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Significant hurdles lie ahead for the team proposing a 30-story affordable housing tower in Portland鈥檚 Old Town neighborhood.

In a pre-application conference with city bureaus on Thursday, developer and Portland native Curtis Rystadt indicated he was undeterred by the 75-foot height restriction for the district. As proposed, 鈥淏urnside One鈥� would be approximately 350 feet tall.

The tower, as designed by Access Architecture, would provide approximately 720 affordable housing units on a half-block site at 108 W. Burnside St., adjacent to MAX light-rail tracks. With a net-zero energy target, the building would have sustainable systems potentially able to save tenants $700,000 annually on utility bills, Rystadt estimated.

He sees Burnside One not only as a housing solution but also as a catalyst for rejuvenating economic activity in downtown Portland by increasing foot traffic.

Height limit controversy

Matt Wickstrom, a senior planner with the Bureau of Development Services, suggested that Rystadt pull his application prior to Thursday鈥檚 meeting 鈥� an indication that city officials would likely deny the proposal under current zoning rules, according to a report by the Portland Business Journal.

Nevertheless, Rystadt is seeking to explore every possible avenue to make Burnside One a reality, even if that means challenging the existing regulations. The team would likely need to seek approval from the Portland City Council to exceed the 75-foot height limit.

鈥淚 just want to solve the problem,鈥� Rystadt said. 鈥淚 just want to be part of the solution.鈥�

Rystadt has also submitted a bid for an alternative site approximately three blocks away, near the intersection of Southwest Third Avenue and Oak Street. That site, with the inclusion of height bonuses, could potentially allow a building as tall as 460 feet, he said. However, development at that site would come with higher costs, he said, and could result in reduced cost savings for tenants. That property also would not be next to MAX light-rail tracks.

While city officials acknowledged the availability of height bonuses for the proposed site, none would enable the building to attain the intended height of 350 feet that is crucial for ensuring financial feasibility via the number of units.

Further complications

During Thursday鈥檚 conference, various city officials expressed their concerns and shared insights about potential challenges for the Burnside One project.

Transportation and infrastructure-related issues were among the key topics discussed. Beyond the height limitation, the site鈥檚 complications include limited access for construction equipment because of the adjacent light-rail tracks and proximity to Burnside Bridge as well as conflicting operations of the Portland Saturday Market and events at Tom McCall Waterfront Park nearby. Those events would preclude weekend access to Southwest Ankeny Street 鈥� a main road to the park.

Also, an extensive geotechnical investigation and seismic study of the site would need to be conducted for a building as tall as 350 feet. However, plans call for use of cross-laminated timber as much as possible, which would result in a lighter building that requires a less substantial foundation, Rystadt said.

A potential path forward

The next step for the Burnside One project team is to engage with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability to address the proposed height and explore potential solutions.

Regarding funding, as an affordable housing development, Burnside One would be eligible for a property tax exemption on its residential portion as well as other financial benefits designated for projects offering units at 60 percent of the area median income or less.