The Block 290 project at 1417 N.W. 20th Ave. finally has a green light from the city of Portland, allowing construction to start. The City Council on Wednesday finalized a previous 4-1 vote denying the Northwest District Association‘s appeal of the Portland Design Commission‘s unanimous approval of the project.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz cast the council’s lone dissenting vote.

“As I have said, I don’t support this and would have rather upheld the appeal,” she said.

The council did add one condition: the developers must consult with the Regional Arts and Culture Council regarding inclusion of art at both the private development and an adjacent park.

Development of Guardian Real Estate Services‘ project has now dragged on for more than two years.

LRS Architects’ design calls for a mix of luxury and market-rate residential units on top of ground-floor retail space. The development will also include below-grade parking, a public square and a roof terrace.

The plans call for a horseshoe design with elevations ranging from 57 to 70 feet.

The neighborhood association has contended that the project didn’t meet requirements set forth in the Con-way master plan. Of particular concern was a public square that designers claim will measure 16,008 square feet and be able to comfortably hold 50 to 100 people at once.

The neighborhood association believes the size of the square is exaggerated and doesn’t meet requirements set forth in the master plan.

Much of the debate during the City Council’s original hearing on Oct. 12 centered on the need for housing and whether mostly market-rate and luxury units would significantly help alleviate the lack of housing in the city.

Ultimately, the majority of the council deferred to the judgment of the Design Commission, which decided that the project met city guidelines and master plan requirements.

The post City Council rejects appeal of Block 290 approval appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

One design team showed Thursday how an early request for advice from the Portland Design Commission can help a project sail through its eventual review hearing.

The commission voted 5-0 to give conditional approval to Hacker‘s plan to renovate Portland State University’s Neuberger Hall.

“You really took to heart the comments we made about landscaping and circulation and everything,” Commission Vice Chairman Tad Savinar said. “It really shows. The jetty is exactly what the doctor ordered.”

One of the biggest changes from the design advice hearing was the addition of seating jetties to landscaping around the building. Other aspects of the $70 million renovation include: replacement of the existing curtain wall on the building’s west side with new glazing; replacement of existing single-pane glazing on the east side with high-performance double-pane glazing; the addition of new entrances and increased glazing to the ground floor and exteriors; and new landscaping for areas north, west and south of the building.

Many of the changes from the previous design revolved around changes to the landscaping to make the building blend better with its surroundings on the Park Blocks.

While the comments and the hearing were largely positive, the commission did have issues to sort through during the two-hour hearing. The thorniest one revolved around a stairwell leading to an exit onto Southwest Broadway.

The renovation plan calls for leaving in place the stairwell, which is positioned so that an entryway is dark. That is a security concern because it creates a space hidden from public view where people could stand or try to break into the building.

“Lighting is an issue,” Commissioner David Wark said. “We would never approve it for a new building.”

The stairwell presented a problem for designers because it’s attached to walls that provide seismic strength. The entryway also provides a fire exit that must be kept clear.

The commission debated installation of a gate at the top of the stairwell, but clearance issues made that impractical and the commission decided any benefit would be minimal.

In the end, the commission settled for installation of high-intensity lighting with motion sensors to try to deter problems.

Another issue was the dark color that would result from a planned lime wash of the existing brick. Commissioners discussed a variety of possibilities, including use of different colors.

Commissioner Samuel Rodriguez said that he believed this issue had been dealt with in the previous hearing.

“We spent hours talking about this building,” he said. “That was, in my mind, the time if we were going to ask them to preserve the brick, preserve the brick.

“If you change that brick, I think that whole thing falls apart,” he added.

In the end, commissioners agreed to approve Hacker’s plan.

The commission also agreed with staff recommendations for added conditions concerning lighting in the stairwell, the color of the brick matching the one presented and maintaining the appearance of the seating jetties on the building’s park side.

Also on Thursday:

Block 290

After more than two years of design changes, the Design Commission voted 5-0 to approve plans for the Block 290 project at 1417 N.W. 20th Ave.

Guardian Real Estate Services‘ seven-story mixed-use building went through multiple design review hearings and was opposed by neighbors. They claimed LRS Architects‘ design didn’t fit with the Con-way master plan, which, in addition to city design guidelines, governs development in the area.

The Design Commission even created a subcommittee to work with developers to devise a plan that would, in the commission’s view, meet the master plan and city design guidelines.

The post Renovation of PSU’s Neuberger Hall gets green light appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Block 290 mixed-use project continued its long and twisting path through the Portland Design Commission on Thursday. At the request of the Northwest District Association, the commission agreed to keep the record open for seven days to allow submission of additional testimony.

With more time granted for responses and rebuttals, Guardian Real Estate Services‘ Block 290 project won’t return before the Design Commission until Aug. 3. City staff has already recommended approval.

As designed, the horseshoe-shaped building would have two seven-story elevations and one four-story elevation with a rooftop amenity. The elevations would range between 57 feet and 79 feet. Retail space would occupy the ground floor, with residential units above. The floor area ratio (FAR) would be 2.7:1.

The design process has already dragged on for more than two years. The site at 1417 N.W. 20th Ave. is complex because it falls within the Con-way Master Plan. It requires that a public square be included in the project. The development team believes LRS Architects‘ design of the square meets requirements.

“We wanted a flexible square,” said Mauricio Villarreal, a principal with Place Studio, the project’s landscape architect. “We wanted to create a square that is lively and engaging and entertaining, and has whimsy if you will – a place that people want to come with their family, with their friends from out of town.”

Villarreal said he believes the 16,008-square-foot space would be comfortable for 50 people or 100 people. Also, an arcade would provide 2,922 additional square feet.

Neighbors have a decidedly different view of the square. Karen Karlsson, president of the Northwest District Association (NWDA) disputed nearly every assertion the development team made. The group claimed that only the portion of the square that had a view of the sky should count toward the Con-way Master Plan requirement for a public square. Project developers also counted square footage under an arcade to boost the total.

“The development needs to be this large in the opinion of the developer and the Design Commission,” Karlsson said. “You can’t fit that development in the envelope of that particular block, so something has to give.”

Neighbors were also upset with a 15-foot encroachment into a public right-of-way that was necessitated by the redesigned square.

“I believe the 15 feet here is sacred ground,” said Ron Walters, former president of the NWDS. “Block 290 was the core of the master plan. It was the fundamental idea of not building 3:1 (FAR) throughout the entire 17 acres.”

There was even some disagreement within the association about whether the group should even work with the developer.

“NWDA, I think made the mistake of opening Pandora’s box and trying to work in good faith with the developer,” Walters said.

In the end, commissioners seemed to reach a consensus that the redesigned square both met Con-way Master Plan requirements and followed city’s design guidelines. They also believed that other projects featuring more dubious uses of public space had been approved.

“To me this seems like an infinitely better situation than over at the New Seasons (Market),” Commission Chairman David Wark said.

Commissioners did express some concerns regarding planned bench types and placement, and other building materials. They encouraged developers to explore small adjustments before they return in August.

Appeal of Press Blocks approval on tap

The Portland City Council will hear an appeal of the Portland Design Commission’s approval of the Press Blocks project on Aug. 10 at 2 p.m.

The Goose Hollow Foothills League on May 31 filed paperwork to appeal the Design Commission’s approval granted May 5.

The project, planned as three buildings over one and a half city blocks, would include office, retail and residential space. The development would occupy lots at 817 S.W. 17th Ave. and 1621 S.W. Taylor St.

The post Design Commission delays final decision on Block 290 appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Guardian Real Estate Services has tried for two years to find a financially viable plan for a mixed-use project on Block 290. The Portland Design Commission on Thursday told the developer and its new architect, LRS Architects, they still had some work to do.

“The challenge is, is there a sweet spot between the neighborhood and the development that is economically rewarding and feasible?” Design Commission Vice Chairman Tad Savinar said. “I keep racking my brain … Where is that sweet spot?”

The Design Commission decided to form a subcommittee to meet with neighbors and developers in two weeks to try to iron out some of the challenges.

Those development challenges are considerable. The site, at 1417 N.W. 20th Ave., is governed by the Con-way Master Plan as well as design guidelines. The current project would require amendments to the master plan, which envisioned a large public square. The Northwest District Association and multiple neighbors spoke against the project.

Development began in 2015, when three design advice hearings took place. It was scheduled for a formal review in May 2016, but was withdrawn a day beforehand.

The developers put the project on hold, and LRS Architects was brought in to find a viable design that former designer YBA Architects couldn’t. The development team said that the delays and multiple design iterations have cost the company more than $2 million.

“We just couldn’t find a financially viable solution before,” said Briana Murtaugh, development project manager for Guardian Real Estate Services.

LRS Architects Senior Associate Greg Mitchell presented a design that drew many of the same objections directed toward earlier versions.

As proposed, three sides of the building would wrap around an open square, with public access portals on Northwest 21st Avenue and Pettygrove Street. Also, a pedestrian walkway would offer portals to the square and large park east of the complex.

The biggest problem stems from the definition of a public square. Neighbors claim the design more closely fits the definition of a private courtyard than a public square. They claim it would be devoid of sunlight and closed off from the rest of the neighborhood.

The designers disagree, claiming the design meets the all the requirements in terms of open space. They argued that the commission should judge the design they presented.

“In terms of the sweet spot, we found it,” said Thomas Brenneke, president of Guardian Real Estate Services.

Commissioners debated a variety of changes that might add open space and sunlight to the square. The most likely solution they came up with was to reduce the height on some elevations of the structure and add height to the other elevations.

That would present its own challenges, according to the development team. The current design calls for a maximum height of 57 feet. Structures taller 77 feet must have more advanced fire suppression systems and faster elevators; structures taller than 125 feet must have even more advanced and faster ones. That would add to the project cost, requiring the addition of residential units. Adding units would mean also increasing parking garage capacity – possibly via more floors.

Developers were unsure if such a design could be financially viable.

Other smaller issues – such as how the position of power lines might affect the entire development’s location – also exist.

“It’s a Rubik’s Cube,” Mitchell said.

The Design Commission’s ultimate decision was to create a subcommittee consisting of Chairman David Wark, and commissioners Don Vallaster and Andrew Clarke. The subcommittee in two weeks will meet with the design team and neighbors to see if a revised design can meet the goals of both the developer and neighbors.

The results of that meeting will be reviewed at a hearing on June 1.

Also on Thursday:

Press Blocks

The Design Commission unanimously approved revisions for the Press Blocks project, which will sit on lots at 817 S.W. 17th Ave. and 1621 S.W. Taylor St.

The Goose Hollow project, spearheaded by Urban Renaissance Group and Security Properties, had support from many of the business and neighborhood groups in the area. Mithun, from Seattle, and GBD Architects came up with the design for the three-building complex.

Many of the issued raised by commissioners previously revolved around the proposed office building at Southwest 18th Avenue and Yamhill Street. The design did not reflect the prominence of the location, they said.

Revisions submitted on Thursday included lightening the building’s color, making the corner of the building less oppressive and including a more prominent balcony feature.

For the mid-block office building, the design team focused on creating more area for pedestrians.

Also, the residential tower’s north and south elevations were altered to blend better with the rest of the building. Colors were changed to more earth tones to make the building appear warmer and more residential in nature. The team also enlarged the entry to make it more prominent.

The changes received widespread praise from the commissioners.

“I think this is a really sophisticated addition to the Goose Hollow – all three buildings,” Commissioner Julie Livingston said. “This is a really good response to the guidelines.”

The new structure will sit east of Providence Park.

“The refinements are all positive and much appreciated,” Wark said. “It gives it that extra level of excellence that we want. Overall, it’s extremely successful.”

5615 S.W. Hood Ave.

A proposal for a cross-laminated timber, four-story office building with ground-floor retail space was approved by the Portland Design Commission via a 6-0 vote. The commission added three conditions: 1, expanding an elevator lobby; 2, adding a canopy to the lobby entry; and 3, moving the canopy up so it’s closer to the second floor’s underside.

The post Development dilemma drags appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

One of the blocks in the massive Con-way development in northwest Portland is going back to the drawing boards, for the fourth time.

Block 290, at 1417 N.W. 20^th Ave., is proposed to have four buildings around a public plaza. But at Thursday’s Portland Design Commission meeting, project architect YBA Architects was told there were still problems with the development, including the interior plaza feeling too confined.

Alex Yale, a principal with YBA Architects, offered a possible solution that would expand the size of the development’s footprint from 200-by-200 feet to 211-by-230 feet. That could be accomplished by making the buildings narrower and reducing the width of a walking path from 60 feet to 30 feet, he said.

“You don’t need a 60-foot access to accommodate pedestrians,” Yale said.

Yale also told commissioners that he didn’t want the square to be like Director Park, open to traffic. He suggested moving access to the underground parking garage from Quimby Street to Pettygrove Street.

Don Genasci of the Northwest District Association said the association supports the project and agreed the development’s footprint should be larger than the current 200-by-200 feet.

Ron Walter, a neighbor of the development, said he also felt the square is “too confining,” and Commission Chair David Wark agreed.

“The public space…is so boxed in and I don’t see how it (the project) gets there,” he said.

Commissioner Julie Livingston also she doesn’t know the solution to problems with the project, which the commission “struggled with” at its June meeting.

“This proposal is for all intents and purposes the same one we saw last time,” she said. “We don’t know how they can do what they need to do.”

Commissioners were also concerned about the design aesthetics of the public square, which Commissioner Tad Savinar described as having a “back of house” feel to it. Savinar said adding to the size of the plaza and reducing the width of walkways would have the potential of reducing open space.

“I don’t want to send us backward, but every single project that has come to us from Con-way has reduced open space,” he said

While making all the elements of the design for Block 290 may be difficult to design, Livingston said she hopes issues with e project can be resolved.

“I’m relying on you to come back with a great scheme,” she told the project’s designers.

The next time Block 290 goes before the design panel, Wark said, commissioners will vote on whether to approve the design.

“If they get a ‘no’ vote, they can appeal,” he said.

The post Design commission sends back Block 290 appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Developers are queuing up another mixed-use building in the convoy of development on the Con-way Master Plan site.

Alex Yale, co-founder and principal at Portland-based YBA Architects, has applied to the Bureau of Development Services for design advice on a proposed seven-story, mixed-use building on the west half of Block 290 (developers call it Block 290W), at 1417 N.W. 20th Ave.

“We’re going in very early to get design advice on the overall mapping of the project,” Yale said. “We’re looking at having buildings fully enclose a public square in the center of the block.”

Yale’s team designed a pinwheel-shaped set of buildings around a public courtyard. The design is intended to maximize visibility of ground-floor storefronts and provide a “gateway” from the new developments to the west into the public park planned for development on the property directly to the east (on Block 290E).

“We worked a lot with the neighbors on the project and got a tremendous amount of feedback,” Yale said. “They really wanted an enclosed European-style square, which is very unique to Portland.”

Preliminary plans for the Block 290W project include graduated building heights of between one and seven stories.

“It’s unique in that the height steps all the way down to one story to get variety and improve sight mapping in the public square,” Yale said.

Though plans are far from final, he said that Block 290W will have approximately 100 residential units on the upper floors, with the ground level dedicated to commercial tenants. In addition, the development will have underground car parking.

“There’s going to be a full-plate parking lot underneath and we’re way over a one-to-one ratio,” Yale said. “I think we’ve got room for about 180 parking stalls for about 100 units.”

The plans that the design team will submit for design advice are very conceptual at this point, Yale said. The number of parking stalls could change, and the developer isn’t certain whether the housing will be apartments available for rent or condominiums available for purchase.

“It depends on what the market calls for by that time,” Yale said.

The Block 290W project site is the southwest portion of a superblock bounded to the north and south by Northwest Raleigh and Pettygrove streets, respectively, to the west by 21st Avenue and to the east by 20th Avenue.

When the superblock is fully developed, Northwest Quimby Street will bisect the parcel, creating a private drive for residents, Yale said.

Block 290, on the southernmost property within the 17-acre Con-way Master Plan approved by Portland City Council in 2012, is the third Con-way project to move ahead. This summer, the $150 million Con-way Slabtown development will open with a New Seasons Market and an adjacent 113-unit apartment complex. Meanwhile, the permitting process has begun for an effort to add two mixed-use buildings featuring about 370 residential units, 600 vehicle parking spaces underground and 500 bicycle parking spaces.

Crews also are renovating the 32,000-square-foot LJC Building as part of the master plan development.

Outside of the master plan, YBA Architects is working on another project – Q21 – on the block to the west and adjacent to Block 290W. The mixed-use building will have 160 market-rate apartments, 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 12,000 square feet of office space.

“My goodness it’s really happening fast down there,” said Mark Barry, an appraiser and owner of Barry & Associates. “The whole Con-way area is really seeing a lot of movement.”

Barry on Wednesday spoke at a forecast luncheon, saying that although vacancy rates in Northwest Portland are marginally higher than elsewhere in the metro area, he still believes demand will absorb the new units coming online over the next year.

“Finally, Portland-metro is getting some traction,” he said. “This will be, by far, the busiest year ever for multifamily construction in Multnomah County.”

The post Hitching up another Con-way mixed-use project appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.