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Plans for a five-story mixed-use building in the Northwest District won unanimous approval from the Portland Design Commission on Thursday.

The building will have 74 apartment units over 10,000 square feet of retail space in a layout intended to take advantage of frontage on Northwest 23rd Avenue 鈥� a busy neighborhood commercial corridor.

Vancouver developer C.E. John Company is behind the project, known as NW 23rd and Marshall Apartments, and GBD Architects is the designer. C.E. John bought the property for $6.575 million in January 2019, public documents show.

The project encountered no significant opposition from the Design Commission. Members did question GBD’s request for approval for two materials 鈥� metal cladding or stucco 鈥� for the exterior. One or the other would be applied, depending on cost. That raised some concerns for commissioners, but that was allayed with more discussion on the specific type of stucco that would be used.

鈥淒epending on how pricing is coming out, we just want to be able to use a different material if we need to,鈥� GBD Architects Associate Principal Richard Dobrot told the Design Commission.

The unusual request for approval of different materials to be chosen in the future underscores how project teams are continuing to deal with unpredictable supply costs.

Commissioners praised the project team’s design in regard to public realm guidelines. Plans call for outdoor dining and a service entrance.

The building breaks down into three separate forms. As Dobrot explained, the central block form looks like an early-20th century industrial building. The south building appears contemporary, with a dark brick cladding. The north building also has a contemporary look, highlighted by a white frame.

While praising the project, Chairwoman Julie Livingston asked whether the city’s Community Design Guidelines for the Northwest District were pushing architects to design overly similar buildings.

Several other buildings in the neighborhood have a parti, or organizing concept, of three distinct architectural expressions intended to break down the apparent mass and emulate historical architecture in the area.

鈥淢y view on this is it makes for very busy buildings on lots that aren’t particularly large,鈥� Livingston said.

Grace Jefferies, a Bureau of Development Services planner, agreed that the guideline 鈥渞eally pushes to this solution.鈥�

Primary cladding materials for NW 23rd and Marshall Apartments include brick and metal panels with vinyl windows, ground-level wood and aluminum storefront glazing, metal canopies, and board-formed and painted concrete at the base.

鈥淭here’s just a lot more sameness neighborhood to neighborhood as these buildings break down half-block massing that in my opinion doesn’t necessarily need a lot of modulation,鈥� Livingston said.

With an inclusionary housing bonus, the site is allowed to have a floor-area ratio of 4-to-1. C.E. John’s project uses 3.8-to-1. The project also has 44 underground parking spaces as well as both private and communal terraces.

The property is located near, but not within, the Alphabet Historic District. It’s across Northwest 23rd Avenue from Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center.

Two residents testified that the building should be slimmed down to appear smaller on the half-block frontage with Northwest 23rd Avenue.

Steve Pinger, a Northwest District Association board member, said the upper floors should be stepped back. The shear wall design that rises to 65 feet at its Northwest corner doesn’t meet Community Design Guidelines, he said.

Sue Perkel, who owns a neighboring multifamily building, expressed concerns about trash trucks servicing the new building disturbing her tenants. She also said the building would be one story too high.

Livingston said the proposed height meets zoning rules, and that operational issues such as service trucks are outside the Design Commission’s authority.

Also on Thursday:

Multifamily project survives appeal

The Design Commission rejected an appeal brought by the Southwest Hills Residential League of city staff approval of plans for an 11-story, 89-unit affordable housing building on Southwest Park Avenue. The proposal from Main Street Development and architect Ralph Tahran would use prefabricated modular construction for the building on a 6,016-square-foot hillside site. The neighborhood association could choose to appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals. The deadline to appeal is 21 days after the final decision is mailed.