Con-way Master Plan developers are scheduled to appear before the Portland Design Commission in early April, and details of their plans for blocks 294E and 295E show one building with six stories and another with up to 13.

The development at Block 295E, the southernmost of the two, is expected to have five floors of residential units above ground-level commercial space and two below-grade floors of vehicle parking.

Block 294E will have up to 13 stories of residential space over ground-level commercial space and two floors of underground parking.

The two parcels are part of a superblock bounded on the north by Thurman Street, on the south by Raleigh Street and on the east by Northwest 21st Avenue.

GBD Architects has also designed a 60-foot-wide walkway that will run north-south slightly west of the two buildings, bisecting the superblock between Northwest 21st and 22nd avenues.

Plans submitted to the city are preliminary, but show a mixture of studios and one-bedroom units.

A call to Bruce Brown of GBD Architects was not returned by press time.

The 16-acre Con-way Master Plan was approved by the city in 2011. The project will eventually deliver between 1,000 and 1,500 residential units, including some affordable housing, and approximately 500,000 total square feet of retail and office space.

The developers are scheduled to appear before the design commission at 1:30 p.m. on April 2.

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Big things are happening at the east end of the Burnside Bridge, and developers of the Block 67 project this week talked to area real estate professionals about their experiences with marketing options, construction challenges and communication with the locals.

Jeff Pickhardt, principal of Hood River-based Key Development; Eric Jacobson, a Portland Development Commission planner; and Adrian Boly, vice president of acquisitions and development at Guardian Real Estate Services spoke at a CREW luncheon at the Multnomah Athletic Club on Thursday.

Boly said that the project had received a Multiple-Unit Limited Tax Exemption from the Portland Housing Bureau. That means that in exchange for receiving a 10-year tax abatement, 20 percent of the studios and one- and two-bedroom units in the 21-story mixed-use tower at Block 67 will be reserved for tenants making 60 percent of the median family income or less.

“What we really like about (the MULTE program) is that it helps people who wouldn’t usually be able to afford apartments like these,” Boly said. “This project really is for the public good.”

Boly said the reserved units reduce the number of units the property managers have to lease out at market rate from 284 to about 220, and added that he doesn’t expect the Block 67 apartments to compete directly with American Assets Trust’s Hassalo on Eighth not far away.

“We feel like I-84 is kind of the dividing line and that people looking to rent at Hassalo on Eighth will mostly be looking for safe, family housing,” he said. “We put a lot of thought and effort into determining who this project will cater to, and we think it’s people who embrace the gritty feeling of the eastside.”

Boly said the team expects Block 67 to appeal to “recent college graduates, nurses and construction workers” who are part of the “maker identity of Portland.”

Pickhardt’s team has encountered several challenges during construction. One was finding a way to anchor the building without encroaching upon an easement 80 feet below ground for the “Big Pipe.” Another was keeping designs fluid enough to adapt to potential changes, such as adding a sky bridge between the two buildings.

At the Thursday luncheon, an audience member asked Pickhardt how designs planned for access to the Burnside Bridge from both buildings. He responded by showing renderings of the two buildings from a vantage point looking south down Third Avenue, with the Burnside Bridge in the distance, that showed a second-story sky bridge.

“Foot traffic would come off the Burnside Bridge at Couch Street, enter the (Block 76) building, and cross over Third via the sky bridge into the tower,” Pickhardt said.

PDC’s design standards discourage sky bridge use, claiming that it diverts foot traffic away from storefronts, but Pickhardt said he believes there is a strong case for including one in this project. Construction crews are “pursuing parallel paths” to leave the option on the table, he noted.

“It would be used to connect the smaller building to the larger building consistent with the grade of Burnside (and) Couch (streets),” he said. “We’re considering whether or not it makes sense to make application for consideration (and) approval from the city at this point.”

Pickhardt, whose company will also develop adjacent Block 76 into a three-story commercial space, said that when he was a child and his family visited from Bend, Portland’s eastside was a shadowy place.

“As we’d drive into town my mom would be rolling up the windows and locking the doors,” he said.

Pickhardt commended Portland for its efforts to clean up the eastside, and said he feels “a lot of humility” about taking on such a neighborhood-defining project while also working to retain the area’s staples, including the Burnside skate park.

“I spent a couple weekends at the skate park, and I was told I needed to talk to ‘Red,’ who was the chair of the skate park’s board of directors,” Pickhardt joked. “It was sort of like a street fight talking to him. It was pretty uncomfortable. He said, ‘this is our parking lot and you’re not taking out our skate park.’ ”

The vacant surface parking lot ‘Red’ mentioned is part of the underground parking for the tower, but the 30-year-old concrete haven for skateboarders remains intact.

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The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals next week will get a little “Wizer” when members hear testimony for and against a controversial Lake Oswego development that inspired opponents to initiate a “save our village” battle cry.

On Wednesday, at the University of Oregon School of Law, LUBA will hear oral arguments concerning the Wizer block project – a $92 million mixed-use development that Lita Grigg, a Lake Oswego resident and “Save Our Village” campaign organizer, wants to block.

Property owner Eugene Wizer and a real estate investment partner, Portland-based Evergreen Group LLC, want to raze the existing building at 140 A Ave. and build 207 residential units atop 36,500 square feet of commercial space in three four-story buildings.

The city’s development commission in August 2014 denied a project approval request, leading developers to appeal to the Lake Oswego City Council. After several hours of testimony from both sides, the council in October reversed the commission’s decision.

The opposition hired Portland attorney Greg Hathaway and appealed the case to LUBA on the grounds that the high-density multifamily portion of the development doesn’t comply with the section of city code that requires new construction uphold a “village character … of small-scale structures that appears and operates like a traditional small town … creates a sense of community and attracts people to the downtown in the same manner and using similar design concepts as historic small towns and neighborhood centers.”

The board will return its final opinion on the case between April 2 and 9, LUBA spokeswoman Kristi Seyfried said.

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Portland’s 26 miles of levees along the Columbia and Sandy rivers need millions of dollars’ worth of repairs and maintenance, and a group of stakeholders is trying to keep the solution from breaking the bank.

Hurricane Katrina‘s devastating flooding in 2005 prompted Federal Emergency Management Agency officials to re-evaluate safety standards on levee districts nationwide, and, in 2012, the Multnomah County Drainage District received notification that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers‘ certification for two levee districts – Peninsula Drainage District No. 1 and Peninsula Drainage District No. 2 – would expire in 2013.

Certification for the other two levee districts administered by Multnomah County Drainage District – the Sandy Drainage Improvement Company and the largest district (called MCDD) that is home to Portland International Airport and almost 20 percent of the region’s industrial land – is set to expire in 2017.

The levees that protect valuable North Portland real estate need to be recertified and reaccredited in order to remain active in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Levees must be accredited – recognized by FEMA as proven, from an engineering standpoint, to have been designed and maintained to protect low-lying areas from a 1 percent annual chance flood – in order to be eligible for the national flood insurance. Without it, residents, businesses and property owners would be required to purchase private flood insurance – much more expensive – to comply with development standards for flood plains.

“If you have a federally backed loan, and you’re in a flood plain, you’re required to carry flood insurance,” said Jason McBain, a levee safety program manager with the corps’ Portland office. “Levee accreditation means a lot to property value and flood insurance because when you live behind a levee that’s accredited, you’re shown on (FEMA) maps as having less flood vulnerability and less risk.”

In response to FEMA’s requirements, city and Port of Portland officials asked then-Gov. John Kitzhaber to assign the issue to Oregon Solutions, project manager Steve Greenwood said.

“We’re here to provide a neutral forum, a convening table, for bringing stakeholders together to make public projects happen,” he said.

At a March 3 meeting, Oregon Solutions program participants chose to expand the engineering analysis, which so far has focused only on Peninsula Drainage District Nos. 1 and 2, into the other two levee districts.

Findings from a Cornforth Consultants study that was released at that meeting analyzed two of the four levee districts, indicating that “both systems continue to have targeted areas with deficiencies; however, the majority of the systems perform well” overall.

Greenwood said the report and preliminary evaluation of the other two levee districts has stakeholders hopeful that the levees won’t require as much work for reaccreditation as estimated initially – between $100 million and $268 million. He added that FEMA will likely wait for stakeholders working collaboratively toward a solution before taking action.

“FEMA has indicated that, because we’re being proactive, the clock hasn’t started ticking yet,” he said.

If FEMA does begin a remapping process, it would require about 18 months to complete.

The next steps include using the corps’ findings to determine flood risk tolerance, begin discussion around setting new standards for protection and identifying flood risk prevention strategies, according to Jackie Dingfelder, Mayor Charlie Hales‘ policy director on the environment and sustainability.

“We’re moving into the second phase and are showing FEMA that we’re at the discussion table to make sure we are making good progress,” she said. “Maintaining the Columbia River levees is vital for the city and the region. Next we have to look at how large and how expensive the project will be.”

Amy Echols, public affairs officer for the corps’ Portland office, said it’s too early in the analysis process to determine repair and maintenance costs, but said the Oregon Solutions project team is considering cost along with safety when deciding on solutions for the levees.

“The team is working to get the level of surety we need in the most efficient way,” she said. “This area is a very important part of Portland’s economy, and the cost-efficiency will be considered along with life safety and protection levels.”

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A close-in Northeast Portland vintage multifamily property has sold for $9.25 million.

HFO Investment Real Estate announced earlier this week that its brokers closed on a purchase of the 72-unit Colonial Gardens Apartments, with a per-unit price around $128,473.

The 2.9-acre property is located from 905 to 923 N.E. 44th Ave., between the Laurelhurst and Hollywood neighborhoods. The garden-style apartments sit slightly south of Interstate 84 and are adjacent to Providence Medical Center.

The two-story apartments were built in 1945, and while retaining their original charm with vintage wood flooring, kitchen cabinets and light fixtures, the complex is ripe for an investment in improvements to add value to the property, according to Aaron Douglas, marketing director with HFO.

The property offers “ample on-site parking,” which Douglas calls a rare amenity.

The seller had owned the property “for decades,” according to Douglas, and chose an unnamed Portland-area buyer “with significant expertise in managing vintage properties.”

HFO received multiple offers from potential buyers, Douglas said. The chosen buyer formerly delivered newspapers to the apartment complex.

Neighborhood employers include Trader Joe’s, 24 Hour Fitness and Whole Foods. Also, the Hollywood Transit Center/MAX station is a short walk from the complex.

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The city auditor last week rejected a prospective initiative petition to de-annex East Portland, but the submission has elections officials and Metro staffers scratching their heads over procedural questions.

“This is a weird one,” Metro Deputy Director John Williams said. “It’s super rare to have a group want to de-annex from the rest of the city.”

Three East Portland residents on Feb. 27 filed to initiate a petition that would un-incorporate East Portland – a 29-square-mile area bounded roughly by 82nd Avenue and Interstate 205 on the east, Gresham on the west, the Columbia River to the north and Happy Valley to the south – and make it its own city.

Collene Swenson, an East Portland resident who’s leading the move to secede, said she and her neighbors don’t believe they’re being treated fairly by the city. She cited as evidence an from the auditor’s office conceding that “residents in East Portland regularly rate many services lower than residents in other parts of Portland.”

“This is about more than just a few parks and sidewalks; it’s about a quality of life in its entirety – equality and representation in all areas of the city,” she said. “It’s about the city being responsive to its constituents even though it is not in their plan.”

Swenson said she knew the city was going to reject the first proposal, but that the group – East Portland De-annexation Secession – is discussing hiring an attorney prior to resubmission.

“We were hoping we could do it without a lawyer,” she said. “But we’re not going to give up. We’ve got people jumping all over East Portland to get involved. They want this.”

City Elections Officer Deborah Scroggin on March 4 responded to the petition request, stating that the application failed to meet either city code or Oregon Constitution requirements.

“In the petition they’re talking broadly about de-annexation and creating a new city,” Scroggin said. “One of the constitutional requirements for a situation like this is that the de-annexation and incorporation as a new city would have to be separate petitions, and they’ve submitted both as one.”

In the response, Scroggin wrote that the “filing represents an unresolved question of state law as to whether withdrawal may be the subject of a citizen initiative, given the statutory scheme for amending the boundaries of a city located within a Metropolitan Service District.”

Portland city attorneys declined to comment on statutory issues via an email from office administrator Kim Sneath. She suggested that Metro would be in charge of such issues.

Craig Beebe, a spokesman for Metro, said the regional governing body would largely take a “hands off” stance.

“While Metro’s code includes procedures that cities, counties and districts must follow to change their boundaries, Metro doesn’t have a decision-making role in those processes,” he said.

Williams explained that Metro’s role is largely administrative in issues like this.

“We don’t really get involved until the change has been made, and then we’re just in charge of the mapping and boundaries,” he said. “If the initiative made it to a vote, and it passed, we’d get a legal description of the property area and effective dates and we’d be responsible for passing that information on to the Secretary of State’s office.”

Swenson said that East Portland De-annexation Secession is in a holding pattern until Wednesday, when it plans to meet with an attorney.

“Right now we have to stop and revamp the paperwork with the help of a lawyer, but I have a folder full of names of people who want to sign a petition,” she said. “If it turns into a lost cause I’ll let people know we’re in over our heads, but even if this doesn’t succeed, maybe it will help get some changes to taxing and representation out here.”

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A two-story downtown Portland building may be getting a 13-floor vertical addition, but property owners won’t talk about it.

Gary Golla of SERA Architects on March 3 applied to the city for early assistance with designs for a 15-story, 246-room hotel via incorporation of an existing structure at 419 S.W. Washington St.

Portland-based Menashe Properties in June 2014 purchased the property, which includes an adjacent building, for $9 million.

“I have to say on this one that I don’t know anything,” Menashe Properties co-owner Jordan Menashe said. “I’m usually open, but this is one that, for a number of reasons, I cannot talk about.”

One month after Menashe Properties bought the land, True Adams Co., a project planning predevelopment consulting firm based in Bend, applied for early assistance on behalf of a Maryland-based hotelier interested in renovating the property as a Cambria Suites hotel.

Menashe, at the time, said there was a “10 to 20 percent” chance that hotel redevelopment would happen, and that, if it did, it wouldn’t be a joint venture.

Menashe didn’t say much last year – except that his company would like to see a grocery tenant in the space – and he was equally tight-lipped when asked about the application submitted recently.

“It actually isn’t us that applied,” he said. “It could be anyone. It could be Barack Obama who applied.”

Golla did not return a call for comment by press time.

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Developers working on Oregon Health & Science University projects in the South Waterfront District have applied to the city for early assistance.

Eric Wilson of SRG Partnership applied for design advice for the planned eight-story Knight Cancer Institute Research Building. The 332,000-square-foot building would be constructed slightly north of the Skourtes Tower completed recently at 2730 S.W. Moody Ave.

The new research building is slated to include below-grade parking, food services and retail space, offices, a conference center, research laboratory space and research support facilities, according to information filed with the Bureau of Development Services.

Also, Stephanie Becker of ZGF Architects‘ Portland office is seeking design advice for two new OHSU buildings in the South Waterfront.

The first building – pegged for Block 29, bounded by Southwest Moody and Bond avenues and Curry and Whitaker streets – would be a 12-story, 360,000-square-foot, ambulatory care facility constructed atop existing underground parking, according to plans filed with the city.

Building one also includes plans for a two-story skybridge across Whitaker Street to connect Block 29 with the existing Center for Health and Healing.

The second building – on Block 28, bounded by Southwest Curry and Whitaker streets, Bond Avenue and River Parkway – will be approximately 264,000 square feet. The 10-story Block 28 building will feature a mix of uses, including one level of below-grade parking, a conference center and retail on the ground floor, more vehicle parking on floors two through five, a central utility plant on level six and guest housing on the top four floors.

Block 28 will have a single-story skybridge connecting the fourth floor to the new building on Block 29 across Bond Avenue.

Both project teams are tentatively scheduled to appear before the Portland Design Commission on April 16.

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A Seattle-based company that specializes in micro-housing development has applied for pre-application conferences to discuss designs for two proposed projects in Southwest Portland.

Koz Development is seeking design advice from the Portland Bureau of Development Services for a 110-unit development on Southwest Fourth Avenue and a 30-unit development on Southwest Yamhill Street.

Joshua Scott, co-founder of Koz Development, was scheduled to meet with city staff on Monday to discuss preliminary plans for a proposed micro-housing development at 2161 S.W. Yamhill St. No parking is planned for this building, according to city records.

On Thursday, Scott will again meet with bureau staffers to discuss preliminary plans for the larger development at 2211 S.W. Fourth Ave. Scott said the 110 micro-housing units would range in size from between 230 and 280 square feet in a six-story, triangular-shaped building. Plans call for 29 stalls of car parking, a common area and an elevator bank on the first floor, with residences on the second through sixth floors.

Scott said project costs and possible rental rates haven’t been determined. He’d like to have the buildings finished and ready for tenants by fall 2016.

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Portland on Thursday got one step closer to updating the Central City Concept Plan when the City Council adopted a 20-year plan for the West Quadrant.

The council voted 4-1 – Commissioner Amanda Fritz was the lone dissenter – to adopt the recommended draft of the West Quadrant Plan as a “detailed road map for the long-term development and growth” of downtown Portland.

City planners working on the project emphasized that the plan should implement design and zoning changes that focus on developable Willamette riverfront properties, increase opportunities for mixed-use construction and focus on improving bicycle and pedestrian transportation corridors.

The plan outlines four key concepts – extending the downtown retail core north and west through the Pearl District, establishing a clearer set of east-west connecting streets, exploring improvement options along Naito Parkway and in Waterfront Park and implementing the “Green Loop” concept of creating a safe, 10-mile bicycle and pedestrian path along the South and Midtown Park Blocks through downtown – and recommends zoning and development changes to support those goals.

The plan calls for zoning changes that would allow a broader mix of uses in the West Quadrant and encourage development of high-density residential communities.

The changes include increasing building height allowances along the waterfront, a part of the plan opposed by Fritz.

“We have a longstanding city policy, that my colleagues agreed to continue, of stepping down building heights toward the river, and the proposed plan doesn’t do that,” she said. “I don’t mind the increased height … one block back from Naito (Parkway), but the whole waterfront (height limit) on Naito is 75 feet, and the plan will increase it to 250 feet.”

The scope of the zoning changes and the repercussions from increasing building height allowances merited council discussion, and Fritz said the reason she got “so upset” at the hearing is that the other commissioners refused to discuss the changes.

“This is a huge change for the Central City, and one that I think is a significant planning issue,” Fritz said. “The fact that no one would second my motion for discussion, and no one is willing to talk, is troubling.”

Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, who introduced the resolution for consideration by the council, said the plan is a valuable guide for the council to refer to when implementing zoning changes in the future and integrating the West Quadrant Plan with the Southeast Quadrant and North/Northeast Quadrant plans as part of the Central City 2035 Plan.

“The critical thinking that went into the West Quadrant Plan is the reason it took about two years to produce,” Hales said. “Good work was done here. And it’s thanks in large part to the participating Portlanders, and our city planners.”

Hales commended Portland residents and city planners for their “thoughtful, critical consideration … to these big, wonky land-use issues.”

“I talk to mayors in other cities who are amazed,” he said. “Other cities don’t have that; or most don’t.”

The next step toward implementation of the West Quadrant Plan is for the City Council to adopt the proposed zoning changes. The council has not set a timeline on when that will happen, but Fritz said she doesn’t know whether she’ll pursue action to block implementation.

“I don’t know how much can be done at this point,” she said. “And there’s limited payback for banging your head on a brick wall.”

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