The Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard must be helping Adidas sell a lot of basketball shoes.

The company’s North American headquarters is on an expansion kick in North Portland, and generated the construction permit with the single highest dollar amount in the city of Portland in 2019, according to the Bureau of Development Services.

Adidas’ building permit for two new office buildings at 5070 N. Greeley Ave., issued on Sept. 16, ascended above the rim with a $149 million valuation. The permit was for a five-story office building with five stories of underground parking, a second new building, additions to a third building and surrounding East Village site improvements, including required landscaping and screening.

The Adidas permit was by far the most valuable. The one with the second-highest value was $81 million for the Fourth and Montgomery building, a south downtown collaboration shared by Oregon Health & Science University, Portland State University, Portland Community College and the city of Portland. The permit for the seven-story, three-quarter block project was issued on May 16.

Development in 2019 was “a little choppy,” said Sam Rodriguez, senior managing director of Mill Creek Residential Trust, a major multifamily developer. Mill Creek is developing Modera Glisan, which had a permit that ranked fourth on the list.

The economy recovered quickly after flashing recessionary signals in the fall.

“The good news is we’re not at the end of a cycle – at least it doesn’t feel like that,” Rodriguez said.

Rents have remained stable amid deliveries of thousands of new apartments. A slowdown in new proposals offers hope for future projects, Rodriguez said.

“It seems like we’re reaching equilibrium moving forward, which makes development possible,” he said.

The office market appears to be at a similar point as multifamily. Projects totaling more than 1.6 million square feet were under construction or renovation in November, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, but that number is expected to soon decline.

“While the elevated level of��office��development remains historically high for Portland, it is set to slow down considerably over the next year when all but Block 216, J.K. Gill and Arete will deliver,” a JLL office report stated.

No one type of project dominated the bureau’s list of most expensive projects. The top 10 includes three office buildings, four multifamily buildings, a middle school, a hospital expansion and a hotel. Multifamily buildings were seven of the next 10 most-valuable projects.

The permit data comes from the Bureau of Development Services, which collated the most valuable permits at the 91��Ƶ’s request. It includes new construction permits issued between Jan. 1 and Dec. 19.

The list does not include some large projects, such as the 35-story Block 216 tower for Ritz-Carlton – it has received excavation permits, but not building permits. Other major construction projects under way, such as the Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center, were working based on permits from prior years.

The data is also necessarily limited to city boundaries – leaving out major projects in, for example, unincorporated Washington County, where Adidas’ largest competitor resides.

Here are the top-dollar building permits in Portland during 2019:

1. Adidas East Campus expansion, 5070 N. Greeley Ave., issued Sept. 16. Two new buildings, a building addition and outdoor improvements. $149.1 million, Turner Construction Co.
2. Fourth and Montgomery, 1810 S.W. Fifth Ave., issued May 16. New seven-story, three-quarter-block mixed-use building with classrooms and offices for Oregon Health & Science University, Portland State University, Portland Community College and the city of Portland. $81 million, Andersen Construction.
3. Legacy Emanuel West, 2835 N. Kerby Ave., issued May 17. Five-story core-and-shell building with two stories of below-grade structured parking. $73.7 million, Andersen Construction.
4. Modera Glisan, 1430 N.W. Hoyt St., issued Feb. 14. A 12-story, three-quarter-block mixed-use building with 291 apartments, 201 parking spaces and retail space for Mill Creek Residential Trust. $63.8 million, MCRT PNW Construction LLC.
5. ART Tower, 1510 S.W. Alder St., issued Oct. 7. A 21-story building with 314 apartments, 5,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 215 parking stalls in four undergrounds levels for developer Wood Partners of Atlanta. $55.2 million, Andersen Construction.
6. TriMet administration building, 9800 S.E. Powell Blvd., issued March 5. Administration and operations building for TriMet with expanded employee parking. A separate permit was issued for a bus fueling and washing building. $51.4 million, JE Dunn Construction Co.
7. Kellogg Middle School, 3400 S.E. 69th Ave., issued July 10. Three-story, 100,000-square-foot Portland Public Schools building with a covered play area, play field, parking lot and vehicle access road. $44 million, Todd Construction.
8. E2 Building (Block 40), 3883 S.W. Moody Ave., issued Dec. 9. Seven-story, 245,000-square-foot, mixed-use building with 232 apartments, retail space and two levels of underground parking for Alamo Manhattan of Dallas. $43.5 million, Andersen Construction.
9. Saltwood North, 1650 N.W. 21st Ave., issued Aug. 6. Six-story apartment building with 177 residential units, ground-floor retail space, residential amenity space and two stories of underground parking for Cairn Pacific and Prometheus Real Estate Group. $40 million, Bremik Construction (A separate permit valued at $35 million was issued for Saltwood South, at 2050 N.W. Raleigh St. Bremik Construction is the general contractor).
10. Hyatt Centric Hotel, 601 S.W. 11th Ave., issued Jan. 8. A 15-story, 215-room hotel for Mortenson. $37.4 million, Mortenson Construction.

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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.”

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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

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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.

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The third appearance before the Portland Design Commission was not the charm for the Ankeny Apartments project. In a rare move, the commission on Thursday went against the recommendation of city staff and denied the project by a 5-0 “straw poll” vote.

However, the decision won’t become official until the commission meets��Jan. 17��because a revised staff report must be prepared so that an official vote can take place.

The Ankeny Apartments development team indicated that it intends to challenge the commission’s decision by appealing to the City Council.

The proposed project calls for three six-story mixed-use towers connected by outdoor stairwells at 1122 S.E. Ankeny St. The developer wants to construct 17 luxury apartments and ground-floor retail space on two adjacent lots – one measuring 34 feet by 100 feet and the other measuring 30 feet by 66 feet – in an L-shape that would extend to Southeast 12th Avenue.

The commission focused much of its attention on the proposed project’s scale and bulk.

“Somewhere between a duplex and what is proposed would be a slam dunk,” Commission Chairman David Wark said.

Commissioners did praise the team’s efforts to create a net-zero building, meaning it would create as much energy as it uses. YGH Architecture‘s design would accomplish that by incorporating photovoltaic panels on the roofs and walls as well as triple-pane, passive-house-rated windows and highly insulated walls and roofs.

“Our goal at Our Land (Development) was to develop the first net-zero building,” developer Landon Crowell said.

Design commissioners were not as concerned with the proposed height as much as the proximity of the project’s walls to the property line. They also believe the development, as proposed, would not fit with the surrounding residential neighborhood.

Multiple people who reside near the proposed development site testified against the project on Thursday.

“I would prefer to work with my neighbors,” Crowell told the commission. “It hasn’t always worked out that way.”

Frustrations were visible at times as, during the public comments portion of the hearing, Wark had to remind meeting attendees to be respectful of people speaking. He also had to ask design team members to refrain from commenting.

Neighbors were highly critical of the project’s height and expressed fears that building’s towering presence would cut off much of the sunlight their homes receive currently. They also said they believe that because of the new development’s proximity to their homes, they would be affected during maintenance on the building’s stucco surface.

William Phillips, whose house at 113 S.E. 12th Ave. sits near the proposed “elbow” of the L-shaped structure, was concerned that the apartments would shade his house from sun most of the day. He said that would make growing plants in his backyard impossible.

“Putting that building there is going to take away our complete way of life,” he said. “I don’t see why this building should be allowed to go in and take away our way of life.”

During design commissioners’ deliberations, development team members appeared visibly frustrated. Project construction manager Greg Vick told commissioners that he felt that the commission was changing what was expressed at a design review hearing in October.

Julie Livingston, who was present at both meetings, said that concerns about the bulk of the building were consistent at both meetings. While the commission recommended possible ways to make the building pass muster, the developer and architect expressed concerns that such changes would impact the energy efficiency of the project and its ability to reach net-zero status.

“We support the project, the ideas of it – everything about it except the form when it gets to the guidelines,” Wark said.

Also on Thursday:

Modera Buckman

The design for a proposed seven-story building for the corner of Southeast 12th Avenue and Belmont Street was sent back for more changes. The Mill Creek Residential Trust project team is due to return before the commission on Feb. 9.��The proposed building would include 189 residential units, ground-floor retail space and 88 ground-floor parking and loading spaces.

While commissioners praised the changes such as an increased setback, from 10 feet to 22 feet, from the neighboring historic building, they requested further cosmetic changes and design refinement.

Leeb Architects is designing the project.

Modera Glisan

The design commission followed the city staff recommendation and sent back another Mill Creek Residential Trust project for refinement. The proposal is for a 12-story, three-quarters-block, mixed-use building in the River District on a site bounded by Northwest 14th Avenue and Glisan and Hoyt streets. The development would include 291 residential units.

The staff recommended approval of parking modification. Staffers noted three main issues that prevented approval: architectural coherency, ground-floor plaza activation and material board and samples.

The commission did recommend to developers several options that could meet commission guidelines and secure approval.

The project will return before the design commission on Feb. 9.

SERA Architects is the project’s designer.

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