Key Development has entered into exclusive negotiations with Prosper Portland to construct a two-building project on Block 25 in Old Town Chinatown.

Key has engaged Japanese firms to provide the project a culturally specific aesthetic. Shigeru Ban Architects and Earthscape, a landscape design studio, will design the project, along with Portland’s GBD Architects. Key Development reached out to the Japanese firms in response to the cultural goals shaped by Prosper Portland’s advisory committee.

The development team seeks to honor the area’s historic Japantown. Much of the neighborhood north of downtown was once home to residents of Japanese ancestry and businesses serving them. That changed in 1942, when Japanese-Americans were forcibly relocated to isolated camps during World War II.

“There’s very little left of what used to be a largely dominant Japanese neighborhood,” said Claudia Munk-von Flotow, chief operating officer of Key Development.

The Japanese firms will also add cultural diversity that Key lacks internally, Munk-von Flotow said.

“We recognize that, and we’re trying to do a cultural project,” she said.

Munk-von Flotow said she has long admired Ban’s designs, including the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado.

Preliminary plans call for two buildings on Block 25. One would be eight stories of cross-laminated timber with ground-floor retail space topped by commercial space. For the ground floor, Key’s managers are in talks with Connie Wohn, a local arts scene veteran and events manager, to run a social club. The building would step down to the neighboring Lan Su Chinese Garden.

The other, larger building would be multifamily, including market-rate and inclusionary housing units. The residential building could stretch up to 200 feet high if the City Council gives its assent. The state Land Use Board of Appeals has remanded to the council a decision on the allowable height on the block.

“Our proposal was 200 feet because it felt like it made sense,” Munk-von Flotow said. “It made sense architecturally with the context of the neighborhood, and it makes sense financially. It feels like the right height for that space is no more than 200 feet.”

The project is flexible enough to accommodate a range of heights, she said.

“We think a project at this site is scalable; it just depends on what goals Prosper Portland and the community stakeholders want to achieve,” Munk-von Flotow added in an email message.

Block 25 has served as a parking lot for NW Natural employees. With the utility’s move to the 250 Taylor building, the 0.62-acre parcel became available for development. Property owner Prosper Portland issued a request for proposals in May.

The block is bounded by Northwest Third and Fourth avenues, and Flanders and Glisan streets.

Key’s response spoke to Prosper Portland’s goals to honor the community’s history, said Eric Jacobson, a project manager at the agency.

“Their proposal really took to heart those development goals,” he said. “They did a lot of research and had some programmatic elements and design elements that reflected those development goals.”

Key also had a strong working relationship with Prosper Portland from building Yard and SideYard at the Burnside bridgehead.

Separately, Prosper Portland is also negotiating with Colas Development and Colas Construction to build a project at Fourth Avenue and West Burnside Street. The project would have five to seven stories, including a possible multicultural food venue on the first floor, office space for Colas and Bow Leong Bing Kong Tong, a Chinese community association, on the second floor, and three to five stories of housing above that.

Both projects are part of wider plans for growth in Old Town Chinatown. Last week, the City Council endorsed a five-year extension of the Old Town Chinatown action plan.

The projects are within the River District urban renewal area, which has $17.5 million in tax-increment financing available. Prosper Portland officials said the project would be eligible for urban renewal dollars, but no agreements have been made. The action plan has drawn criticism by the media for sitting on unspent money.

Prosper Portland spokesman Shawn Uhlman said private developers have moved ahead with many projects in the neighborhood without requesting public money. These include the Society Hotel and Hoxton Hotel, Downtown Development Group‘s multifamily project at Southwest Third Avenue and Ash Street (while that project is not within Old Town Chinatown, it is part of the River District urban renewal area) and a new Starbucks on Northwest Third Avenue.

“There have been a lot of things that have happened here; it just hasn’t required a lot of dollars from Prosper Portland,” Uhlman said. “I do think we want to correct this narrative that nothing has happened in Old Town Chinatown in the last five years.”

Still, development dollars have flowed into other areas, including downtown and Goose Hollow.

“There are a lot of reasons,” said Bernie Kerosky, a project manager in charge of the action plan. “There has been, perhaps, better investment opportunities in other areas – less risk, higher rents. We think the market’s starting to pick up here, and there’s more interest in the area, but it’s probably going to need some help from Prosper here.”

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Prosper Portland is preparing to take over approximately three-quarters of a block in Old Town Chinatown, with long-term plans to offer the property for redevelopment.

The site is Block 25, a 0.62-acre parcel that has been used for parking by NW Natural. The utility company is decamping from its building nearby, One Pacific Square, for a new office at 250 S.W. Taylor St.

Prosper Portland plans to move toward issuing a request for proposals. The agency will reach out to the Old Town Chinatown community, spokesman Shawn Uhlman said.

“We’re looking at a robust process over the summer months and the early fall,” he said. “That could help define what goes into an RFP – probably, it will end up being an RFP at this point. That, I would assume, would probably be in late fall.”

Block 25 is bounded by Northwest Third and Fourth avenues and Flanders and Glisan streets. The block is northwest of Lan Su Chinese Garden. NW Natural was given the right to use 116 parking spaces on the lot as part of the utility’s 99-year lease agreement with the city for construction of the Chinese garden in 1995.

The parking agreement will terminate 60 days after NW Natural vacates, which is anticipated sometime in 2020. The city gets revenue from evening and nighttime parking on the block.

Two other properties on the block are owned by Blanchet House – a charity group that offers meals and housing. No changes are planned to those properties for now.

“We’ll certainly track what their plans are as we’re thinking about redevelopment, and I’m sure it will come up in the community as well,” said Lisa Abuaf, development manager for Prosper Portland.

At an April 11 meeting, Prosper Portland approved an intergovernmental agreement to accept conveyance of the property from the city’s Office of Management & Finance.

Future redevelopment of the block is seen as part of an action plan to revitalize Old Town Chinatown. Earlier portions of the plan included redevelopment of the Society Hotel and Block 8L at Northwest First Avenue and Davis Street.

The area is part of a historic district with design guidelines required for any redevelopment.

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