The Portland Design Commission on Thursday got its first look at plans to develop Broadway Corridor‘s Parcel 6 with a 13-story mixed-use tower. The property is located at the northeast corner on Northwest Ninth Avenue and Johnson Street.

This is the second development within the Broadway Corridor Master Plan area to advance. The first, Block 4A, was presented to the commission for design advice last year and recently was approved by city staff, Portland Permitting & Development staffer Staci Monroe said.

The Parcel 6 project is valued at $95 million, according to Portland Permitting & Development.

Mithun is the project’s designer. The team also includes lead developer Related Northwest, co-developer Melvin Mark, and public partner/owner Prosper Portland.

The 140-foot-tall building would be an L-shaped concrete tower atop a three-story podium. The proposal is for 200-plus middle-income residential units for people earning 50 to 120 percent of the area median income. The building would include 4,000 square feet of retail/commercial space on the ground floor, structured parking for 100 vehicles, on-site loading space, and 100 bicycle parking spaces. Plans include the full design and partial development of the Park Avenue alley along the eastern frontage.

A net zero goal is proposed for the project. The southwest-facing L-shaped massing would reduce glazing costs and provide both sunny and shady areas for residents, according to the design team.

Exterior building materials would include metal cladding on the upper tower and brick below. Commissioner Brian McCarter said the differentiation in materials between the tower and the podium is strong and reads as a very simple material palette.

Vice chair Joe Swank said he believes the design of the tower and podium is strong on Ninth Avenue and Johnson Street but along the Park Avenue alley and Kearney Street, the brick and metal do not read as much like a podium. Team members believe the design is working so far on a conceptual level, Mithun partner Heidi Oien said, but they will explore it further. McCarter added that he believes there is good direction and as the design is refined, it will improve.

Active use is required on the ground floor along Johnson Street, where there will be widened sidewalks.

“The ground floor consists of commercial space, lobby, leasing office and back-of-house elements,” Monroe said of the proposal.

Vehicle access will be available on all frontages except for the eastern. There, the Park Avenue alley will be a 40-foot-wide public, pedestrian-only space spanning the length of Parcel 6 (Block 6) and Block 7. A creative space is planned for this area to draw people in, Monroe said; elements could include public art, plants, lighting, and materiality. Mithun is proposing an open, paved space. The design team envisions clusters of trees for shade, Mithun partner Dorothy Faris said.

Plans call for a two-way cycle track on the south side of Johnson Street and a shared bike lane on Ninth Avenue. Vehicle and bike parking would be along the frontages and in a parking garage. The garage and loading area would be accessed off Kearney Street.

The project team is proposing a modification to ground-floor window coverage along Kearney Street, because more than half of this frontage would be garage access, loading space, mechanical space and back-of-house space. The requirement is for 40 percent coverage by ground-floor windows, and Mithun is seeking a 15 percent reduction.

One portion of this frontage would be the bicycle room. The design team should seek a way to include glazing for the room but still ensure it’s private and secure for residents, McCarter said.

For public art, the master plan identifies six potential locations, two of which are adjacent to Parcel 6 – one at the northeast corner of Johnson Street and Ninth Avenue and one in the Park Avenue alley along the parcel’s eastern frontage. Public art is not identified on the proposed site plan; however, the project team plans to begin discussions with the city’s Office of Arts & Culture.

Weather protection is not yet identified in the proposal, but Oien said the team intends to provide something overhead along Johnson Street and could explore other areas if necessary. The commissioners suggested making sure canopies are adequate along Johnson Street and the Park Avenue alley.

If funded, ground is expected to be broken in late 2027.

The team will likely pursue a Type IX design review by staff, Monroe said. However, Type II or Type III are also options.

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A strong turnout greeted three candidates seeking to serve as master developer of the Broadway Corridor, a 32-acre site in Northwest Portland with potential for more than 3.8 million square feet of development, on Wednesday.

A public forum hosted by Prosper Portland was held at the Leftbank Annex, drawing local developers, architects, planning professionals, union workers and nonprofit advocates. About 300 people showed up to hear the developers boast of their past projects and commitments to diversity.

Audience members repeatedly asked the developers questions about diversity within their own firms and projects, commitments to communities of color where they build and disability access.

The developers pointed to similar multi-block projects they’d led in the past. In describing their own values, they sometimes lapsed into business jargon.

“The number one product we have is synergy, which is energy in alignment,” said Chad McWhinney, CEO of Denver-based McWhinney.

The forum was an opportunity for the public to meet the developers vying to transform the Broadway Corridor. The area includes the 14-acre U.S. Postal Service site, Union Station and several other publicly owned properties in a broad swath bridging the Pearl District and Old Town Chinatown.

Prosper Portland in early March named three companies as finalists. Besides McWhinney, Related Cos., a New York-based developer represented by its San Francisco office, and Continuum Partners, another Denver-based developer, made the cut.

The three developers have jockeyed to line up local partners. McWhinney is working with Portland hotel group Sage Hospitality, nonprofit housing provider Hake Development and former Portland Development Commission executive Bruce Wood. Local advisers include Beam Development for project entitlements and Mortenson for construction planning. The James Beard Public Market is also on board with McWhinney.

Related California has enlisted Portland commercial real estate heavyweight Melvin Mark and nonprofit housing provider Central City Concern.

Continuum Partners has not publicly announced any local partners. The group pointed to its experience remaking Denver’s Union Station, the Belmar shopping center in suburban Lakewood, Colorado, and a 26-acre university-owned site.

Related California CEO Bill Witte garnered some of the little applause of the night when he said his firm “beat out Donald Trump for the Time Warner Center project in New York.”

Frank Cannon, Continuum Partners’ development director, said Prosper Portland’s “tremendously aspirational” goals may come into conflict with each other and will require careful balancing by the master developer.

“It starts with an open and honest dialogue with the community about your goals and objectives,” he said.

Maurice Rahming, co-owner of O’Neill Construction Group, praised Prosper Portland for bringing the developers in front of the public. He wrote a letter in support of McWhinney’s bid.

“This is refreshing,” he said. “In the past, a lot of this happened in a vacuum and there wasn’t a lot of public vetting.”

Prosper Portland has also done a good job clearly laying out the expectations for diversity, Rahming said.

“As far as the teams, some of them were stronger than others, but they have a good idea of the expectations,” he said.

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Two Denver-based developers and a partnership with local ties were named Friday to a short list of candidates to be master developer of the 32-acre Broadway Corridor area in Northwest Portland.

The companies are Continuum Partners, based in Denver; McWhinney, also a Denver firm; and a third team of Related Cos., based in New York City, in partnership with two Portland entities, Melvin Mark and Central City Concern.

The developers were culled from nine responses to a request for qualifications that Prosper Portland issued in November. The agency will host a public forum on March 21 to hear presentations from the developers.

Prosper Portland sought to evaluate the firms’ experience in completing projects of similar scope, said Shawn Uhlman, spokesman for the agency.

“Everybody involved, the committee, was pleased with how thoughtful the responses were,” he said.

Developers may choose to add local partners as the process advances, Uhlman said.

“It’s still to be determined for each team,” he said.

The short list did not include Kaven + Co., a Portland firm that proposed a 970-foot-tall twin-tower skyscraper, although it’s possible the local company could emerge as a partner to one of the larger firms.

Continuum Partners pointed to its experience redeveloping Denver’s Union Station. Portland’s own Union Station is part of the Broadway Corridor study area. Continuum also led development of Belmar, a 22-block mixed-use district in Lakewood, Colorado.

McWhinney lists as part of its development team HaKe Development, a nonprofit developer led by Thomas J. Kemper, a local real estate investor and developer, and William F. Hart Jr., a founding partner of Carleton Hart Architecture.

Bruce Wood, a former Portland Development Commission executive, is also part of the McWhinney team. Local consultants for McWhinney include Beam Development and Mortenson Construction.

The proposed James Beard Public Market is also tied to the McWhinney bid.

In the Related Cos. pitch, the firm’s San Francisco office, led by Related California CEO Bill Witte, and Melvin Mark’s development arm will act jointly as lead developer with shared decision-making. Central City Concern will work with Related California to build 30 percent of the housing mix as affordable housing.

“Given that the committee views the Broadway Corridor as a once-in-a-generation opportunity, I was pleased to see responses from developer teams that clearly indicate they have the qualifications and proven experience to deliver on a project of this scope and scale,” Nathan Kadish, chairman of the Broadway Corridor steering committee, stated in a news release.

Melvin Mark Cos. CEO Jim Mark declined to comment on the Broadway Corridor bid.

Agency staff members are tentatively scheduled to recommend a development team to the Board of Commissioners at a May 9 meeting. A memorandum of understanding between the developer and agency would follow, and later, a development agreement.

The master developer will work with ZGF Architects to design a thorough redevelopment of the Broadway Corridor, including the 13.5-acre U.S. Postal Service site.

The city’s , published last year, envisions 3.8 million square feet of development along with parks, open space and transportation infrastructure. The plan calls for building nearly 2.1 million square feet of residential space, including a large amount of affordable housing.

In October, the City Council agreed to increase allowable building heights in the Broadway Corridor to 450 feet north of Northwest Johnson Street and 250 feet south of it.

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Melvin “Pete” Mark Jr., one of Portland’s most important 20th-century real-estate executives, died Thursday at age 91.

Mark was the second generation of what has become one of Portland’s largest and most respected real estate and development firms.

Mark moved to Portland in 1951 with his wife, Mary Kridel. His father, Melvin Mark Sr., had purchased the Loyalty Building, and the family firm continued to acquire a number of historic properties, including the Cascade Building, Yeon and Builder’s Exchange.

The firm now has 50 employees and owns or manages 3.1 million square feet of commercial space. The companies are now led by CEO Jim Mark, Pete’s son.

Pete Mark, whose nickname was bestowed by his sister, Lois, became managing partner of the family firm in 1965, when his father, Melvin Mark Sr., died.

Pete Mark developed Columbia Square, which was completed in 1979, and Crown Plaza, a 280,000-square-foot building that provided a boost to downtown revitalization. He also played a key role in keeping Portland’s downtown healthy, Jim Mark said.

“As downtowns were failing all across the county, the public sector and the private sector joined hands to try to attract people to downtown Portland,” he said. “We were sort of the first downtown to figure out you need to have attractors downtown.”

Pete Mark joined other civic leaders to persuade Nordstrom to keep its anchor store in downtown Portland.

Mark served on the boards of Pioneer Courthouse Square and the Oregon Convention Center, among other civic organizations.

“He really believed in collaboration and getting things done with other people,” Jim Mark said.

Today, Melvin Mark Companies is a fourth-generation family business. In addition to CEO Jim Mark, who took over in 2000, Pete’s son-in-law Scott Andrews is president of Melvin Mark Brokerage Co., and grandsons Peter and Paul Andrews are commercial brokers.

“He was a family man first,” Jim Mark said. “He was passionate about this company, and the people at the company were like family to him.”

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Owners of commercial buildings with at least 20,000 square feet by 2017 could be required to track and report energy use to the city of Portland.

The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability has launched an informational campaign aimed at educating owners what would be required if the City Council in April 2015 approves a proposed ordinance requiring building owners to participate in an Energy Star-affiliated Energy Performance Reporting Policy.

“Commercial buildings are responsible for nearly a quarter of Portland’s carbon emissions and spend more than $335 million on energy every year,” said Alisa Kane, green building and development manager for BPS. “The 5,000 commercial buildings in Portland are the city’s second-largest emitter of pollutants.”

At the Thursday campaign launch Kane noted that the bureau will hold stakeholder engagement meetings in January and February.

“We want to collect comments until mid-February to help shape the program and make it easier for owners to implement,” she said. “All we’re going to be asking for is that owners track their energy use score and report it to the city so we can make the information into data that’s accessible to the public.”

The program would require owners of buildings 50,000 square feet or larger to begin tracking and reporting energy use by April 2016. Owners of buildings between 20,000 and 50,000 square feet would be required to begin reporting energy usage by April 2017.

“The proposed policy will build awareness in the commercial building sector about energy performance,” Bureau of Planning and Sustainability Director Susan Anderson said. “Energy-efficient buildings are a win for the building owner, the tenant and for Portland’s carbon reduction goals.”

The proposed Energy Performance Reporting Policy would require owners to track energy usage and performance with a free online tool called Energy Star Portfolio Manager, and report it to the city annually.

Energy used to power buildings is the single largest source of carbon pollution in Portland, according to the BPS.

Kane said 10 other major U.S. cities have already implemented this program, and have found that by tracking energy usage, tenants have become more aware and have responded, on average, by decreasing usage by about 2.5 percent.

“It makes people aware of their energy use and they start looking at things differently,” Kane said. “It shines a light on improved performance and links people to resources if they need and want to do a little better at lowering energy use.”

Buildings that would be included in the policy are offices, retail spaces, grocery stores, health care facilities, higher education institutions and hotels. Residential and nursing homes, places of worship, parking facilities, primary and secondary education institutions, warehouse spaces and industrial use buildings would not be included.

By requiring reporting from only commercial buildings with 20,000 square feet or more, the program would cover 1,000 Portland buildings. They account for 80 percent of the total commercial space in Portland.

This program would benefit potential buyers and tenants, Kane said, educating them about spaces’ possible hidden expenses.

“This is a great step in the right direction for the real estate industry,” said Renee Loveland, sustainability manager for Gerding Edlen. “If we’re going to get to a place where we have more environmental responsibility as a society, then tackling the built community is important.”

Loveland said the program aligns with the green building practices Gerding Edlen uses, but that allowing tenants and owners to see energy usage is the “last frontier” to sustainability.

“The first step is to see where you’re at,” she said. “That’s the first stepping-stone to knowing how to tackle the problem.”

David Zier, president of Melvin Mark Construction Co., said it also tracks its buildings’ energy usage, but doesn’t think a city mandate is the way to go.

“We use it for self-evaluation because we know the intricacies of our properties, but there are some major flaws in the Energy Star program,” he said. “The rating is of very limited value, and in fact can be confusing to someone who doesn’t understand its limitations and how it’s calculated.”

Kane argued that providing energy consumption information to tenants increases awareness and often inspires behavioral changes that decrease energy use, but Zier said that’s unlikely.

“Tenants typically aren’t what drive energy consumption,” he said. “Building owners have more control over that than tenants do, as a practical matter.”

Air conditioning and lights in a building often are linked to a timer that the owner or landlord controls, he said.

Zier said that publishing energy consumption data for a building as a whole fails to take into account tenants’ contrasting usage levels, which can vary widely depending upon the type of business. He also said that, in his experience, energy consumption levels aren’t a deciding factor for potential tenants.

“That hasn’t been a factor for the majority of our prospective tenants,” he said. “As a property owner we’re driven to control energy consumption because it affects our bottom line, but most buildings in Portland are rented on a gross basis, so energy consumption doesn’t change the rent amount for tenants.”

Zier said he doesn’t think that requiring building owners to report energy usage levels is of value to the community. Tracking and reporting costs time and money that could be better spent elsewhere, he added.

The bureau has two January events scheduled where interested parties will be able to ask questions and understand next steps. The first information session will take place from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 14. The second is scheduled from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 20. Both events will take place at 1900 S.W. Fourth Ave., Room 2500A on the second floor.

People can learn more about the program, provide feedback or sign up for policy updates.

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Six students from Portland State University’s Center for Real Estate last week presented their vision for a $53 million mixed-use development in the 1600 block of Northwest Thurman Street.

The students worked closely with Melvin Mark Companies and FFA Architecture and Interiors to come up with the design. Then they gave a presentation before attendees of a Building and Owners Management Association Business Briefing Breakfast at the Multnomah Athletic Club.

The proposal, in an area the students say people are calling “The Squish,” is heavily industrial, but may be in transition.

“We believe that what was happening in the Pearl a decade ago is happening in this area now,” presenter Jana Faro said. “This would be the jewel in the crown of what will exist in the northwest industrial district.”

The students, in their presentation titled “Polishing Up the North Pearl,” called for a building with creative office space, an outdoor central commons area and an area dubbed “The Outback” in which students proposed using prefabricated modular and changeable spaces for offices or retail.

“The prefab modular construction would be much more open and … placed in triangular shapes to echo the triangle building already on site,” Faro said. “They are much more open and could be used as flex space for office or retail tenants.”

The site is already home to a recently remodeled, 100-plus-year-old building that formerly was a tire warehouse, according to the students. A triangular building, the owners of which chose not to participate in the students’ project, also occupies the block.

“We asked them if they wanted to participate,” student Tom Remmers said. “They respectfully ignored us.”

Remmers, Faro and four other PSU students – Jovan Young, James Wang, Maddie McMonies and Jason West – participated in the workshop, producing an original development plan – including concept, market analysis, concept design, economic analysis, management plan and budget.

The property, which sits at the intersection of Thurman Street and 17th Avenue, is bordered on the north by railroad tracks and on the east by Interstate 405.

Senior Adjunct Lecturer Vernon Rifer, who taught the workshop, said that more than 2,200 housing units are under construction in the North Pearl area. With that influx of housing, developments like this one will be needed to add office and retail space, he said.

Following the presentation, panel judges Kali Bader, vice president of Rembold Properties; Christe White, founding partner of Radler White Parks & Alexander; and Joe Zody, senior associate at FFA Architecture and Interiors along with audience members asked questions about the students’ market analysis, where they would find construction loans and whether the area would be able to draw businesses.

“It’s close to downtown and costs less money per square foot (than renting downtown),” Remmers said. “It got a walk score of 83 and a bike score of 97.”

WalkScore.com helps people evaluate walkability and transportation in their neighborhoods via walk scores and bike scores between 0 and 100. A walk score between 80 and 90 indicates that an area is “very walkable” and is within walking distance for most daily errand destinations. A bike score between 90 and 100 indicates that an area is a “biker’s paradise” and is within biking distance for most daily errand destinations.

Remmers said he believed the location – it’s near downtown, easily accessible by public transportation and in an area with ample parking – would draw potential tenants.

The students designed a one-level podium parking structure that would allow development of the property without removal of any of the existing 200 parking spaces.

“The buildings already have a loading dock feel with the first floor raised five or six feet off the ground,” Faro said. “We proposed excavating another six feet down and there you have a podium with parking underneath.”

Rifer said there are no plans to begin construction anytime soon, adding that projects like these typically require about three years to start after plans have been drawn up. But he said the students came up with an ambitious and interesting design for a space that, with the railroad and freeway nearby, presents a host of problems.

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Developer Mark Edlen discovered he was a candidate to fill the vacancy being left by outgoing Portland Development Commission board chairman Scott Andrews at his going-away party.

That was when Portland Mayor Charlie Hales grabbed Edlen, CEO of Gerding Edlen Development, by his sleeve and asked if he would take the position, Edlen said. He accepted the nomination after discussing the possibility with family, colleagues and four current commissioners.

Edlen, 61, said he considers the opportunity, subject to City Council approval, a way to give back to the community that fueled much of his company’s growth and focus on sustainability.

“I love our city, the political process, the design review process,” he said. “I think we have something very special, especially as I work with more people across the country. I feel the need to give back.”

The addition of Edlen would balance out a board that lost its development voice when Andrews, president of Melvin Mark Properties, stepped down in July, city and commission leaders say. Andrews had served on the commission since 2008 and became chairman in 2009.

“I’m really excited because Mark’s insights into the world of development will be very helpful,” said Tom Kelly, who became commission chairman in June. “He will be the only developer and will provide the insights of a developer as we move forward.”

Edlen said he will focus on creating jobs and a sense of place in neighborhoods such as Lents that have not experienced as much of a building boom as others.

“I strongly believe in the Portland process,” he said. “I love the fact that we have strong neighborhoods, and I believe those neighborhoods belong to people who live there. We should knit ourselves into those neighborhoods and not be opposed to them.”

Edlen also wants to open up opportunities to newer and younger firms that are starting to emerge in Portland.

“I am really impressed with the younger people coming into the business,” he said. “Together, I think we can do cool things.”

No date has been set for the City Council’s vote on Edlen’s appointment, but it is expected to take place in September.

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R&H Construction is transforming the former Yamhill Marketplace building in downtown Portland, now called 2&Taylor, into creative office and retail space. The $10.5 million project by Melvin Mark Development Co. was designed by Hennebery Eddy Architects and is giving the outdated 28-year-old building a facelift.

The three-story building occupies roughly three quarters of a city block and has been gutted down to its concrete and steel frame. Large storefront windows are being installed around the building’s perimeter, and former loading dock will serve as the new main entryway. A mezzanine inside the building has been brought up to the second floor, re-elevating around 5,000 square feet of floor space. The building’s atrium has been reconfigured, and glass block has been removed from around the elevator shaft to be replaced with clear glass.

Technology company Jama Software will occupy the building’s second and third floors, while restaurant and retail tenants are being targeted for the ground floor. A basement is also being demolished for conversion into leasable space.

R&H is simultaneously working on the building’s core and shell for Melvin Mark and performing Jama Software’s tenant improvement. A former service elevator is being converted to a passenger elevator for use by Jama employees. A rooftop deck will be fitted with raised garden beds, a bar, and an outdoor conference room.

Work on the project began last February and is slated for completion by Dec. 1.

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A geyser of construction activity is about to erupt at the east end of the Burnside Bridge, and one final development is bubbling to the surface.

Hood River-based Key Development is purchasing from the Portland Development Commission the tiny spit of land (Block 76W) on the west side of the Couch Street couplet, and planning to build a two- to three-story commercial building. The firm already is preparing to break ground in August on a 21-story mixed-use tower on Block 67, due west of Block 76W, and other developers are hot on its heels with projects.

PDC commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved Key Development’s offer for the 8,414-square-foot sister site. Given its small size, sharp slope and the presence of submerged support structures for the Burnside Bridge, the property was not expected to draw an offer.

“When I looked at this plan I never thought that piece of property would get developed,” PDC Board Chairman and Melvin Mark President Scott Andrews said during the hearing. “It’s got a 20 percent slope (and) it’s holding up Couch Street … God bless Key Development.”

Development of the small site wasn’t initially part of Key Development’s plan, principal Jeff Pickhardt acknowledged, but was instead born out of a need to create a stronger pedestrian connection with the bridge.

Key Development’s original plan was to make that connection via Block 67, but Pickhardt said that fizzled when his team learned that the railing on the Burnside Bridge is historically significant – and therefore untouchable. Then, during a design assistance meeting with the city, team members shifted their attention to the grassy island.

“I have to give credit to Skylab (Architecture) in coming up with the design,” Pickhardt said. “They took it upon themselves to create the first run at the design, and then reintroduced it as part of the larger project.”

The proposed 20,000-square-foot building looks like a miniature version of the nearby tower’s podium structure. A large, glass storefront system, triangular frame and green roof suggest a mountain or steep hillside.

The Block 76W development is estimated to cost $6.4 million; Andersen Construction is Key Development’s general contractor for both that project and Block 67.

The PDC is selling the property to Key Development (via Block 76 LLC) for a July 2013 fair market value of $336,000, but the true price will be the cost to perform “extraordinary” geotechnical work – estimated at $361,000. As the development firm pays for that work, the PDC will reimburse it the purchase price.

Key Development also is required to make a $33,600 earnest payment that will be nonrefundable following a 30-day due diligence period. The deal is scheduled to close within 90 days, and the development firm must begin work within three years or the PDC can buy the property back for the original purchase price. The PDC also would gain a 10 percent interest in any resulting sale of the developed site within five years of completion.

Block 76W was the PDC’s last property at the east end of the Burnside Bridge. A planning effort for the bridgehead began some 15 years ago. In 2004, the PDC selected Opus Northwest to develop all of the properties at once; however, that plan dissolved during the recession.

Momentum picked back up in 2009, when the PDC tweaked its framework plan to attract smaller projects in lieu of a larger one. Beam Development got the ball rolling with its redevelopment of the Eastside Exchange building.

Many other projects are planned in the area. Guerrilla Development has a six-story commercial building on tap for Block 76E (the other two-thirds of the block divided by Couch Street); Beam Development and Urban Development Partners are planning a mixed-use project at Block 75 (due north of Block 76); the Seattle office of Texas-based Trinsic Residential Group is preparing to begin a 159-unit mixed-use project on the block due east of Block 76E; and NFN Investments and Arthur Mutal are remodeling the R.J. Templeton Building on the south side of the bridge.

All of those projects are expected to be under way by early 2015.

“We expect that to be a pretty serious construction zone starting in about two months,” said Eric Jacobson, a senior project manager for the PDC.

He added that the tiny commercial building proposed for Block 76W will play an especially important role for the Burnside bridgehead.

“Our design objective was to treat this as a gateway to the entire Burnside Bridge,” he said. “This is – especially for (bicyclists) and pedestrians coming to the bridge – this is the first property they’re going to encounter. So it was really important for us for it to be activated.”

For Pickhardt, the project has been a long time coming. His company has been working on the Burnside bridgehead development since responding to a PDC inquiry in July 2010.

Pickhardt and Jeff Kovel, a Skylab Architecture principal, first presented drawings of the 21-story tower to the Portland Design Commission in April 2013, to mixed reviews. They received the commission’s approval in December.

“It’s been a really interesting project for us,” Pickhardt said. “And it’s certainly rewarding getting to a point where we’re actually ready to come out of the ground.”

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For more than half a century, the Broadway Furniture store has served as a sort of landmark in Northeast Portland.

“I grew up here, and it’s one of those commercial buildings you’ve heard (about) or seen ads on for years,” said Ryan Feigelson, director of acquisitions and dispositions for NFN Investments. “It’s just always been around.”

In recent weeks, however, passersby may have noticed the longtime tenant quietly vacating the century-old building as part of a move to Tigard. But it won’t be vacant for long.

NFN Investments has purchased the building, at 228 N.E. Broadway, for $2.89 million, and is planning a roughly $5 million renovation to accommodate a new anchor tenant. Feigelson could not name that retailer yet, but he said it would occupy the ground floor. PATH Construction is expected to begin the renovation soon; 10,000 square feet will be added by expanding a mezzanine level to suit a creative use.

Feigelson said several other potential buyers over the years attempted to acquire the building, but for one reason or another were unable to close a deal. NFN Investments acquired the property out of receivership from its previous owner, Shleifer Broadway LLC.

The building has significant advantages: Feigelson said approximately 30,000 drivers pass the nearly full-block site every day, and it has parking – a rarity in the area. He said the competitive sales price made for a perfect storm of favorable conditions.

“There are a lot of people that have shown interest: banks and grocers and even single fast-food restaurants,” he said. “(We thought) if we can find a way to make this work ourselves, then we’ve got a great acquisition here.”

Ryan O’Leary of Kidder Mathews represented NFN in the transaction; Don Drake of Melvin Mark represented the seller.

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