A vacant building near the Oregon Convention Center will be renovated into a 14,000-square-foot food hall, bar and event space. Also, a patio on the site’s eastern end will be able to accommodate 10 food carts.

The property, owned by Prosper Portland, is located at 910 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in the Lloyd-Holladay Tax Increment Finance District.

Prosper Portland’s Board of Commissioners on Wednesday passed three resolutions related to the project. These include a minor amendment to the Lloyd-Holladay Urban Renewal Plan to include the site as a priority project area, a revision to the property plan, and an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Metro to seek a $3 million loan for the improvements.

Prosper Portland purchased the property in 2005 with plans to develop a hotel to serve the convention center. Metro later identified a different location for the hotel – the eventual Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center – which required a reexamination of opportunities for the property at 910 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., a Prosper Portland staff report states.

“We heard significant input and interest from the community about repositioning the asset, particularly as a potential to take advantage of the opportunity to bring more local food options into Lloyd,” said Amy Nagy, a Prosper Portland development manager.

The project concept calls for a highly visible, high-traffic food and drink venue that complements activities at the convention center. Design priorities include a four-season gathering space, a flexible and dynamic layout, and a safe and professional experience.

Portland-based Parti Architecture LLC has completed preliminary schematic designs for the project. The team plans to submit plans to the city for design review in March.

The business plan calls for work with a third-party operator. ChefStable, a consulting and management firm that partners with chefs to build and operate restaurants, was selected for this role and will be the master leaser of the property. Food cart owners will then lease their spaces.

The total estimated redevelopment cost is $7.5 million. Prosper Portland invested $4 million and ChefStable invested $500,000.

The $3 million loan is contingent on approval by the Metro Council, which is expected to consider the proposal in March. The IGA includes a 4 percent interest rate and a 10-year payback period. Agreement on those terms will require approval by both the Metro Council and the Prosper Portland Board of Commissioners.

The project will involve interior renovations, seismic improvements and electrical work as well as partial demolition and build-out of the patio for the food carts, said Will Thier, Prosper Portland’s real estate manager.

A request for proposals will be issued for a construction manager/general contractor in May or June, Prosper Portland spokesperson Shawn Uhlman stated in an email. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall and require nine to 10 months to complete. The estimated opening date is late summer 2027.

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Redevelopment of a church campus is in the works in Northeast Portland. The Western Dominican Province, on behalf of Holy Rosary Church, has requested early assistance with the city to discuss options for four blocks of underutilized property in the Lloyd District.

The property’s management group, the Dominican Friars, has operated in the Lloyd District since 1893. The group envisions a multiphase project – including both affordable and market-rate housing – to improve its parish campus while contributing to the broader effort to reinvigorate investment in the people and infrastructure of Portland, the church stated in a press release.

In 2024, a request for qualifications was issued for the redevelopment of the land. The church and affiliated organizations proffered to prospective developers the land it owns within blocks 62 and 67 for affordable and market-rate housing. From this process, Cairn Pacific was selected to develop the market-rate housing and Gorman & Company was selected to develop the affordable housing.

The conceptual plan also includes the improvement of church facilities on blocks 68 and 211. Urbanist Housing Solutions LLC of Vancouver, Washington is the owner’s representative working on behalf of the Western Dominican Province. The organization, based in Oakland, California, is a faith formation and financial partner with each local Dominican parish, Kurt Creager, Urbanist Housing Solutions LLC’s president and founder, stated in an email. Friars are assigned to preach and administer in each parish. When financial support is needed, the group provides necessary assistance.

In 2022, Father Corwin Low (a former tech entrepreneur) recommended the church and the Western Dominican Province be more proactive in managing their commercial real estate assets, Creager stated. The goal was to maximize value to the community and create a sustainable financial endowment to support and enhance local church activities. The church established a property steering committee in 2022, with parishioners in the design, finance, construction and development professions to advise on strategy and industry best practices, Creager stated.

“Strategically, we plan on leading with affordable housing,” Creager stated in regard to plans for the site. “The affordable housing financing path, while never easy, is less fraught than market-rate housing, presently.”

The land, with one owner, allows for a “consolidated building” approach, according to Creager, in which the affordable units provided by Gorman & Company on Block 62 will satisfy the city’s inclusionary housing obligation for Cairn Pacific’s work on Block 67. By starting with affordable housing, there will be time for the market to recover and interest rates to moderate, enabling market-rate housing to proceed later, according to Creager.

For the first phase – affordable housing on Block 62 – two options will be presented to the city. The first is for a four-story building with ground-floor amenity/lobby space and both tuck-under and surface parking. The second option is for a seven-story building with ground-floor amenity/lobby space, ground-floor housing units and an adjacent parking structure with ground-floor retail space and top-floor amenity space.

The Miracles Central Apartments, on the southwest corner of the block, is not owned by the Western Dominican Province and will remain.

The project’s second phase would be replacement of the church’s educational, gathering and office spaces, adjoining the church sanctuary, on Block 68. A new three-story building and private courtyard would be constructed in their place.

The third phase – market-rate housing on Block 67 – would come in a 12-story building with ground-floor amenity/lobby space and above-grade structured parking.

The fourth and final phase would target Block 211. Plans call for construction of a seven-story building with ground-floor amenity/retail space and structured parking.

A 7-11 convenience store and associated parking, on the northwest corner of the block, are not owned by the Western Dominican Province and will remain.

Holst Architecture has worked with the church organization on the conceptual design of each phase. Gorman & Company and Cairn Pacific will need to select their preferred architect of record to take their respective sites forward into schematic design, construction documents and plan sets. No decisions have been made in that regard.

Walsh Construction is providing some preconstruction services to Gorman & Company for the affordable housing project. Both developers will need to select their preferred contractor.

Construction is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2027 for the affordable housing on Block 62 with completion in 2028 and then start in 2030 for the market-rate housing on Block 67 with completion in 2032. Factors such as system development charge waivers offered by Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Gov. Tina Kotek could accelerate the market-rate schedule, Creager stated.

The Western Dominican Province applied for early assistance on Sept. 3; a meeting has not been scheduled yet.

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Mackenzie unveiled an initial design for a 15-story building with 260 apartments in the Lloyd District during a design advice hearing with the Portland Design Commission on Thursday.

A Eugene firm, Master Development, is behind the project at 701 and 777 N.E. Seventh Ave. The proposed building would be entirely residential and provide parking, mostly below grade.

The project site is located three blocks east of the Oregon Convention Center at the Lloyd District’s south end. Design commissioners and Bureau of Development Services staff said the project’s context will be important: It’s on the future Green Loop route on Northeast Seventh Avenue. Also, the building will be near the Blumenauer Bridge that crosses Interstate 84.

BDS valued the project at $45 million.

Design commissioners largely praised the initial massing scheme from Mackenzie, a Portland-based firm.

“The big moves of massing, the vertical expression – overall I think it’s quite compatible with the context of what’s emerging in the Lloyd District right now,” Commissioner Brian McCarter said.

The building’s height would far exceed its width to fit on the half-block property. Master Development acquired the tract for $4.2 million in November 2021 from the Oregon Auto Dealers Association, according to Multnomah County records. The property currently has two small, single-story office buildings, which would be demolished to make way for the apartment tower.

Ben Nielsen, a BDS planner, said the lot is “surrounded by a sea of parking garages.” Also nearby is the site planned for Oregon Square, an American Assets Trust office project that was approved in 2020 but has not moved into the construction phase. AAT has until 2024 to begin construction with its current entitlements, Nielsen said.

Master Development’s as-yet-unnamed project would feature fiber cement panels and glass windows. Wood would be used on the underside of overhangs to contribute warmth, architect Thomas Peck said. The design calls for vertical fins to wrap around the façade.

Unlike many new buildings, Master’s would have no retail space. Instead, common amenity areas would help activate ground-floor frontages.

Some commissioners opined that the building could use more character so it doesn’t appear to be an office building.

“It’s pretty austere-looking at this point,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

Vallaster and Commissioner Zari Santner suggested balconies may improve the façade’s appearance.

“I hope that it can be jazzed up, and it can distinguish itself a little bit,” Santner said.

The project team is targeting a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, Peck said. The building will meet inclusionary zoning rules, he added; however, he did not specify how that would be accomplished.

The project team may opt to return for another design advice hearing, or it could proceed directly to design review.

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American Assets Trust has filed a proposal to construct two new mid-rise office buildings totaling 370,000 square feet at the Oregon Square property in the Lloyd District.

The early plans submitted to the Portland Bureau of Development Services show the San Diego-based real estate investment trust is looking to move ahead despite economic uncertainty related to the coronavirus pandemic.

A phased approach would be used to develop the buildings, which are being designed by GBD Architects. Construction would take place on Block 90, at 729 N.E. Oregon St., and Block 103, at 827 N.E. Oregon St. The two blocks make up the southern half of Oregon Square, and are currently occupied by two-story office buildings constructed in the 1940s.

The Block 90 building would be five stories, while the Block 103 building would be six. They would be linked by one level of underground parking.

GBD Architects has entered the BDS‘ early assistance process for design review on behalf of American Assets Trust. The project team recently held a virtual meeting to introduce the project to the Lloyd District Community Association.

“What we’re hearing in the community right now is there’s still a lot of potential for office, especially large-floor-plate office,” said Wade Lange, an American Assets Trust vice president and regional manager of its Portland properties.

During the first quarter, the Lloyd District commanded average asking rents of $36.69 per square foot, compared to $34.08 across the Portland-metro area; also, Lloyd’s 7 percent vacancy rate was lower than the 12.1 percent rate around the region, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

Portland has remained a strong market for American Assets Trust, Steve Center, vice president of office properties, said during an April 29 earnings call. The company’s existing buildings in Portland were 100 percent leased, he said.

American Assets Trust is “in the early stages of design development of two new office buildings on the two remaining blocks at Oregon Square, which we will continue to evaluate pending market conditions,” Center said.

The company will not build the structures on speculation, Lange said.

“We’d like to find tenants before we begin any construction,” he said.

The Oregon Square project team has been working to meet in person rather than via video, Lange said.

“It’s harder,” he said. “It’s just a slower process than getting in a room and working through everything.”

The new commercial buildings’ ground floors will be adjustable, Michelle Schulz, a GBD Architects principal, stated in an email.

“That’s likely office in the current market environment, but we are keeping the possibility for all commercial uses at the ground floor to be flexible for the future,” she stated.

Portland design guidelines encourage active ground-floor use, often meaning retail. The project is not yet scheduled on the Portland Design Commission‘s agenda.

While the new buildings are being planned, work is about to begin on a remodel of the northwest building at Oregon Square. The project is in the final stages of permitting, Lange said. Turner Construction is the general contractor.

The renovation of the 33,276-square-property is expected to be delivered in early 2021, Center said.

The other building at Oregon Square, at 830 N.E. Holladay St., on the northeast corner of the parcel, is leased to WeWork.

Closures related to the coronavirus pandemic have hit the Lloyd District hard. The neighborhood relies on big venues for events and shopping, including the Oregon Convention Center and Lloyd Center mall.

“It’s a little concerning that the convention center, the Moda Center, (Veterans Memorial Coliseum) and the mall are very important to the neighborhood, and it looks like those types of venues will be the last thing to reopen because of the coronavirus crisis,” Lange said. “So we’ve got a long road ahead of us.”

American Assets Trust is beginning to consider how to reopen office buildings it owns, said Lange, who expressed confidence the Lloyd District will emerge from the pandemic in a strong position.

“I don’t think long term it will have any impact,” he said.

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As crews approach the finish of the Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center hotel project, others at the adjacent parking garage are also looking to wrap up work.

General contractor Mortenson Construction is building both projects for Metro. Currently, workers at the six-story, 442-space parking garage project are completing storefront elements and mechanical systems, as well as new sidewalks, stairways and other hardscape. The structure itself is six decks of post-tensioned concrete.

“The garage and hotel both are scheduled to be in sync with each other,” said Dan Mehls, vice president of Mortenson Construction’s Portland office. “They need to open at the same time, but we’re at a point where the parking garage will be ready before the hotel; we wanted to be comfortable that the garage would be ready.”

Upon completion, the garage will gain a nine-story addition. ZGF Architects‘ design for developer Prosper Portland received approval from the Portland Design Commission earlier this month. The 100 NE Multnomah Office Building will also be constructed by Mortenson.

“We’ve been working with Prosper Portland through the different stages of design,” Mehls said. “Work wouldn’t start until after the tenants have been identified, and that could be anytime in 2020.”

The mechanical systems built into the garage are robust and intended for commercial use beyond vehicle parking. Concrete columns, meanwhile, extend upward from the roof of the structure so additional post-tensioned decks can easily be stacked on top of the garage.

“Part of the expansion goes alongside the existing garage and most of it is up on top,” Mehls said. “It’s a unique way to add to the building.”

Mehls added that it would be a “misnomer” to call the project a parking garage in the first place.

“It’s really the first phase of a mixed-use development,” he said. “It’s got retail on the first floor and it’s built to receive a tower on top and it’s designed to accompany the hotel.”

Both the parking garage and the hotel are on schedule to be completed this fall, Mehls said.

Minneapolis-based Mortenson has maintained a presence in the Pacific Northwest for more than 30 years, but the two projects have helped cement the firm’s presence in Portland, Mehls said.

“This project kind of helped put us on the map, visibility-wise,” he said. “We’ve been always kind of an under-the-radar developer and builder, and it’s helped us grow our business here.”

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Portland’s largest single-building affordable housing project in 50 years is rising quickly in Lloyd, where it is sure to stand out.

Designed by Lever Architecture and LRS Architects, the 12-story, 240-unit Grand Avenue Apartments (also known as ) project is owned by Home Forward. Crews broke ground late last year and are expected to finish by October 2019. And as the city continues to suffer a serious housing crunch, the building will provide low-income inner eastside residents with the most new affordable units since the 286-unit Hollywood East building opened in 1969.

Oregon’s tax code led Home Forward to devote the entire project to affordable housing.

“When we first conceptualized this building we thought we would likely develop a mixed-income building, and we could not make it pencil,” Home Forward senior project manager Julie Livingston said. “And the thing about affordable housing units is they do not pay property taxes.”

That, she said, is “a huge benefit to the operations budget.”

The decision to designate all units affordable “in no way changed what the building looks like,” said Jonathan Trutt, director of development and community services for Home Forward. “It didn’t change the interiors at all, but it changed the rents we were going to charge.”

217 units in the building will be reserved for households with incomes at or below 60 percent of median family income, and 23 will be reserved for households with incomes at or below 50 percent of median family income. Of the latter units, 20 will be assigned Section 8 project-based vouchers to assist with rental subsidy for individuals recovering from domestic violence. Service partners include the Multnomah County Domestic and Sexual Violence Coordination Office (DSVCO), the Gateway Center, Raphael House and YWCA.

Plans call for 88 studios, 109 one-bedroom units and 43 two-bedroom units in the building, which is rising on the western half of a block bound by Northeast Grand and Sixth avenues, and Hassalo and Holladay streets. The property has seen three previous development proposals fail – most recently a bid in 2012 to build a 28-story, 321-foot-tall hotel.

The current $74 million project is being funded through a mix of public and private sources – primarily $28.7 million worth of federal low-income housing tax credits. An additional $18 million is coming from bond funding, and $5.1 million more is coming from the city of Portland.

The project is being constructed by O’Neill-Walsh Community Builders, a formal partnership between two general contracting firms. The partnership allows O’Neill, a registered MWESB (minority-owned, woman-owned or emerging small business) contractor, to gain experience on larger projects that also require the general contractor to employ certain percentages of minority and female tradespeople.

“We have a long history of really enriching the pool for both our subcontractors in the city and working with nonprofits to build these kinds of buildings that are desperately needed in the community,” Walsh project manager Meghan Herteg said recently as she looked out over the concrete deck that will become the building’s second floor. There, workers from RDF Concrete, Western Rebar, Aluma and others prepared the deck for further concrete.

It’s a fairly standard concrete post-tensioned structure, Herteg said, with an exterior skin consisting of sheet metal and thin brick sourced from Mutual Materials of Clackamas.

Look beyond the tower’s appearance, however, and it’s clear that the design aims to accommodate pedestrian traffic and draw residents into Lloyd.

Lever Architecture principal Thomas Robinson said his firm is excited to see the final product and how it serves the district.

“We were really interested in creating a great home for residents that leverages connections with the vibrant local economy,” he said. “It has proximity to transit and it’s close to downtown.”

The ground floor will provide convenience for pedestrians. An open-air courtyard, named Jim Smith Garden in honor of Home Forward’s former board chairman, is designed to draw in people from all directions. That central space will connect with the building’s lobby, commercial spaces – including property management offices – and the building’s north and south sides via covered walkways. Along Grand Avenue, the building’s façade will gently curve away from the sidewalk on either side of the entrance to embrace pedestrians and give them more space.

“If you look at the plan, the corners are day-lit, which is really nice,” Robinson said. “I think the units are going to be really great, so we’re excited about how the building combines retail and outdoor space and the connections to transit. The building creates opportunity both for people and for the city.”

A LEED for Homes gold rating will be pursued for the project.

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The fast-growing Lloyd District is changing its name as an exercise in rebranding.

Welcome to Lloyd.

“Dropping ‘district’ makes sense,” stated Hank Ashforth, chairman of the Lloyd Enhanced Services District, in a news release. “‘Lloyd’ is fresh and modern, and better represents the diverse and lively businesses of the neighborhood. The word ‘district’ is more of a throwback to a drab, emptying-out-at-5-p.m. employment area. We are so much more today.”

The Northeast Portland district was named for Ralph B. Lloyd, who was born in 1875 and died in 1953. A California oilman, Lloyd bought up properties in Northeast Portland when most of the city’s business was concentrated on the west side.

Today, the Lloyd District is bustling with new construction. Among major projects are the 600-room Hyatt Regency Hotel at the Oregon Convention Center, the ongoing renovation of the Lloyd Center and construction of the 12-story Grand Avenue Apartments.

“We feel that the name change to ‘Lloyd’ reflects the changes happening in our neighborhood and allows us to grow as a dynamic community together,” Ashforth stated.

Visitors to the neighborhood will see street banners and store window decals with the new logo and name.

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The O’Neill-Walsh Community Builders partnership is the general contractor on the fast-rising Grand Avenue Apartments, the largest single-building affordable housing project in Portland since 1969. The developer and owner, , is Multnomah County’s public housing authority. Home Forward also operates the 14-story, 286-unit Hollywood East tower block in northeast Portland, which opened in 1969 amid a boom in public housing construction.

In this video, Project Manager Meghan Herteg talks about the Grand Avenue project, which does not yet have an official name, as well as about project participants, which include KPFF Consulting Engineers, Lever Architecture and LRS Architects and numerous subcontractors. Finally, Herteg addresses the company’s reputation for involving itself in affordable housing and other projects that benefit the wider community.

You can also view a photo gallery from the job site by clicking this link. And don’t forget to check back with us for the complete story both online and in print.

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The Portland Bureau of Transportation is moving forward with plans for a 470-foot-long bridge spanning Interstate 84 to aid pedestrians and bicyclists.

A preliminary design for Sullivan’s Crossing calls for a tied-arch bridge that would be 24 feet wide, with space only for bicyclists and pedestrians. Motor vehicles would not be allowed on the bridge in normal circumstances.

The bridge is intended to fulfill a purpose that adjacent streets do not: nonmotorized transportation, according to PBOT project manager Dan Layden. Two nearby thoroughfares, Grand Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, don’t have bike lanes at all, and present challenges for pedestrians.

“They don’t work at all for bikes,” Layden said. “It’s a pretty uncomfortable environment to walk in. As (the Lloyd District) develops, and the Central Eastside develops, there’s more demand for bicycle and pedestrian connections.”

Plans call for the bridge to connect Northeast Seventh Avenue and Lloyd Street on the north to Seventh and Flanders Street on the south.

The bridge’s design is being driven in part by the need for substantial clear heights over Interstate 84 and Union Pacific railroad tracks. PBOT is also prohibited from placing any bridge supports in Oregon Department of Transportation’s right-of-way along I-84, which means building nothing on the shoulder or the median of the interstate, or on the south hillside.

“The site constraints – the geography and the right-of-way situation – were impactful in the design,” said Stephen Whittington, a KPFF structural engineer.

The $13 million project is being funded by system development charges and a $2 million contribution from Prosper Portland. Construction is expected to begin in July 2019, with completion in 2020.

Sullivan’s Crossing will be built to contemporary seismic standards and is expected to be able to survive a major earthquake. The bridge is also designed to be used by emergency vehicles if necessary.

Unlike Tilikum Crossing – a 1,720-foot-long span over the Willamette River, Sullivan’s Crossing will not accommodate light rail and buses. The design team worked to create a design that was distinct from Tilikum Crossing.

“We wanted to be careful we didn’t replicate that or create a mini version of it,” Whittington said.

Members of the Portland Design Commission praised the bridge design at a briefing last week.

“It’s really quite beautiful,” Commissioner Tad Savinar said.

It’s a “neat and elegant asymmetrical design,” Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. But the north end “aesthetically looks a little underdone,” she added. “It seems a little too slender, and yet not quite slender enough. It’s a visual balance issue with the bridge.”

In addition to KPFF, Architectural Applications and ZGF Architects are on the design team. John Breshears, president of Architectural Applications, said the bridge deck could be lit with recessed fixtures, with a possible tree-like lighting structure installed on the south end.

ZGF is on board to help integrate the bridge into the surrounding urban infrastructure. Sullivan’s Crossing is considered part of the Green Loop – a “linear park” that would link downtown and the Central Eastside with bicyclist- and pedestrian-friendly connections.

“These landings all become an episode for the Green Loop,” said Trent Thelen, an associate partner at ZGF.

The project team is also deciding between white paint and a weathered steel look for the bridge. Design commissioners said they prefer white paint.

An open house to learn more about the project will take place Monday, from 4-6 p.m., at Metro Regional Center, at 600 N.E. Grand Ave.

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A proposal to build three new mixed-use buildings in the Lloyd District will undergo further revisions.

While the commissioners didn’t approve the project at the design review hearing on Thursday, they offered feedback for the Holst Architecture team to use before it returns to present its next iteration at another hearing on April 5.

As proposed, two seven-story buildings would be constructed north of Northeast Multnomah Street, at 16th Avenue, and one five-story building would be built south of the intersection. The development would replace the Lloyd Cinemas and a surface parking lot adjacent to the Sears building in the Lloyd Center mall.

The 85-foot-tall buildings would hold 556 residential units, including 20 walk-up units; 34,300 square feet of retail space; nine live-work units on the ground floor; and 252 vehicle parking spaces. The proposal also calls for a series of public plazas on the ground floor and rooftop decks for residents. The site would provide 34 short-term bike parking spaces and 844 long-term bike parking spaces.

The structures will straddle the border of the Sullivan’s Gulch and Lloyd District neighborhoods. Reflecting elements of both neighborhoods proved to be a challenge for the design team.

Commissioners present at the hearing (Andrew Clarke and Jessica Molinar were absent) addressed several areas where they wanted to see changes. Most of them disliked the proposed buildings’ colors and skins. They liked the lighter tone, but not the blended look of the walls with a pattern of recessed windows.

“The blending is a really interesting intellectual exercise, but it does make the facade much busier than it needs to be,” Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. “On the issue of color, I also agree that lighter is better. That said, I don’t think that an all-white building, anodized metal, or really light or blonde-colored brick is the way to go. I think some variety is OK.”

A darker color could work as a modest highlight, Livingston said. Commissioner Don Vallaster agreed, adding that context is important.

“The skin treatment has to be much more subtle and nuanced than we’re seeing here,” he said. “The context is so different as you go from south to north.”

As requested at the last design advice hearing, the design team added balconies to some of the residential units to add a level of contrast on an otherwise blank wall.

Commissioners also discussed the public plazas, saying some areas would have too many elements blocking open spaces. They pointed out bench placements and positions of walls.

“As our city gets more dense and people are shoved together more tightly, open space will become extremely valuable; it can provide respite,” Vice Chairman Tad Savinar said. “I look for these open spaces wherever they are to be that calm in the storm.”

Finally, commissioners said they would like to see the buildings provide pedestrians more protection from inclement weather.

“I think we hear you loud and clear,” Dave Otte of Holst Architecture said. “I think we understand where this project needs to go.”

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