working with Kengo Kuma and Associates, an internationally renowned Japanese architecture firm, to design the immense project.

Changes from an initial design advice hearing held in October include shifting a large public plaza from a stepped design to one that has more space at-grade, and an updated open space configuration from a single space that continues through the development to a series of smaller, 鈥渄iscovered鈥� spaces scattered throughout. The proposed programming has also evolved.

鈥淔rankly, there are just a lot more housing options,鈥� said Agustin Enriquez, a principal with GBD Architects.

Enriquez said he envisions a 鈥渂road mix鈥� of housing totaling upward of 1,800 units across multiple buildings. One hundred units would be condominiums, he said, with market-rate apartments and at least 20 percent affordable units, as required by the city’s inclusionary housing requirements. A senior living facility is also envisioned for at least one of the several towers on the site, along with a 219-room hotel, 250,000 square feet of office space up to 100,000 square feet of retail space. Parking for up to 1,600 vehicles in mostly below-grade space could also be included.

Allowable building heights in the 8-acre master plan area range from 150 to 325 feet.

Multimodal connectivity throughout the site remains an issue, as do building massing and the final composition of open spaces, according to a Bureau of Development Services staff report presented Thursday. Concerns persist about a possible block measuring 200 feet by 460 feet, which would likely be the site of as many as four towers. Such an unusually long block could interfere with other street and pedestrian connections, as well as a popular multi-use bike path.

鈥淚t’s used by many people,鈥� BDS Planner Grace Jeffries told commissioners during Thursday’s hearing. 鈥淚t’s not just a blank wall. At grade, that is a used area and staff is concerned about a really long site with no access through it.鈥�

The proposed length of the block is significantly shorter than the initially proposed length of about 725 feet.

鈥淪ending Hall (Street) through to split up the giant block was good,鈥� said Commissioner Chandra Robinson. 鈥淲e’re really happy to see Hall Street go through with a connection to Harbor Way.鈥�

A potential pedestrian bridge stretching over Southwest Harbor Drive to connect the development with downtown would have to be considered separately from a future land use application for the RiverPlace master plan, Jeffries said. This leaves an open question going forward.

鈥淚t’s not clear whether these spaces will be public if the bridge is not part of the proposal,鈥� she said.

Commissioners also noted that a completed traffic study of the affected streets is needed before it will be possible to judge the potential impact of the development. In addition, the intersection of Southwest Hall Street and Harbor Drive will likely need to be revamped to handle additional traffic.

“That is something we absolutely feel is necessary,” said Commissioner Zari Santner.

Enriquez also told commissioners that a plan for the 鈥淧ortland Steps,鈥� a series of cascading plates totaling over 35,000 square feet and organized into the primary pedestrian open space, will incorporate a much greater amount of at-grade space than before while still allowing for a possible bridge connection to a podium above.

鈥淲e’re trying to find the types of uses that on the podium don’t require a lot of foot traffic to succeed,鈥� Enriquez said.

None of that helped assuage concerns of local residents, many of whom would be displaced or impacted by the proposed development. Thirty-six of them signed up Thursday to offer their testimony.

鈥淪ome of the most concerning issues have not been addressed in the revised plan,鈥� said Carolyn Whitney, a resident of The Strand condominiums, which border the site. 鈥淲e believe the density on this limited site, it’s like a tiny island between the river and the freeway with limited infrastructure, and we fear the significance of this has been underestimated.鈥�

Other concerns raised by testimony included questions about the development’s phasing, its connection with existing infrastructure and transportation networks and the impact on local residents.

鈥淧eople on a medium income have a very difficult time finding rentals here,鈥� said local resident Jan Campbell. 鈥淪o please think very carefully about how you’re going to impact the lives of people living here. I am not advocating against development, I am advocating against displacement.鈥�