A Portland-based market rate developer has voluntarily included affordable housing in a development project, while also awarding 27 percent of its total development construction costs to Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs).

Ninebark, a 246-unit residential community in Washougal, Washington, developed by Killian Pacific, was completed in August.

With the Ninebark project, designed by Holst Architecture, Killian Pacific chose to include affordable housing. Killian Pacific also has an inclusive contracting goal of at least 25 percent for total development construction costs on all developments.

At Ninebark, with its first-of a-kind Income Restricted Housing Program (VIRHP) in the region, Killian Pacific selected 10 percent of the apartments – a total of 24 units – as affordable, making them available to households that make 80 percent or less than the area’s median family income. The program makes sure monthly housing expenses will not exceed more than 30 percent of residents’ monthly income and follows the same certification process as the Vancouver Housing Authority to ensure units are offered to those who need it the most.

“Having an adequate supply of affordable housing has always been a problem for any city, and it’s only getting more difficult. Affordable housing is typically only supplied by developers who are incentivized to build it, or by housing authorities,” stated Mitch Kneipp, the city of Washougal’s community development director.

Kneipp stated that while the developers for Ninebark did receive a tax credit through the Multi-Family Housing Tax Exemption (MFTE) program, it had nothing to do with affordable housing, and Killian Pacific voluntarily provided it.

Michi Slick, Killian Pacific’s principal of development, stated in an email that the firm is committed to addressing housing affordability, uplifting under-resourced MWBEs and incorporating other inclusive practices into its future projects.

Killian Pacific’s decision to create the Voluntary Income Restricted Housing program at Ninebark came from a recognition of the challenges the region faces in terms of housing affordability, Slick stated. While not affordable housing developers, the firm saw an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution within its area of influence.

“Every project looks different, but it is our aim to give the same level of attention to innovations that net a positive impact on the communities we serve,” Slick stated.

At Killian Pacific, the firm is working toward a portfolio-wide goal of dedicating 10 percent of its units to voluntary income restriction in all its projects. The firm is exploring solutions to meet this target.

In addition to the affordability component, Killian Pacific awarded 27 percent of its total development construction costs for Ninebark – over $12.6 million – to MWBEs. Plus, 52 percent of all journeymen and apprenticeship hours were done by individuals who identify as women and/or a minority.

This is the second project Killian Pacific has partnered with the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) to meet the firm’s inclusive contracting goal of at least 25 percent total development construction costs on all developments. Also, inclusive job site culture training was provided quarterly for the general contractor and subcontractor teams during Ninebark’s construction.

Nate McCoy, president and CEO at NAMC-Oregon, said the organization took its time with Killian Pacific being a new member, as the developer joined a little over two years ago.

“Having a chance to meet (Michi Slick), having a chance to sit down and really get to know each other, it was very clear that we had a lot of short-term and long-term visions that were aligned,” McCoy said. “Meeting the rest of the team made it clear that this was transcendent throughout the organization.”

This is the second project NAMC-Oregon has partnered with Killian Pacific. The first was Volta, which was completed last year. On both projects, NAMC acted as an owner’s representative for Killian Pacific and helped Killian Pacific strengthen its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training and efforts to make sure the team has an inclusive environment on the job sites. NAMC had DEI trainers come to the job site, talking with workers to make sure there were not any incidents that need to be addressed. There were no incidents reported for the Volta and Ninebark projects, McCoy said.

“I went through the DEI training with Killian Pacific,” said Raliegh Morrison, journeyman carpenter for Turner Construction for the Volta project. “Coming onto the Volta site, it was refreshing to know that this DEI program … it gave me freedom to know that I wouldn’t be subjected to any racism, and I can report it, and something will be done about it, whereas before nothing was done about it.”

The general contractor on the Ninebark project was Robert & Olson Construction. McCoy said the contractor embraced the DEI training and initiatives that were put forward for the project.

Slick said inclusive contracting has become a standard practice at Killian Pacific. The firm is currently implementing its third iteration of inclusive contracting in a Bend project called The Jackstraw and plans to continue it with other projects, while partnering with NAMC-Oregon.

McCoy said while this inclusive contracting goal is not widespread through development projects, he sees it becoming that way.

“We do have some other key partners we’re working with to start doing the same kind of work we’re doing with Killian,” McCoy said.

NAMC is in talks with real estate firms CBRE, Pacific NW Properties and Melvin Mark, who is looking to develop Broadway Corridor.

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PROJECT: Ninebark

LOCATION: Washougal, Washington

SIZE: 9 acres (nine total buildings)

COST: undisclosed

START DATE: November 2021

ANTICIPATED END DATE: February 2023

OWNER: Ninebark Apartments LLC

DEVELOPER: Killian Pacific

ARCHITECT: Holst Architecture

ENGINEERS: DOWL (civil), Interface Engineering (MEP), Froelich Engineers (structural)

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: R&O Construction

OTHER ASSOCIATES/CONSULTANTS: Ground Workshop (landscape architect), Vida Design (interior design), ABD Engineering and Design (acoustics consultant), Project Pivot (sustainability consultant), RDH (building envelope consultant)

SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT: Ninebark is being developed by Killian Pacific on nearly 9 acres along the Columbia River in Southwest Washington.

Holst Architecture’s design weaves nine buildings, a public park and open space into the surrounding natural environment. Eight buildings will hold 246 apartments – a mix of studios and one-, two- or three-bedroom units – featuring high-quality, sustainable, regionally sourced materials. A freestanding riverside clubhouse will have a dramatic, sloped roofline and an abundance of amenities. Buildings will offer views of the river and Mount Hood.

The clubhouse’s main lounge will include a central fireplace and private seating areas. A fully equipped fitness center with river views will be near walking trails and boat ramps, and a shared gear shed will provide outdoor equipment such as kayaks and bikes for residents’ use. Landscaped open spaces are intended to attract residents seeking an escape to nature.

In addition to being near downtown Camas and downtown Washougal, Ninebark will be close to local breweries, coffee shops and restaurants in the surrounding neighborhood. Also, the Port of Camas-Washougal’s master plan for Parker’s Landing calls for further enriching the area with a public marina, additional restaurants, retail spaces and other commercial spaces.

Salmon Safe and Fitwel certifications are being targeted for the project, and the team is aiming for the clubhouse to have net-zero energy use. Twenty percent of parking stalls will have electric-vehicle charging capabilities at the time of completion, but additional infrastructure will allow that number to increase to 37.4 percent in the future.

Woman-owned or minority-owned businesses are on track to make up 25 percent of the construction team.

Though not required by regulatory mandates, Ninebark will offer 10 percent of units at affordable rates.

Local and regional artists will be celebrated throughout Ninebark as well as the connected trails and parks.

“Building Blocks” spotlights noteworthy projects either under construction or approaching the start of construction. To submit a project for consideration, please visit: djcorprod.wpengine.com/building-blocks.

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The Portland Design Commission on Thursday got its first look at Welby, proposed as a 15-story, mixed-use building in the Pearl District. Mass timber would be used.

The project at 1325 N.W. Kearney St. comes from developer Killian Pacific, with a design by Bora Architects. It’s the latest iteration of a redevelopment proposal for a half-block site. In January 2018, the Design Commission approved a project known as Lovejoy Square for the same location, but it did not move forward to construction.

The new design calls for 12 floors of residential space above two floors of offices and ground-floor retail space. The Bureau of Development Services valued the project at $85 million.

Welby will meet its inclusionary housing obligations on site, said Michi Slick, director of development at Killian Pacific. Plans call for a mix of residences, including two- and three-bedroom units.

As proposed, the tower would stand 180 feet high, within the 250-foot height limit with bonuses, according to BDS. It would be Portland’s tallest mass-timber building.

Design commissioners and a representative of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association criticized the proposal during Thursday’s design advice hearing, saying it doesn’t fully fit the neighborhood.

“We don’t feel it’s very contextual,” said David Dysert, co-chairman of the PDNA’s Planning and Transportation Committee. “We just don’t feel it’s really fitting the site with the articulation of the facade.”

Dysert urged Bora to look to precedents in the Pearl District, namely Pearl West and Heartline. Those buildings, he said, were contextual “without pretending to be old buildings.”

The proposed facade facing Kearney Street would be “out of context,” Commissioner Zari Santner said.

Dysert and commissioners also raised concerns about Bora’s proposed use of cement panels.

The project has an 80-foot right of way, a vestige of its former use as a rail yard. The applicant proposes a 6.5-foot vacation of Northwest 14th Avenue in the 900 block. A raised bike lane would be built.

The PDNA stated in a letter to the Design Commission that it supports the street vacation as long as the project team pays for the improvements.

Welby’s residential entrance should be better articulated, commissioners said. They also urged Bora to consider extending canopies on all sides to provide weather protection.

“We expect there to be a lot of pedestrians on 14th and Kearney, and I don’t know why we wouldn’t want to see more continuous awnings on bays,” Commissioner Brian McCarter said. “This really warrants considering more continuous rain protection.”

McCarter also urged designers to include more trees along Kearney Street.

The project team could decide to return for another design advice hearing, or seek design review.

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Lovejoy Square, a 10-story mixed-use development proposed for a half-block parcel in the heart of the Pearl District, won praise from the Portland Design Commission on Thursday. The updated design reflects major changes from an earlier version.

The project comes from developer Killian Pacific, based in Vancouver, Washington. The project was cut in half from an earlier proposal that envisioned two towers atop the full block at 930 N.W. 14th Ave. The revised design is one tower on a half block.

The program mixes retail, office and residential space. The ground floor will have retail and commercial space. The second, third and fourth floors will have office space totaling 33,891 square feet. The upper six floors will house 78 residential units.

The project was submitted prior to when the city’s inclusionary housing policy took effect and contains only market-rate apartments.

The first three floors form a podium that is topped by a seven-story tower. The structure, designed by Bora Architects, reaches 150 feet in height. Two levels of underground parking can be accessed from Kearney Street.

An earlier design proposal ran into resistance from Bureau of Development Services staff. The Killian Pacific team declined to request a design advice meeting, opting instead to pursue design review.

An Oct. 12 staff memo detailed issues with the initial design. Killian Pacific proposed to build the south tower first, with the north tower to follow at an unspecified later date to allow existing retail leases on the block to expire.

BDS staff questioned the east-west orientation of the towers, as many other buildings in the Pearl District are oriented north-south. Staff also questioned the massing and requested step-downs to respond to the lower scale of buildings in the neighborhood.

The revised design responds to those concerns, said Christopher Linn, a principal at Bora Architects.

“We’ve taken all of that to heart in our new proposal,” he said.

Linn pointed to substantial setbacks and a continuous ground floor canopy along Northwest 13th Avenue.

“I think in general we’ve listened to all of the great concerns you’ve had and we’ve reacted in a positive and forceful way,” he said.

Killian Pacific also agreed to back a protected bike lane on Northwest 14th Avenue with a $250,000 fund. The bike lane is intended to fulfill a “public amenity” requirement for the applicant’s request for 60 feet of bonus height.

Commissioners praised the revised design.

“I like the simplicity of the building,” Commissioner Andrew Clarke said. “It’s a very handsome building.”

Julie Livingston, chairwoman of the Design Commission, added: “It all seems to work pretty well together. It’s a nice architectural expression.”

The building will incorporate concrete, glass and mass timber.

Killian Pacific’s proposal will return to the Design Commission on Jan. 25 for a likely vote. Two commissioners – Don Vallaster and Tad Savinar – were absent from Thursday’s meeting. The project faces a Jan. 31 deadline for land-use approval.

Also on Thursday:

Fremont Apartments

The Design Commission approved plans for a 275-unit apartment complex at 1650 N.W. Naito Parkway.

The 17-story, 309,000-square-foot building would be located on the Willamette River on a parcel currently serving as a surface parking lot.

The commission voted 3-1 to approve the design by TVA Architects, with Livingston voting against it. The project’s developer is Lincoln Property Co. of Dallas.

Livingston, in an interview, said she has concerns about the building’s context in the neighborhood.

“That building was not an appropriate response in the North Pearl adjacent to the (Fremont) bridge, given the characteristics of other buildings in the neighborhood,” she said.

Some neighbors – particularly residents of the Encore Condominiums at Northwest Ninth Avenue and Overton Street – have objected to the building’s height blocking views of the Fremont Bridge.

The Design Commission’s decision may be appealed to the City Council.

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Timing has heavily influenced development of a 10-story, 150-foot-tall mid-rise proposed for 930 N.W. 14th Ave., in the Pearl District. Killian Pacific‘s project made its first appearance before the Portland Design Commission on Thursday.

“This is probably the first time in history where the applicant doesn’t want to go fast,” Killian Pacific Vice President of Development Adam Tyler said. “Slower is better for us. We are in no rush.”

However, when the developer submitted a proposal before Portland’s inclusionary zoning rule took effect, a development clock started that ends in March 2018. If by that time Killian Pacific and Bora Architects don’t have an approved design, project plans would have to be refiled with the city and start from scratch.

“The timing of the application was to get vested and get in prior to (inclusionary zoning),” Tyler said. “We also have a number of tenant obligations that we have to respect.”

An existing retail structure on the site would be demolished to allow new construction. Many of the retail tenants have long-term leases with options to renew, according to Tyler. That could delay a portion of the project for years.

The development plan calls for two phases to complete one building that would have two towers connected by an exterior staircase. In total, the building would have 41,345 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 143 residential units.

However, with no timeline for completion of the second tower, commissioners were leery of reviewing a project that could result with only one tower next to remains of the existing structure, which ranges from one to two stories.

“I am really troubled by the phasing of the project,” Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. “We may actually have only half this development realized because that is a very different architectural outcome than a full development on this site.”

City guidelines don’t directly address a project built in multiple phases, over a number of years.

“If we are only reviewing the full development and the developer is sitting here telling us only half of it might happen, I feel we are doing a disservice to the neighborhood, the process and ourselves in pushing this forward,” Livingston said.

Also, the development’s orientation was a nonstarter for three of the four commissioners in attendance Thursday as well as Portland Bureau of Development Services (BDS) staff.

“We know we have a lot of work to do,” Bora Architects Associate Principal Leslie Cliffe said. “We were hoping we don’t have to move the orientation of the buildings.”

That developer wants to be able to build one tower while tenants remain in parts of the existing retail building. That argument got a cool reception from commissioners and BDS staffers.

“It appears the leasing is driving the orientation, and not the context (of the neighborhood),” BDS planner Puja Bhutani said.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation also expressed serious concerns about requests for a slight expansion of Northwest 14th Avenue and a slight reduction of Northwest Kearney Street. Developers want modifications to loading dock requirements as well.

Another issue was the proposed height. In order to build 150 feet up, developers would need 30 feet of discretionary bonus height. Without it, two floors would be lost.

“It’s got be earned,” Commissioner Tad Savinar said. “I feel that it should be earned in a way that makes the neighborhood better for the immediate neighbors and workers.”

The project team will return before the commission on Dec. 7.

Also on Thursday:

Glisan Street Apartments

The design for a new five-story building was again sent back to C2K Architecture for revisions. The Design Commission wants revisions to a blank brick wall on the building’s north façade, the addition of a canopy on the east side, revisions to a rooftop unit and better definition of the program in a glass display case. The project team will return before the commission on Nov. 2.

SmartPark garage

FFA Architecture and Interiors‘ plans to renovate the SmartPark garage at 730 S.W. 10th Ave. was approved by commissioners’ 3-1 vote. Savinar cast the only dissenting vote. The renovation will improve the stairs, elevators, retail storefronts, mechanical equipment, accessibility, infrastructure, and expand the retail floor.

Eleven West

The Design Commission voted 4-0 to approve plans for a new half-block, 24-story, 291-foot-tall mixed-use building at 1102-1116 S.W. Washington St. ZGF Architects‘ design calls for 7,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 110,000 square feet of office space and 222 market-rate apartments.

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A team of Portland State University students has unveiled its ideas for developing more than 4 acres of land near the east bank of the Willamette River.

Prosper Portland is preparing to issue a request for qualifications from developers to build on the property. The agency in November agreed to purchase 2.19 acres along Southeast Water Avenue, and lease an additional 2.18 acres, from the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The ODOT blocks, as the properties are known, are in one of the hottest areas for development in all of Portland.

Developers have rushed into the neighborhood with projects such as Killian Pacific‘s Goat Blocks, Clay Creative and Clay Pavilion, Capstone Partners‘ Custom Blocks and Beam Development‘s 811 Stark building.

For office projects, the Central Eastside Industrial District offers an evolving neighborhood with some of the city’s hottest restaurants, bars and coffee shops, proximity to downtown and plentiful transportation options.

Zoning in the area is restricted to encourage office and light-industrial uses. As part of Portland’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan, zoning limits retail spaces to 5,000 square feet per site and allows a new category: industrial office use.

The zoning seeks to preserve the district for use as an employment center, said Debbie Kitchin, who served as co-chairwoman of the Southeast Quadrant Plan committee and is a board member of the Central Eastside Industrial Council.

“We just don’t have much availability of land for that type of development,” said Kitchin, who was speaking as an individual.

The CEIC pushed for the zoning to preserve an employment center and resist turning it into another close-in neighborhood given over to housing and retail.

“I think we came to a good compromise for the Central Eastside,” Kitchin said. “There are already areas that are zoned for residential and retail,” concentrated around the East Side’s bridgeheads.

The city is also interested in adding to its property tax rolls. Under ODOT ownership, the parcels generated no property taxes for the city.

PSU graduate students were asked to evaluate development possibilities for the three blocks owned by Prosper Portland. They presented their proposals at a NAIOP Oregon meeting held Sept. 21 at the Multnomah Athletic Club.

The three Water Avenue blocks owned by Prosper Portland are individually 34,800 square feet between Taylor and Salmon streets, 34,800 square feet between Salmon and Main streets and 25,600 between Main and Madison streets.

The PSU students were asked to weigh in on the ODOT blocks as an academic exercise. Ultimately, a developer will come up with a separate proposal for the site.

The students unveiled a concept for what they called the Portland Innovation Center, consisting of two massive buildings joined by a sky-bridge. The two buildings would consist of the five-story Idea Factory and nine-story Perch. The latter building would have industrial office and “maker” space of floors five through nine. Floors two through four would consist of a parking garage with ramps in a central atrium that would be removable in case demand for parking slackens in the future.

A Dutch-style “Woonerf” – a narrow street that’s friendly to bicyclists and pedestrians – would run beneath the sky-bridge.

The student proposal met with some skepticism amid encouragement from a panel that included developers Kira Cador of Rembold and Brad Malsin of Beam Development.

One of the students, Andrew Crampton, acknowledged that sky-bridges are typically discouraged by city regulators.

“In Portland, establishing a sky-bridge is a herculean task,” Crampton said.

A sky-bridge at the site would maintain existing view corridors and break up an imposing “superblock feel,” Crampton said.

The zoning allows for a 3-to-1 floor area ratio (FAR) and a 1-to-1 bonus. The students said to make the project work, the site would need a FAR of more than 5-to-1. The students said the buildings would be filled with long-term tenants.

But long-term leases can be difficult to fill, said Paige Morgan, an executive vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle.

Malsin added that he had filled Central Eastside leases in part by using creative leasing structures.

“A lot of early-stage companies are not going to sign 10-year leases,” he said.

The panelists’ criticisms were fair, said Jamison Loos, one of the students.

“I’m glad that the panelists agreed that our proposal reflected the Innovation Quadrant and (Central Eastside Industrial Council’s) goals,” he stated in an email message. “Prosper Portland will ultimately decide what gets built, but the right development will align the interests of the city with key stakeholders in the business community.”

The choice of developer will be key to successfully building on the site, according to Loos.

“They’ll need to find the right developer who understands the context and can bring their own creativity to site-specific challenges,” he said.

Prosper Portland paid $2.485 million for the ODOT blocks. The state agency is retaining 94,000 square feet on the western portion of the parcels for future construction staging.

The PSU students also evaluated development options for two downtown parcels near the university. The first is a 0.69-acre property at 424 S.W. Mill St. The existing tenant, St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Parish, is interested in moving into a new building and adding development on the parcel. The existing church dates to 1901 and is made of unreinforced masonry.

“Currently, the church lacks the capital to seismically upgrade the building,” said Dawson Marchant, a PSU student on the downtown team.

To finance a new church, the students proposed to sell part of the property for hotel development.

The other parcel is a 0.92-acre lot bordered by Mill and Market streets and Fourth and Fifth avenues. The property is one of the last surface parking lots left in south downtown.

The students proposed a senior housing development on that parcel, which is owned by Willing Co., a foreign real-estate investment group. (The students cheekily referred to their concept for the twin parcels as the God-Willing Development Plan).

Industry experts on the NAIOP panel questioned several aspects of the students’ development proposal, including their concept to demolish the church, a historic landmark, in favor of a new building. The professionals also questioned whether the senior housing project would work if it’s subject to Portland’s inclusionary housing rules.

“The long-term value is not there,” Cador said. “I know your investor is looking for a low-risk project. I think this is a high-risk project.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected from an earlier version that misattributed a quote from Andrew Crampton to another student.

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Simple, an online bank founded in Portland, plans to sublease two floors of its Central Eastside offices at Clay Creative.

The decision to put the office space, totaling 30,000 square feet, back out to market comes as the company prepares to move into a second office building, Clay Pavilion, in spring 2018.

Clay Creative was completed in 2016 at 240 S.E. Clay St. The building has approximately 60,000 square feet of office space.

The adjacent second building, Clay Pavilion, is under construction at 120 S.E. Clay St. The three-story office building will have 75,000 square feet. The office space in Clay Pavilion was designed to Simple’s specifications, Simple spokeswoman Shauna Causey said.

The move comes amid cutbacks at the company, which laid off 38 employees, or about 10 percent of its workforce, earlier this summer.

Subleasing the Clay Creative space is not related to the layoffs, Causey said.

Simple still plans to occupy Clay Pavilion during the second quarter of 2018, Causey said. “Since we are moving into the new office, we do have space available in our current office,” she said.

Both Clay Creative and Clay Pavilion come from developer Killian Pacific of Vancouver, Washington.

Simple was founded in Portland in 2009. The online banking startup was acquired in 2014 by a Spanish bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria.

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Killian Pacific‘s Goat Blocks is nearly complete, and tenants are filling the superblock complex in Southeast Portland.

The massive development includes 347 apartments, a grocery store and a hardware store surrounded by industrial businesses in the Central Eastside. Tenants can walk to many of Portland’s hottest restaurants and bars.

Three of the four apartment buildings are finished; the building at 888 S.E. Ninth Ave. is set to open in July.

It’s been a long road for Killian Pacific, which acquired the 2-acre superblock and adjacent property in 1999. CEO George Killian negotiated with a consortium of Italian-American produce distributors who connected Willamette Valley farms to Portland restaurants.

Several economic cycles came and went as Killian Pacific pursued a grocery-store tenant and institutional financing while considering the best use for the sprawling urban property.

“George is known for long, long land plays,” said Jeremy McPherson, Killian Pacific’s development manager.

The project team endured a hard fight through design review, with representatives of the Central Eastside Industrial Council questioning the number of residential units planned for the industrial neighborhood. But the City Council backed the Design Commission’s approval in August 2014.

Workers broke ground on the project on Feb. 26, 2015, more than 15 years after Killian purchased the property. Construction was slowed by harsh winter weather.

Goat Blocks occupies the parcel bounded by Southeast Belmont and Taylor streets, and 10th and 11th avenues. The superblock is broken up into four towers with different design features, and is bisected by Yamhill Alley, a long-vacated path. The project also includes a building across 11th Avenue that will hold Kachka, a well-regarded Russian restaurant.

Goat Blocks was able to open after luring Market of Choice to build a grocery store of approximately 26,000 square feet. The project team had discussions with every major grocery chain in the Portland urban market before coming to an agreement with the Eugene-based company, McPherson said. The Goat Blocks location is Market of Choice’s fourth Portland-area store, and it’s the only grocery store within a one-mile radius.

Some grocers were reluctant to come to the urban location in part because of parking concerns, McPherson said.

“By and large, I think groceries were afraid to make the leap to understand how much parking they’d need in a large, urban format,” he said.

The Goat Blocks team settled on what McPherson called a “very aggressive” parking offering of 2.5 stalls per 1,000 square feet.

“That was what was necessary to get the deal done,” he said.

Orchard Supply Hardware took another large storefront. The retailer offers lots of home décor at the Goat Blocks location, in addition to the usual paint selection and tools.

The developer is looking to fill 98,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Micro-retail spaces line Yamhill Alley. RoseLine Coffee, a homegrown Portland roaster, is taking one space, as is Schilling Hard Cider, a Seattle-based beverage manufacturer that’s opening a 50-tap bar with a gluten-free food menu on June 16, manager Jennie Dorsey said.

A highly efficient central HVAC system serves the entire development.

The retail offerings will add amenities to the neighborhood, but apartments are the heart of the Goat Blocks. The 347 units come to market amid signs high-end rents softened in the first months of 2017, with some properties offering concessions.

The market has since improved, McPherson said.

“Everybody saw a little bit of softening,” he said. “I’m seeing it pick up dramatically now.”

Goat Blocks’ units were 24 percent leased as of June 5, said Virginia Barden, regional property manager for Pinnacle Property Management Services.

McPherson said he’s confident renters will be attracted to the close-in location.

“We’re very bullish on housing in the Central Eastside,” he said.

All apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units, are priced at market rates. Rents range from $1,200 to $1,600 for a studio, from $1,400 to $1,900 for a one-bedroom unit, and from $2,400 to $3,000 for a two-bedroom unit, Barden said. No listed price was available for the five three-bedroom units – one on each floor of the 808 building.

McPherson said neighbors wanted market-rate housing for the area.

“They felt they had their fair share of affordable housing projects in the last few years,” he said. “They wanted a different demographic. The fact is, what’s being delivered is what was asked for.”

The apartments feature many nods to the Central Eastside’s industrial background. Bicycle parking is separated from an apartment hallway by chain mail, and a lobby sculpture is made from reused old-growth timber dating from 1594 that was sourced from Oregon Electric’s former headquarters.

Goat Blocks

Developer: Killian Pacific

Architect: Ankrom Moisan Architects

General contractor: Andersen Construction

Financiers: General Electric Pension Trust, HomeStreet Bank, U.S. Bank

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Vancouver’s waterfront and downtown are due for a transformation unlike any the Southwest Washington city has seen in decades.

Barry Cain, owner and president of Gramor Development, is responsible for The Waterfront – a sprawling, $1.5 billion development 12 years in the making. He’s also negotiating with the city of Vancouver to build a seven-story mixed-use building on Block 10, in the heart of downtown. It would hold a grocery store and 250 apartments.

Meanwhile, The Waterfront is fast attracting commercial tenants, and other developers are beginning to ride its coattails.

To Cain, it’s a matter of making up for lost time.

Vancouver “should have seen a lot of urban development during the same time that Portland had urban development, but it didn’t because of the industrial use of the waterfront,” he said. “A lot of people turn their noses up.”

Previously, a Boise Cascade paper mill dominated the north shore of the Columbia River, foreclosing any possibility of development in the area. As part of Boise Cascade’s sale agreement with Cain, the paper manufacturer agreed to tear down the mill.

“That helped right at the outset,” Cain said. “Just getting rid of what was there, getting rid of the obstacle, made a huge difference.”

Downtown in particular appears ripe for redevelopment. Cain believes the mixed-use building will be only the beginning.

“As our (Waterfront) development progresses, we’re going to see more things happening downtown as a result,” he said.

That’s beginning to happen: 600 multifamily units are in the downtown Vancouver pipeline.

“The biggest projects that we’re seeing right now are multifamily,” said Teresa Brum, the city’s economic development manager.

Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver, has approximately one-fifth of the Portland-metro area’s population. Yet development has lagged population growth.

Vancouver has a pent-up demand for urban living, Cain said. Interest in The Waterfront’s condominium units has been intense, he added. So far, 1,100 people have asked for more information via the project’s website.

“There are a lot of people in Clark County who want to live urban, but don’t want to live in Portland,” Cain said.

Also, Washington does not have a state income tax, which attracts some people from across the river.

Market research points to greater potential, Cain said. Gramor looked at including the grocery store within The Waterfront, but a market study it commissioned revealed the potential for a downtown grocery store was too strong to ignore.

“It’s the best location to hit the largest market,” he said. “Frankly, we were surprised how good the studies came out. It’s very, very strong even without the new development – and our development is coming on.”

The mixed-use building with the grocery store is planned on property formerly occupied by a Lucky Lager brewery and acquired by the city of Vancouver in 1994. Block 10 is bordered by Washington and Columbia streets and West Eighth and Ninth streets. The 41,681-square-foot parcel, adjacent to Esther Short Park, was the last vacant block remaining from the five-block Lucky Lager site.

A request for interest issued in 2014 drew no formal offers. This time around, Gramor bid on the property and was selected to enter exclusive negotiations with the city.

The project, which LRS Architects is designing, also calls for 277 underground parking spaces. Cain said he is pursuing an operator for the grocery store.

Other developers are taking notice.

The Uptown, a 167-unit building rising on a full block at 1700 Main St., is the largest multifamily development now under construction in downtown. The project from Cascadia Development Partners will feature 8,110 square feet of retail space as well as 167 parking stalls. A liquor store formerly occupied the lot.

Cascadia Development Partners is also behind The Esther, a 110-unit project proposed at Sixth and Esther streets in downtown Vancouver. The six-story proposal, which is undergoing preliminary land-use review, would have 128 parking stalls. No commercial space is proposed.

Several smaller projects have been proposed as well.

Vancouver had the highest occupancy rate in the Portland-metro area during the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the Portland State University Real Estate Quarterly. Vancouver had a 96.2 percent occupancy rate, above the 94.6 percent average for the region.

Rising rents have come along with the scarce vacancies. Vancouver saw effective rent growth of 7.2 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016 and is forecast to experience 3.7 percent rent growth from 2017 to 2020, behind only East Gresham as the strongest forecast among metro-area submarkets.

“Generally speaking, the Southwest Washington market is healthy,” said Lance Killian, president of Killian Pacific, a developer based in downtown Vancouver.

Killian Pacific is considering office, retail and housing developments, but it’s too early to discuss those possibilities publicly, he said.

Activity downtown is coinciding with the beginning of construction at The Waterfront – Gramor’s effort to develop 20 blocks in south Vancouver. In total, plans call for 3,300 multifamily residential units, 250,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space and 1.25 million square feet of office space.

Last month, ground was broken on two restaurant buildings. WildFin American Grill will lease 7,500 square feet of ground-floor space in the building known as Grant Street Pier – 9.

In the other restaurant building, known as Grant Street Pier – 12, Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar will occupy 8,500 square feet on the ground floor. Ghost Runners Brewery, a local brewery founded in 2012, will open a 5,300-square-foot restaurant and a 10-barrel brewpub on the second floor.

Also, two new hotels are proposed for Vancouver. Vesta Hospitality is developing a 150-room AC Hotel by Marriott at the Port of Vancouver’s Terminal 1 property. And InterContinental Hotels Group has signed on to open a 12-room Hotel Indigo in spring 2018 as part of The Waterfront’s first phase.

The Port of Vancouver also received a record amount of shipping tonnage last year, supporting local industrial jobs.

Cain said he’s optimistic that development partners will continue to look to Vancouver as a viable alternative to Portland.

“If you tried to deliver a block in downtown Portland, you’d be lucky to get a block, let alone one you can start construction on next year like you can here,” he said.

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Developer Noel Johnson is reuniting with former colleagues by taking a new role at Cairn Pacific.

Johnson is now a principal at the Northwest Portland development firm, joining Rob Hinnen, Tom DiChiara and Scott Eaton, Cairn Pacific announced Wednesday.

Johnson, 37, previously worked with Hinnen and DiChiara at Trammell Crow Residential in the mid-2000s. Johnson said he’s eager to bring his office and retail expertise to the firm.

“It’s kind of nice to bring in more strength there, because Tom and Rob are really good at residential,” he said.

Firms need experienced teams to navigate the current market, Johnson said.

“In real estate, everything’s pretty frothy right now, so you have to put the right team together to figure out the way forward,” he said.

Cairn Pacific has aggressively moved into the Con-way area and adjoining blocks in Northwest Portland.

“We are thrilled to reunite with Noel,” DiChiara, a Cairn Pacific co-founder, stated in a news release. “His insight, energy and approach to the business will make us all better. We look forward to exploring new opportunities and building our business together.”

Cairn Pacific’s Leland James office adaptive reuse project and a 385-unit, multi-building apartment project called The Carson are under construction.

Cairn Pacific recently completed the L.L. Hawkins residential midrise and the Slabtown Marketplace New Seasons, which is soon to include a branch of Breakside Brewery.

Johnson said he was hoping for a discount at the brewpub.

“The minute they signed Breakside, I knew I needed to work with them,” he said.

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