Gerding Edlen and Downtown Development Group‘s Eleven West skyscraper concept is taking shape as the project begins to enter the city’s design review process.

Downtown Development Group has long envisioned a vacant lot at Southwest 11th Avenue and Washington Street as a key property for downtown Portland’s West End. Downtown Development Group and Gerding Edlen executives have discussed the project with ZGF Architects for years.

Now, they appear to be moving forward. The project has been placed on the Portland Design Commission’s agenda for a design review hearing Sept. 21.

The proposal calls for a 24-story tower reaching approximately 300 feet. It would have about 100,000 square feet of office space atop ground-floor retail, 222 market-rate apartments on floors eight to 24 and 260 underground parking spaces.

Eleven West would have two massive decks. One on the eighth floor would have a swimming pool, and a rooftop deck on the 24th floor would offer long views of Portland and beyond. The decks would overhang the Culver building, which is also owned by Downtown Development Group and houses the popular Tasty n Alder restaurant.

“The space will be unmatched in town,” said Greg Goodman, co-president of Downtown Development Group. “Nothing like it will exist.”

Offices would feature giant sliding windows. “You can open a 30-foot span of wall and sit inside at your lunchroom,” Goodman said.

Gerding Edlen would be the developer, while Goodman’s Downtown Development Group has owned the property at 1102-1116 S.W. Washington St. for decades. Goodman said the project began to make sense with rising rents.

“Market conditions dictate,” Goodman said. “It’s very expensive to build, so you wait until you have the rents to justify it. You can do (speculative) office now where you never would before.”

Demand for office space has led to a surge of development in the category. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, 2 million square feet of office space was under construction during the second quarter in the Portland metro area. A majority of that is expected to deliver this year, the real estate firm reported.

Average asking rents in the Central Business District reached $34.97 per square foot for Class A space, but new construction garnering $45 per square foot was “not uncommon,” according to JLL.

Eleven West would form a duo with Twelve West, the Gerding Edlen-Downtown Development Group tower that was completed in 2009 a block to the north and west. The project team is again working with ZGF Architects, which designed Twelve West and is the anchor tenant in that building.

ZGF’s early involvement made Twelve West possible, Goodman said. “When we did (Twelve West), ZGF pre-signed for every square foot,” he said.

The proposed building would have a unique design that complements that of Twelve West, Goodman said.

Eleven West would employ a window wall system, while Twelve West has a curtain wall system. “We want 11W to stand on its own, but be different than 12W,” Goodman said.

Jill Sherman, a Gerding Edlen partner, is leading the developer’s team. She referred questions to Goodman.

The property is zoned “RX,” a high-density residential classification. The project was submitted for design review before Portland’s inclusionary housing rules took effect Feb. 1, so the project will not be required to include affordable apartments. The maximum height on the lot is 325 feet.

“We can go up 25 feet higher than we’re going,” Goodman said. “We’re at 300 (feet), and I think that’s where we’ll stay.”

It’s not certain when the project could break ground, assuming it earns design review approval.

“We are getting through our entitlements before we look for (an ownership) partner so I can’t tell you when the start date will be,” Goodman said. “We hope for the middle of next year.”

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