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A Dallas-based developer’s plans for a five-building redevelopment of property in the South Waterfront District have a long way to go to gain approval, the Portland Design Commission indicated on Thursday.

The development would sit on four blocks near the Willamette River. Portland Bureau of Development Services staffers raised questions regarding access to the Willamette River, traffic impacts and the layout of a greenway through the area.

The project’s first review hearing before the Design Commission was Thursday. Commissioners were nonplussed by Alamo Manhattan‘s proposal, saying they were unsure how to even begin evaluating what one commissioner described as an incomplete land-use application for a massive redevelopment.

Alamo Manhattan proposes to build approximately 1,232 residential units, 20,000 square feet of retail space and 965 parking spots. The design would locate two high-rise buildings closest to the river, with three mid-rise buildings on the two western blocks, in contrast with city guidelines that call for building heights to step down to the river. The buildings closest to the river would rise to 244 feet, 9 inches, just below the 250-foot maximum height. The interior block buildings would be approximately 72 to 73 feet tall.

鈥淭his is very unusual that we’re reviewing five massive buildings and a greenway,鈥� Commissioner Zari Santner said. 鈥淗ow come the bureau accepts an application that is so insufficiently complete?鈥�

鈥淭he applicant can deem it complete,鈥� BDS planner Staci Monroe replied. 鈥淭here is nothing in the code that prohibits it.鈥�

Monroe agreed that it was not typical to review several buildings and related infrastructure at once.

鈥淚t’s an insane amount of work to put this into one land-use case,鈥� she said.

Santner suggested the developer’s plans were not close to meeting guidelines.

鈥淭here’s nothing that stops us from asking the applicant to keep coming back until we get to something that’s approvable,鈥� she said.

Alamo Manhattan President Matt Segrest offered no indication that the developer would break up the land-use application into smaller parts.

鈥淚 recognize this is a huge chore here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is. There’s no way around that. We want to get this approved as soon as we can as well.鈥�

The staff report did not recommend approval 鈥� a routine stance in the early stages of a land-use application. However, the staff report details at least 29 distinct guidelines not yet met by the proposal. Furthermore, the city’s environmental services and transportation bureaus, as well as the BDS site development section, stated they were not able to support the application.

The design team includes WDG Architecture, HLR Architects, landscape architect聽Linda Tycher and Associates聽and engineering firm聽Otak.

The property is slightly north of The Old Spaghetti Factory, and bounded by Southwest Bond Avenue, Southwest Lane Street, Southwest Lowell Street and the river.

Two design advice hearings for the project took place in February and August. The project team is scheduled to return before the Design Commission on Feb. 6, 2020.

Also on Thursday:

OHSU expansion wins approval

The Portland Design Commission unanimously approved plans for Oregon Health & Science University’s 14-story hospital expansion on Marquam Hill.

Commissioners praised the proposal presented by the design team of NBBJ, based in Seattle, and Mayer/Reed, which handled the outdoor plaza.

鈥淭he response that we’re looking at today is significantly stronger than when this building (design) came into the room,鈥� Design Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said at Thursday’s hearing.

The building will be located slightly west of the Elks Children’s Eye Clinic, which was also designed by NBBJ.

The plaza and outdoor spaces were a focus of the Design Commission’s attention throughout the review process. The designers responded to earlier criticism that the plaza’s pathways weren’t well integrated and lacked separation between pedestrians and cars. The final design expanded outdoor seating, added street trees and also created a landscape buffer between the sidewalk and street.

鈥淵our collective feedback has greatly improved the hospital design as well as the public plaza,鈥� said Jos茅 Sama, a principal with NBBJ, which recently opened a Portland office.