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Plans for a six-story mixed-use building in Portland’s Buckman neighborhood are on the right track but need some refinement so that it will more cohesively relate to an adjacent historic structure, according to the Historic Landmarks Commission.

In a design advice meeting last week, designers with Chicago-based Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture presented concepts for a nearly 150,000-square-foot structure at 1010 S.E. Ash St. The building would occupy the northern half of a block bounded by Southeast 10th and 11th avenues and Pine and Ash streets, and hold 135 residential units over ground-floor retail space and residential amenity space and two stories of below-grade parking.

The new structure would abut the Troy Laundry Building, which was constructed in 1913 as a commercial laundry facility and was designed by Ellis Lawrence, founder and longtime dean of the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts. The entire block falls within a landmark boundary due to the Troy Laundry Building’s presence on the National Register of Historic Places.

AJ Capital Partners, also based in Chicago, purchased the full-block property this past summer from Intrinsic Ventures for $15.65 million. In addition to the new residential structure, the developer is planning adaptive reuse of the Troy Laundry Building, including a rooftop addition.

Designers took cues from the architecture of the Troy Laundry Building to create a concept for the adjacent structure. The new building would be clad in a dark charcoal brick in order to complement, rather than compete with, the red brick of its neighbor.

鈥淭he goal for 1010 S.E. Ash is not to be a historic building, but to bring a sophisticated level of detail to the urban fabric inspired by the historic context,鈥� said Beth Nowicke, a project architect with Hartshorne Plunkard.

While commissioners and Bureau of Development Services staffers were generally complimentary of the building’s design 鈥� including its height, massing and materials 鈥� one major sticking point was the relationship between the buildings as they meet mid-block. A stepped-down portion of the new building, at five stories in height, would overwhelm the existing two-story structure at their adjoining point, commissioners said.

鈥淭he step-down bay is modest at best, and I think is awkward,鈥� Commissioner Andrew Smith said. 鈥淭he way it’s designed is, I think, a big problem.鈥�

Though the buildings will not be connected, commissioners agreed that the new structure should be treated as an addition because it falls within the landmark area. Commissioners suggested decreasing the massing of, or eliminating entirely, the stepped-down portion of the new building to soften the transition to the Troy Laundry Building. To make up for the square footage lost in doing so, some commissioners floated the idea of increasing the building height by one floor 鈥� an uncommon suggestion from the Historic Landmarks Commission.

鈥淲e’re all talking about density and trying to bring more density into the city,鈥� Commissioner Derek Spears said. 鈥淚 would definitely be OK with another floor going in if we’re going to take out some additional residents at (the step-down).鈥�

At six stories, the building is maxed out at allowable height for Type III-A construction, so adding a story would be a challenge, Nowicke noted.

During the hearing, commissioners also provided positive early feedback on plans for the nearly 6,000-square-foot rooftop addition 鈥� including terrace space and a swimming pool 鈥� to the Troy Laundry Building. The scope of the planned building renovation is forthcoming, but will include a full window and fa莽ade restoration, seismic upgrades, and fire/life safety requirements. Upgrades to the historic building will eventually go before the commission in a separate design review hearing.