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A 96-unit affordable housing structure is in the works for the West Portland Multicultural Plan District. The Portland Design Commission on Thursday provided design advice to the team planning to deliver a five-story, 95,000-square-foot building.

The approximately 1.1-acre site is at 10450 S.W. Barbur Blvd. The existing Portland Value Inn is due to be demolished to allow construction of the apartment building.

The project team includes owner Metro, developer Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH), architect LRS Architects and general contractor O鈥橬eill/Walsh Community Builders.

Markham Elementary School and its grounds lie southeast of the site. A mix of single-family dwellings and low-rise multifamily structures lie east of the site along Southwest Luradel Street. Auto-oriented retail businesses operate farther to the northeast along Barbur Boulevard near the intersection with Southwest Capitol Highway.

As proposed, the building would occupy the site鈥檚 southern half and a 37-space surface parking lot would occupy the northern half. Some of the parking spaces would be able to accommodate electric vehicle charging in the future. A common area is planned for the building鈥檚 south side, away from Barbur Boulevard, to provide safety and limit noise.

Plans call for the building to hold 25 studios, 24 one-bedroom units, 29 two-bedroom units, nine three-bedroom units, and nine four-bedroom units. The ground floor would have two common rooms, property manager offices, and offices and meeting rooms for on-site support services.

Vinyl windows and storefront windows are proposed. The ground floor would have large windows to engage pedestrians nearby, LRS Architects associate principal Calista Fitzgerald said. A canopy would hang over both the main entry and the secondary entry.

With the Islamic School of Portland slightly northeast of the project site, the design includes Islamic architecture elements, including qibla-angled windows, vertical circulation at the entrances, and use of traditional colors such as green on the window pop-outs.

Black and white CERACLAD ribbed, fiber-cement panels are proposed for the building鈥檚 exterior, as well as black and white metal panels. Metal panels are proposed as accents at the qibla-angled bay windows on some facades and solar shades on others, a commission memo states.

A material with a gray and white triangular pattern is proposed in a recess at the building鈥檚 main entrance facing Barbur Boulevard and in another recess near the east end facing the parking lot. The material would likely be painted fiber cement or painted metal.

鈥淚 know there鈥檚 some resistance to fiber-cement panels in general on the ground floor, but I think CERACLAD is an exception to it because it is more robust,鈥� Commissioner Joe Swank said.

On the ground floor, public-facing and common spaces would be located closest to Barbur Boulevard to keep residential units away from the street. Those units would be buffered from the parking lot by a long stormwater planter. The team hopes the plants will be at least three feet tall. Commissioners agreed that the team should make sure the plants will provide sufficient screening for residents. Three-foot plants are a little short for screening, commission Chair Brian McCarter said, adding that plants of an appropriate height should be chosen.

Alternatively, Swank suggested using a laser-cut metal panel, such as the triangular pattern at the entrances, to screen the stormwater planter. Fitzgerald said the team is looking at a film for the lobby windows and could explore that and the other options suggested for the ground-floor units.

Solar panels are proposed for the roof. The project team is pursuing sustainability certification, gold or higher, according to the project narrative.

The project team is in discussions with Markham Elementary School about potential creation of direct access from the apartments to the school鈥檚 play fields. Commissioners agreed that such a connection is critical to provide the future residents with outdoor space. Fitzgerald said if the school says no to the connection, the new sidewalk will lead to existing stairs on the school鈥檚 property that connect to Barbur Boulevard.

The Portland Bureau of Development Services values the project at approximately $63.4 million.

The project will likely receive staff-level Type II design review. The team expects to file an application later this month.