The Portland Design Commission on Thursday green-lit plans for an 11-story affordable housing development in the Kenton neighborhood.

The 290-unit building, designed by Wright Architecture, will take hold of the 25,000-square-foot site at 1838 N. Argyle St., near the intersection with North Fenwick Avenue.

The project team nearly garnered approval at its previous design review hearing in March, but a couple of design details prevented advancement. However, this time around the plans received unanimous approval.

“I’m really excited about it because I’ll be able to see it all day long probably at my window,” Commissioner and LEVER Architecture principal Chandra Robinson said. “I think it’s a great addition.”

Plans call for the building to have mass-plywood floor panels, mass-timber posts and beams, and ceramic-coated siding. A pop of orange color was added to the building’s fins on the exterior.

“It kind of takes some of the sober quality away from it,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said. “(Black and white) tends to be just a little bit too serious looking. (The color) makes it a little more playful. I think that’s a plus for the tenants living there, plus people going by.”

The four sunken-grade units along Argyle Street that previously caused unease among design commissioners were redesigned. A recessed entryway that had the potential to create hiding spots was removed.

Instead, the ground-floor units were pulled up to where the second-level balcony deck ends, and a window was added. Also, landscaping will be added between the sidewalk and the window to create a buffer. Access to the units will be from one of the two-story grand entry plazas on each side of the building.

The development was approved with the request that the building’s fins be colored.

The project is valued at $35 million by the Bureau of Development Services. Funding sources include Oregon Housing and Community Services low-income tax credits, the Oregon Multifamily Energy Program, and a Metro transit-oriented development grant due to its to its proximity to TriMet‘s Kenton/North Denver Avenue MAX light-rail station.

The 11-story structure will replace a fourplex and a 10-unit apartment building; both were constructed in the 1940s. The site was rezoned for high-density housing because of its location near the MAX station.

The project’s developers are Rowen Rystadt of Attainable Development LLC and John Wolz of Portland, according to a Bureau of Development Services staff report.

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