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Mackenzie unveiled an initial design for a 15-story building with 260 apartments in the Lloyd District during a design advice hearing with the Portland Design Commission on Thursday.

A Eugene firm, Master Development, is behind the project at 701 and 777 N.E. Seventh Ave. The proposed building would be entirely residential and provide parking, mostly below grade.

The project site is located three blocks east of the Oregon Convention Center at the Lloyd District’s south end. Design commissioners and Bureau of Development Services staff said the project’s context will be important: It’s on the future Green Loop route on Northeast Seventh Avenue. Also, the building will be near the Blumenauer Bridge that crosses Interstate 84.

BDS valued the project at $45 million.

Design commissioners largely praised the initial massing scheme from Mackenzie, a Portland-based firm.

鈥淭he big moves of massing, the vertical expression 鈥� overall I think it’s quite compatible with the context of what’s emerging in the Lloyd District right now,鈥� Commissioner Brian McCarter said.

The building’s height would far exceed its width to fit on the half-block property. Master Development acquired the tract for $4.2 million in November 2021 from the Oregon Auto Dealers Association, according to Multnomah County records. The property currently has two small, single-story office buildings, which would be demolished to make way for the apartment tower.

Ben Nielsen, a BDS planner, said the lot is 鈥渟urrounded by a sea of parking garages.鈥� Also nearby is the site planned for Oregon Square, an American Assets Trust office project that was approved in 2020 but has not moved into the construction phase. AAT has until 2024 to begin construction with its current entitlements, Nielsen said.

Master Development’s as-yet-unnamed project would feature fiber cement panels and glass windows. Wood would be used on the underside of overhangs to contribute warmth, architect Thomas Peck said. The design calls for vertical fins to wrap around the fa莽ade.

Unlike many new buildings, Master’s would have no retail space. Instead, common amenity areas would help activate ground-floor frontages.

Some commissioners opined that the building could use more character so it doesn’t appear to be an office building.

鈥淚t’s pretty austere-looking at this point,鈥� Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

Vallaster and Commissioner Zari Santner suggested balconies may improve the fa莽ade’s appearance.

鈥淚 hope that it can be jazzed up, and it can distinguish itself a little bit,鈥� Santner said.

The project team is targeting a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, Peck said. The building will meet inclusionary zoning rules, he added; however, he did not specify how that would be accomplished.

The project team may opt to return for another design advice hearing, or it could proceed directly to design review.