A series of high-profile Portland projects for Mill Creek Residential Trust is continuing to grow.

The latest, Modera Buckman, will be a seven-story mixed-use residential building on a half-block parcel at the northeast corner of Southeast Belmont Street and 12th Avenue in the Central Eastside. The rectangular building will feature 170 apartments – a mix of studios, one-bedroom units and two-bedroom units. It also will have over 6,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

“I don’t know if it’s a template,” said Rex Ingram, an associate and lead designer for Leeb Architects. “But they’re looking for a certain mix of units and they’re careful about where they put their projects and properties for the benefit of the neighborhoods they go into. This project is kind of special; the first floor is a lot of retail, which is great, and we have some really nice amenity spaces as well.”

Mill Creek Residential Trust has spent plenty of time and energy promoting its Modera brand across the country. In Portland alone, there are six Modera-branded properties either built or in development.

The 200-unit Modera Belmont was completed last year; construction of the 204-unit Modera Davis is set to finish later in 2019; the 291-unit Modera Glisan remains under construction in the Pearl District; construction of the 290-unit Modera Pearl finished in 2017; and the 134-unit Modera Goose Hollow was sold by Mill Creek in 2017 for a reported sum of $47.5 million.

Construction of Modera Buckman is set to wrap up in fall 2019, and there is plenty of work still to be done. Mill Creek Residential Trust is serving as its own contractor for the project.

“We’re framed pretty much all the way up,” Mill Creek assistant superintendent Colin Hallberg said. “The roof deck is sheeted – we’re just about complete there – and we’re headed toward dry-in.”

Most of the roof trusses are now in place, Hallberg added. Next up, crews will wrap the building with a stout weather-resistant barrier and prep window openings for glazing.

“It’s a battle with the weather trying to get it dried in and get things sealed up,” he said. “The big push right now is just getting it dried in. We have temp heat coming in in a week or two to start drying it out. And then we’ll start from the top down with our rough-in and the MEP stuff.”

Modera Buckman amenities include a hotel-style lounge and fitness studio on the ground floor. An outdoor terrace with a fire pit and barbecue area will be on the top floor. Pet washing and dedicated bike parking and maintenance areas will be available in the underground parking area.

The project team is aiming for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating, Ingram said. That will be achieved, in part, through a highly efficient envelope, access to transit and other features.

“They’ve (engineering firm Glumac) looked at the envelope and the efficiencies of the mechanical units and the way the building will be heated and cooled,” Ingram said. “And we look at the air barrier between units – that’s a big one.”

The post Developer continues to build its brand appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Portland Design Commission approved all three of the projects it reviewed on Thursday.

The proposal for an 11-story mixed-use building at 1500 S.W. Taylor St. received much of the commission’s attention. Eventually, commissioners followed the staff’s recommendation and voted 6-0 – Tad Savinar abstained – to approve it.

Many of the revisions made came from the Design Commission’s earlier recommendations, according to SERA Architects principal Kurt Schultz. The firm’s final design calls for 151 residential units and ground-floor retail space.

“We went for a minimalist look with simple frames,” he said. “We think the building was improved a lot. We are happy.”

Much of the discussion among the commissioners focused on the ground floor and whether shadow boxes were appropriate for the building. Some said they believe that some of the structures should be made smaller while others said they would be fine as proposed.

“The revisions you have made on the ground floor to kind of open it up and make more sense along the streetscape are fantastic,” Commissioner Julie Livingston said.

Commissioners discussed the use of ground-floor benches and whether they were positive elements. Some said that people sleeping on benches under balconies could become an issue.

Commission Chairman David Wark said the benches in combination with balconies would help to bring people outside. He credited the design with helping make the building’s exterior friendlier to outdoor activities.

“It’s not often that we have an outdoor porch in the city,” he said. “The balconies were good.”

The minor concerns expressed by commissioners were not enough to block approval. However, two conditions were added.

The first condition was to move the north wall of the shadow box of the east façade one base out. The second was to eliminate the middle infield panels of the south and west elevations and continue the building’s grid pattern.

One of the biggest discussions of the night focused on similarities between this project on Southwest Taylor Street and others in Portland designed by SERA Architects.

“There are two cases that earn a discussion,” Savinar said. “There is duplication with this designer.”

He stated that too many buildings are based on similar-looking grid designs. The Modera Glisan project at 505 N.W. 14th Ave., for example, features a similar design concept, he said. That building was also designed by SERA Architects and gained approved later on Thursday.

“We may approve two buildings that are virtually the same within two blocks,” Savinar said. “If we accept both of these, are we just going to keep accepting them?”

Wark said the building on Southwest Taylor Street has more going for it than just a grid.

“This isn’t just some dumb grid,” he said. “I think this is one of your better buildings.”

Some commissioners said the discussion of possible design duplication should take place at another time, and that more investigation is needed.

“Maybe we need to look at how pervasive this (design) scheme is,” Livingston said.

Also on Thursday:

Modera Glisan

��

The Design Commission voted 5-0 – Savinar abstained and Sam Rodriguez excused himself – to approve SERA Architects’ revised design of the Modera Glisan project at 505 N.W. 14th Ave. Mill Creek Residential Trust is planning a 12-story, three-quarters-block mixed-use building with 291 residential units.

The commission did attach conditions, including changes to a courtyard wall. It also asked for changes to a fence on the east side near a fire station, a lighter-color brick on the body of the building and a different color of metal panel on the body of the building.

The major discussions included concerns about traffic, grid elevation and the layout of the inner courtyard. In the end, however, no concern was significant enough to derail approval.

Modera Buckman

The Design Commission voted 6-0 – Rodriguez excused himself – in favor of following the staff recommendation to approve the Modera Buckman project at 909 S.E. 12th Ave. Mill Creek Residential Trust is planning a seven-story mixed-use building with 189 residential units and 9,860 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

The one condition that commissioners requested is that designer Leeb Architects make changes to the concrete along both street frontages.

Design overlay zones

The Design Commission spent two hours learning about the progress of the . The city is looking at ways to streamline the design process for Portland buildings. Among some of the ideas discussed were adjusting the thresholds for triggering a design review.

Commissioners also discussed ways to improve the process with better management of meetings.

Feedback from the public is through Feb. 17.

The post Three projects’ designs receive approval appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.