Despite heavy criticism from neighboring residents, an 18-unit apartment building likely will replace a Northwest Portland home built more than 100 years ago.

Last May, Creston Homes and appeared before the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission to present plans for a three-story apartment project at 2124 N.W. Flanders St. The proposal faced resistance from people concerned about the potential impacts on the rest of the Alphabet Historic District.

On Monday the project team presented essentially the same proposal in a land-use hearing, and this time it is expected to win approval – as long as the design team revises its plans for windows and doors.

“I think it’s too bad,” said Donald Genasci, a member of the Northwest District Association. “They’re tearing down a building that is in the character of the neighborhood, and their proposed building will ultimately cut out a considerable amount of light from the neighbors on both sides. It doesn’t conform to city code.”

When the proposal drew opposition last year, Don Sowieja of Myhre Group Architects speculated that some of the objections were not to the specific project, but to the precedent it could set for future projects in the neighborhood.

“I believe the neighbors oppose the project because they think it will encourage more development in the district, which I believe they oppose,” Sowieja said last May.

The Alphabet Historic District has a high concentration of middle-class apartment buildings and small-scale commercial buildings constructed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But the existing home at 2124 N.W. Flanders St., which since 2007 has been owned and rented out by Dennis Sackhoff, ‘ president and CEO, is evaluated as a “non-contributing” resource in the national register documentation for the district.

The Historic Landmarks Commission felt that proposed modifications to the district’s building setback regulation and height limit were justified, according to city planner Dave Skilton. But the planned vinyl windows and fiberglass doors raised concerns from the commission.

“The whole thing kind of hinged on the quality and appearance of the proposed windows and doors,” Skilton said. “The commission was unanimous on not wanting to approve the flatter profile windows.”

The proposed windows and doors are considered modern assemblies that would stand out inappropriately among neighboring historic homes. If the designers were to switch to traditional wooden windows and doors, or at least some visually similar to wood, then the commission would be expected to approve the project on Feb. 13.

The multifamily project is being developed by Creston Homes’ David Mullens, who is also working on the new apartment complex going up next to the Hollywood Theater. Mullens declined to comment on the Flanders Street project because of ongoing review by the Historic Landmarks Commission.

If the commission were to approve the proposal, opponents would have an opportunity to appeal.

One potential issue surrounds the existing home’s designation as “non-contributing,” according to Peggy Moretti, executive director of the Historic Preservation League of Oregon.

“In our opinion, the property should have been designated a ‘contributing’ building in the historic district, and had a little more research been done into the history and significance of the building, it would have been,” she said in a written comment to the 91��Ƶ.

However, if the building will not be rehabilitated, Moretti said the proposed infill design seems generally compatible with the HPLO’s recommendations for new construction in historic districts.

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Creston Homes is back with a proposal for an apartment building in the Alphabet District, after receiving much negative feedback on a proposal for the same site in May.

Creston Homes along with presented a 26-unit, three and a half-story apartment project at 2124 N.W. Flanders St. to the Historic Landmarks Commission in May and faced resistance from neighbors about the project’s potential effects on the Alphabet Historic District. A 116-year-old house currently sits on the site and is classified as a non-contributing resource in the district.

Creston homes filed a new land-use application with the city on Dec. 1 which was distributed as a on Dec. 19 to the neighborhood association and city agencies that might comment on the project’s likelihood to be approved.

The new project looks visually similar to the previous controversial proposal by Creston Homes, but it includes 18 instead of 26 apartment units. Like in the previous proposal, the project team is asking for variances to the site’s height and setback requirements.

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The Northwest District Association is worried about what may happen on Northwest Flanders Street in Portland. A developer has plans to construct a 26-unit apartment building where a 116-year-old home now sits. But residents aren’t concerned only about the potential loss of history, but also how such projects could change the face of the Alphabet District.

“Our street has a salt and pepper mix of old homes; ours was built in 1885,” said Joy Strand, who lives two lots from the proposed project site at 2124 N.W. Flanders St. with her husband, Daniel Anderson. “I hate to see that mix changing. I hate to see the street changing character and those homes going away.”

Anderson said he understands that demand is increasing for multifamily development in close-in areas like the Alphabet District, which has a high-density residential zoning designation that allows such development. However, Anderson and other residents hope the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission will protect their neighborhood’s character.

The multifamily project is being developed by Creston Homes on a property that Dennis Sackhoff, Arbor Custom Homes‘ president and CEO, has owned and operated as a rental since 2007. Sackhoff and architecture and engineering firm Otak presented a design for a 28-unit apartment building at an HLC meeting in December. After the initial design drew opposition at that meeting, the developer engaged Myhre Group Architects to provide a new design.

The new design was more favorably received by the HLC, and the project team plans to move ahead with few modifications. The architects took care to show that the building would fit with the Alphabet District’s historic character. This design is for a 26-unit apartment building that would occupy most of the 5,000-square-foot lot’s footprint, with walls closer to the property line than code allows.

Project team members have not submitted designs to be reviewed by the city, but they did ask the HLC for advice at a Monday afternoon hearing. Of particular concern was the modified setback line the design would require. To comply with the existing code, the building would need to be much smaller, the designer said.

“When you take 14 feet on either side you end up with a relatively small developable area, if indeed you develop to the full height that the base code allows,” said Don Sowieja of Myhre Group Architects. “(The reduced setback) seemed appropriate not only from a purely development standpoint but also from a historic standpoint.”

Residents noted that the new design would create a space of 5 feet or less between the new building and the historic ones on both sides. That would “jeopardize the livability of the adjacent historic buildings,” said Donald Genasci, a member of the Northwest District Association. “This is not a sensitive incorporation of a new building,” he added.

Sowieja, however, said that many of the neighborhood’s historic buildings are closely packed. He rejected concerns about the lack of sunlight and privacy that would result from buildings being so close together.

“I believe the neighbors oppose the project because they think it will encourage more development in the district, which I believe they oppose,” Sowieja said.

Few obstacles would prevent demolition of the existing home because it was not listed as a “contributing” building on the inventory of historic buildings in the Alphabet District, though some people say it’s worth saving.

“Under the ugly asbestos shingles is a lovely building built in 1895,” Genasci said.

Residents are most concerned about the pattern that could develop if the setback code were ignored for the project at 2124 N.W. Flanders St.

“Unless the houses are protected through the historic district, you’re going to see a huge turnover of single-family houses turning into multistory flats,” Genasci said.

But Sowieja asked the HLC on Monday, “Is there any way for an applicant to have any certainty regarding the precedent concern prior to submitting and going through the entire process? If a particular project is being evaluated not on its design merits but its role in the district and the precedent that might set, that seems different than complying with the code.”

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