91视频

The Portland Design Commission has recognized a Southeast Portland affordable housing project with its annual Design Excellence Award.

The project at 3000 S.E. Powell Blvd. was designed by Holst Architecture; it鈥檚 being built by Colas Construction. Home Forward is the project鈥檚 owner.

鈥淭his new affordable housing complex not only exceeds our citywide design guidelines in all three tenets, but we believe it also begins a critical transformation of one of Portland鈥檚 historic arterials that is searching for a new identity,鈥� Commission Chair Sam Rodriguez said during a City Council briefing on May 25. 鈥淚n that light, we believe this project could be catalytic.鈥�

Home Forward鈥檚 project will bring 206 apartments to Powell Boulevard. Of those, 138 will be affordable at 60 percent of area median income, while the remaining 68 units will be 鈥渄eeply affordable鈥� at 30 percent of area median income. The $87 million project is being paid for in part with $33 million from a 2016 bond initiative administered by the Housing Bureau.

Design Commissioner Chandra Robinson praised the project as an example of a development that improved by going through design review. Changes opened a public courtyard to a wide, auto-dominated highway.

鈥淭hat revised public courtyard that faces Powell is landscaped and surrounded by active ground-floor spaces, and this frontage really defines a new pedestrian-oriented identity for Powell Boulevard,鈥� she said.

The 138,000-square-foot, four-story 3000 Powell has an unusual, loosely X-shaped design. Tucked behind Hopworks Urban Brewery, and near Cleveland High School and a new Target store, the property weaves together two dead-end streets into a multiuse path for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The award marks the second consecutive Design Commission recognition for Holst Architecture. The firm also won in 2021 for its design of the Gateway headquarters of De Paul Treatment Centers (now known as Fora Health).

The Design Commission鈥檚 award came as part of its annual update to the City Council. The commission saw a significant drop in proposals last year, reviewing only eight Type III land-use cases, down from 21 in 2020. Type II land use cases 鈥� reviewed by Bureau of Development Services staff 鈥� also declined, from 74 in 2020 to 53 last year.

Rodriguez responded to criticisms that the Design Commission review process adds unnecessary costs and delays to new projects.

鈥淕ood design will yield its fruits in the future, so we really have to keep on going the course,鈥� he said.

Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty agreed.

鈥淲e hear constantly about the barriers we put in place to create housing in this community, and there鈥檚 always this push and pull between doing it quick and doing it well,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 always impressed with how you always make the design better. I keep asking people, give me one example where the Design Commission actually did the opposite. And in my time here on Council, that has never happened.鈥�