Plans for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) District are moving forward, with construction of the first project in the master plan set to begin next year.

The Portland City Council on Wednesday authorized a term sheet to serve as a guide for project agreements for the OMSI Master Plan District. The city council also authorized a $16.9 million intergovernmental agreement between Prosper Portland and the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to construct the New Water Avenue project.

Last week, the Prosper Portland Board of Commissioners approved the term sheet and IGA, moving it on to the Portland City Council.

Approving the term sheet affirms cooperation between OMSI, the city of Portland and Prosper Portland to achieve the goal and policies of the Central City Master Plan. The master plan establishes an urban design framework and determines adequate utilities.

The project includes 24 acres of transit-oriented, mixed-use development, 1,200 new market rate and affordable housing units and the restoration of Tribal presence on the Willamette River through the creation of a Center for Tribal Nations and the waterfront education park. Native American-led architecture firm Earthwise Design is leading the design of the Center for Tribal Nations. OMSI and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission will issue a request for proposals for design of the waterfront. The project is scheduled to reach 30-percent design by March 2027 and funding by spring 2028.

The city funding is allocated for the first phase of the project. This includes the New Water Avenue, a sewer systems project, design and planning for a new waterfront education park and Center for Tribal Nations, Tract A, and Tract C/D. This phase is expected to take 10 years to complete.

Phase two will include private development projects and the feasibility of district parking. Affordable housing projects will take place during phase two or phase three, depending on funding availability. Construction of the waterfront education park is also likely to take place during phase two. Phase three will include private development projects, Loop Road and city infrastructure, and planning and development of district parking.

Prosper Portland will invest $10.9 million in Central Eastside Tax Increment Finance (TIF) resources into the New Water Avenue Project and will transfer another $6 million in State of Oregon funds, once received from Business Oregon. PBOT has budgeted $500,000 in Transportation System Development Charges that can be made available for eligible improvements within the project.

The total project cost is estimated at $90 million and includes $30 million for New Water Avenue, $40 million for the waterfront education park and $15.9 million for Old Water Avenue and Loop Road.

The project is now 75 percent funded for phase one, with continued efforts to secure public funds to close the remaining gap, OMSI stated in a press release.

The New Water Avenue project, which will include a two-way cycle track, will be the first project to break ground and is scheduled to start in November 2025 and be complete in July 2027.

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The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry‘s (OMSI) plans for a new neighborhood district are moving forward.

The Prosper Portland Board of Commissioners on Wednesday authorized a term sheet with OMSI related to development plans for the OMSI District. The commission also approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) for $10.9 million of Central Eastside Tax Increment Finance (TIF) resources, and up to $16.9 million if Prosper Portland and Business Oregon execute a $6 million grant.

Amy Nagy, development manager at Prosper Portland, said the term sheet provides the framework for private or public infrastructure and vertical development projects related to the OMSI District Central City Master Plan between Prosper Portland, the city of Portland and OMSI.

The intergovernmental agreement directs funding from Prosper Portland to PBOT for design, construction and management of New Water Avenue.

“OMSI has been a cultural attraction in the city since the 1950s,” Nagy said.

The museum moved from Washington Park to the Central Eastside in the early ’90s. It welcomes over 1 million visitors a year, hosts classroom and education opportunities for over 8,000 kids a year and partners with other museums in 15 different states, bringing different exhibits and learning opportunities, Nagy said.

In 2018, OMSI retained Edlen & Co. as its master developer and ZGF Architects to lead the Central City Master Plan process. In addition, Prosper Portland coordinated city bureau participation to support master plan development. OMSI’s plan for the District is intended to be an inclusive, vibrant new neighborhood and community destination. It includes a new waterfront education park featuring public green space, plazas, restored riparian and upland habitats, and outdoor science programming. Through its partnerships with the Indigenous and Tribal communities, a Native presence will be restored along the waterfront and within the built environment. The OMSI District will ultimately become home to 1,200 new residential units, with a goal of over one-third of them being affordable housing.

Prosper Portland partnered with city bureaus to negotiate the term sheet with OMSI to identify and invest in public and private infrastructure within the OMSI District over three phases. Construction of New Water Avenue and the Waterfront Education Park are key projects for Phase One. OMSI will also identify private development projects and build out 250,000 gross square feet of vertical development.

Phase Two is focused on feasibility, including a district parking solution and private development, and an agreement between the Portland Housing Bureau and OMSI to achieve the district’s affordable housing goals. Phase Three uses the feasibility findings to continue build out of the district

OMSI and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission will issue a Request for Proposal for design of the waterfront. The project is scheduled to reach 30-percent design by March 2027 and funding by spring 2028.

Funding in the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) will support construction of New Water Avenue, which will become the primary multi-modal street dedicated to moving freight and accommodating a new two-way cycle track. Old Water Avenue will also require some street improvements to support the new alignment.

“New Water Avenue is going to be the nerve center of the district,” Nagy said. “It’s going to hold all new utilities, including water.”

OMSI, Prosper Portland and PBOT have been working to identify public resources to build the $30 million infrastructure project. Through the IGA, Prosper Portland is providing $10.9 million in Central Eastside TIF resources to PBOT for the design, construction and management of the project. The state of Oregon is providing an additional $11 million, including a recent allocation of $6 million through the State Infrastructure Fund.

The project partners will pursue money to cover the balance of the project cost through June 30, 2025. If unsuccessful, the term sheet identifies a waterfall approach to reduce infrastructure costs that culminates with OMSI agreeing to a local improvement district to cover the financial gap.

The estimated total project cost is $90 million, which does not include plans for parking.

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A master plan for a one-of-a-kind neighborhood around the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is on the verge of gaining the Portland Design Commission‘s approval.

A straw poll taken of commissioners at the end of a land use hearing on Thursday indicated that all would approve the proposed master plan – if the project team were to make some slight tweaks.

At full build-out, as proposed, the 34-acre area of Southeast Portland would hold an approximately 3.4-million-square-foot mix of institutional, commercial, retail, and residential development – including up to 1,200 units of housing. There would also be a third-of-a-mile waterfront park along the Willamette River.

“We want it to truly be a manifestation of the mixed-use district with a lot of different opportunities for people to come here but also to live here and work here,” OMSI CEO Erin Graham said.

The site spans over 10 city blocks from Clay Street to Caruthers Street and includes Portland Community College’s CLIMB Center and the Hampton Opera Center.

In the previous hearing for the proposed master plan, in August, commissioners expressed concerns over whether the uniquely shaped developable tracts would create a “visual wall” between the city’s Central Eastside and the river. If approved, the master plan would create eight new tracts with total allowable building heights of 250 feet with bonuses, and podium heights of 50 feet.

Due to the area’s location between Union Pacific Railroad tracks to the east and the Willamette River to the west, the building sites are larger than most Portland city blocks – ranging in length from 230 feet to 750 feet. That led to two notable changes being made: The massing envelopes at Tract C and E (southern end of the master plan) now step down to the river and additional upper-story step-backs are proposed.

Most of Thursday’s hearing was spent ironing out the finer details while the master plan continues to be reviewed by city bureaus, including transportation, water, and parks and recreation. Commissioners, project team members and city planners treated the hearing more like a work session than a formal affair, methodically going through each condition of approval and striking redundancies and fixing nuances to the written code – so conditions did not read as suggestions but rather requirements.

A debate surfaced between commissioners and project team members during a discussion about heights of building passageways on whether it is sufficient for a condition to have more qualitative parameters such as saying it should be “inviting,” “safe,” and “well activated,” rather than being tied to a numerical value.

The difficulty with a qualitative parameter, Design Commission Chair Sam Rodriguez said, is “how do phrase this in a way that you know as a commission – 10 years from now (we) can interpret it without having to have 10 lawyers in the room.”

Commissioners settled on inclusion of at least a minimum dimension within the condition as a best practice. All future developments in the master plan would be required to go through either a Type II or Type III design review process – where more specifics can be determined.

The next hearing date for the OMSI Central City Master Plan has been tentatively scheduled for early February 2023. Then the city bureaus’ reviews of the site will be discussed and a vote on potential approval will likely be called.

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Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s vision for its future one-of-a-kind neighborhood took its first steps in the review process on Thursday at the Portland Design Commission.

At full buildout, the 34-acre master plan area expects to be home to about 3.4 million square feet of mixed institutional, commercial, retail and residential development – including up to 1,200 units of housing, where at least 20 percent plan to be for low-income families.

The site spans over 10 city blocks from Clay Street to Caruthers Street in the city’s lower east side. It includes Portland Community College’s CLIMB center, a center for continuing learning for individuals, management and business, and Portland Opera’s Hampton Center. Both are members of the master plan’s development team, which Edlen & Co. is advising.

Commissioners remarked that plans are evolving in a positive path for the district since its previous Design Advice Requests in 2017 and 2019, but like most new Central City master plans further details still need to be flushed out. For example, the tract lengths.

Building Façade Lengths

If approved, the master plan would create eight new developable blocks “tracts” with total heights of 250 feet with bonuses, and podium heights of 50 feet. The tract closest to the river would have a max height of 75 feet. But due to the organic nature of the site caused by the Union Pacific Railway tracks to the east and the Willamette River on the west, the building sites are larger than most Portland city blocks – varying in length from 230 feet to 750 feet — and uniquely shaped.

Commissioner Jessica Molinar said some of the tracts have a potential of creating a “visual wall” between the city’s east and central eastside and the river.

ZGF’s Nolan Lienhart, director of planning and urban design, said rather than designating where the brakes in the wall needed to be they wanted to say, “here’s the limit” and then further define the criteria from there. In the case of the PCC-owned tract on the north end of the site that has a 750-foot length, each building’s facade built upon it would be limited up to 250-feet in length.

Commissioner Don Vallaster said while a fair amount of developmental flexibility is needed because they are “really weird, shaped blocks,” there does need to be more of a limit on the building’s lengths. Currently, the PCC tract is the only one that has one.

All three existing institutional partners — OMSI, PCC and Portland Opera — plan to continue and expand their current programs within the plan area. The Portland Opera is planning a new landmark building to exist on its Opera Tract 1 site as a performing arts center.

Adjustments

The development team is seeking five adjustments to the building line standards for the site that dictate how much of the buildings needs to be pulled to the sidewalk’s edge. They are requesting that this requirement be reduced for most of the tracts from the 75 percent standard in the central eastside to 50 percent or 0 percent and have a landscaped edge instead for some.

“Because these tracks have irregular shapes and are larger than the standard city blocks,” ZGF Architects Associate Kate Brooks said, “we wanted to provide more flexibility along the tract edges.”

Ben Nielsen, senior city planner, said his first inclination was that maybe these adjustment requests were asking for too much, but agreed that it would make sense since these tracts are generally larger.

The team is also requesting three adjustments to the parking and loading access standards primarily to allow access to the different street segments the new master plan would connect too.

New Street Structure

Currently, the only roads within the site are Water Avenue, which goes past the PCC building and straight into an OMSI parking lot, and Loop Road that circles a parking lot. To accommodate future freight and commuter traffic, the master plan would add a new street that runs the length of the site and parallel to the tracks.

A new street — New Water Avenue — would be the new main arterial in and out of the area and would take hold of the Major City Bikeway designation that that exists for the current Water Avenue.

The existing Water Avenue would remain, but it be renamed to “Old Water Avenue” and be more of a quieter, slower neighborhood street.

A Return

As of Thursday’s hearing, the Portland Bureau of Transportation had not yet completed the traffic impact analysis for the new district due to a filing error by the applicant. As such, a continuation hearing was scheduled for the review and tentatively set for October.

Commissioners said they hope the project team will return with more details, including an outlined phasing approach for the open space and how wayfinding will look within the master plan area.

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More than 7,000 construction jobs will be created by the 3 million-square-foot mixed-use development proposed by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

The master plan, designed by ZGF Architects, was formally submitted to the city of Portland for approval in December after roughly 14 years of planning. The site will span over 10 city blocks from Clay Street to Caruthers Street in the city’s lower east side.

The new neighborhood expects to produce more than $11 million in annual property tax revenue at full buildout and generate $22 million in annual income tax revenue, based on a report by EcoNorthwest.

Edlen & Co. is advising as the developer for the site.

What will the site include?

Little details are known about the projects that will appear in the district as it is still early in development. However, two main aspects of the district have been unveiled, one of which is a third-of-a-mile waterfront park along the Willamette River. The other is housing — the site expects to have up to 1,200 units, where at least 20 percent will be for low-income families.

The vision behind the district is centered on innovation, culture and science. OMSI’s CEO Erin Graham said it expanded from the museum’s mission and hours of community listening.

A direct output of those conversations, Graham added, was the park.

OMSI is working with Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission on the park concept to recenter the tribal presence on the Willamette River. It will include a public green space, plazas and hands-on outdoor science programs around indigenous ecological knowledge and culture. The project also aims to restore the riverfront habitat.

The land, the river and the tracks

Unlike the Broadway Corridor and the Conway master plan in Northwest Portland, which fit seamlessly into Portland’s grid, OMSI is in a tricky spot. The 18.5-acre site is separated from nearby neighborhoods by bridges on either side and the river and the Union Pacific Railway tracks surrounding it.

ZGF’s Nolan Lienhart, director of planning and urban design, said this distinguishes its form from other urban networks around town. Graham added it will make the site feel more organic.

However, developer Jill Sherman said the site’s location is a challenge the district will have to overcome. In many ways, she added, it is a great site, especially with the access to the river, but there is a disconnect that will hopefully change over time.

The project already had two significant wins in this department and potentially a third on the way. In 2015, TriMet completed the MAX Orange Line and Tilikum Crossing connecting the OMSI site to the greater Portland Metro area. In addition, last year, the state of Oregon committed $5 million toward the construction of a new Water Avenue, a critical infrastructure piece of the plan.

The new street would run the length of the site and parallel to the train track connecting the entire east end of the district to an arterial.

Currently, the only roads in and around the site are Water Avenue, which swoops past a Portland Community College building and goes straight to the OMSI parking lots, and Loop Road that circles a parking lot.

In the proposal, the current Water Avenue would stay (listed on site plans as Old Water Avenue), and the new arterial would bound the street with Loop Road.

The third win may come in a bicycle and pedestrian pathway. The city of Portland included the OMSI District Masterplan in the for the future Green Loop. A portion of the 6-mile bike and pedestrian way would run through the south end of the OMSI District and over Tilikum Crossing. A pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the rail tracks is also under consideration by the city.

The future phases of buildout

The entire buildout will likely take 10 to 20 years – dictated mainly by the market.

As the developer, Sherman said she’s hoping to see a relatively balanced amount of housing and commercial office uses within the district. The key will be to have people around during the day, primarily workers and residents, in the evening, so the neighborhood is active, and the ground-floor retail is supported.

The neighborhood plans to be a hub for innovation, art and learning.

“I think that can make it a really exciting place for businesses that work in STEM industries or who are makers,” Sherman said.

Process of Approval

According to a representative for OMSI, the first land-use hearing is scheduled for March 31. From there, it could take at least six months with city planners before a vote of approval occurs.

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The Portland Design Commission on Thursday provided another set of opinions on the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry‘s , and mostly approved of – though while citing some concerns with massing and access throughout the property. The project received its first , when commissioners took issue with some of the same aspects.

The 18.5-acre site is being tackled by a team including ZGF Architects, landscape architect Mayer/Reed and on behalf of OMSI. Seven podium-style buildings are planned, with total heights of 250 feet, and podium heights of 50 feet.

The buildings would be shaped and arranged in unique ways to allow movement throughout the space. Two of the buildings would have above-grade parking, while two others would have below-grade parking. Detailed renderings of the buildings have not been released yet, but rather only diagrams depicting the general massing structure.

Several public plazas will serve as event venues, and officials plan to integrate the Innovation Quadrant, where institutions like the museum and local universities can meet with startups and established businesses to drive innovation within the city.

Commissioner Zari Santner found the plazas to be geared too much toward children and events, and not enough for local residents, especially those living and working in the Innovation Quadrant.

“There is going to be a community here,” she said. “What are their needs?”

Other commissioners said the proposed podium height would be too high. Commissioner Jessica Molinar suggested the site be broken up to let more light in, as she said it currently looks more like a wall blocking the east side. Molinar and Commissioner Chandra Robinson similarly critiqued the public spaces, saying they wouldn’t be good for rainy-day activity.

But Molinar did say is headed in a good direction. Since the project is still in the design advice phase, architects can make changes before pursuing a review hearing.

The OMSI master plan team members said Thursday they will discuss whether to pursue another design advice hearing or one for land use review.

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Designers for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry campus development are still wrestling with basic questions relating to transportation circulation and open spaces on the Southeast Portland site.

Plans for OMSI‘s 18.5-acre property went before the Portland Design Commission for advice during a meeting on Thursday. OMSI is seeking approval for the master plan under Central City 2035 plan rules.

Many of the questions facing OMSI’s proposed redevelopment concern how it relates to its surroundings, including a bicycle artery, the city’s Green Loop concept, the Willamette River to the west and Union Pacific railroad tracks to the east.

The Green Loop would go through OMSI’s site, but the precise alignment is undetermined.

OMSI proposes to reroute Water Avenue to the east, and use old Water Avenue as a “pedestrian-oriented main street” through the site. Also planned is a loop road throughout the campus to connect developable properties.

OMSI’s plans include a bridge over the Union Pacific railroad tracks to connect the campus to Southeast Portland neighborhoods. The bridge would be built by the city of Portland.

“We believe such a bridge can become an iconic, identifying development for the district,” said Allison Rouse, a project manager for ZGF Architects.

Old Water Avenue would have a two-way cycle track to accommodate bicyclists. Planners discussed how to slow bicyclists a bit in keeping with a family-friendly mixed-use street, but not so much that cyclists abandon the route for the Eastbank Esplanade.

Designers with ZGF and Mayer/Reed are working with Gerding Edlen, the master developer selected by OMSI in July 2018 after a competitive bidding process. An early master plan for the site was laid out by Snohetta, an international design firm.

The campus encompasses seven developable parcels ranging in size from 0.69 acres to 4.49 acres. Maximum building heights with bonuses reach 250 feet.

Commissioner Jessica Molinar expressed concern that the loop road could feel like an alleyway if it doesn’t have enough active uses.

“It really depends on what’s going to happen there, which is architecture,” she said.

Commissioner Zari Santner asked if old Water Avenue should be a woonerf – a Dutch-style shared street that places less emphasis on auto traffic.

“The focus is really for people,” she said.

OMSI’s designers said there are practical obstacles to such a design.

“We very much would like it to look like a woonerf, Zari, but we have had some conversation with (the Portland Bureau of Transportation) about the difficulties of that,” said Carol Mayer-Reed, a principal at Mayer/Reed Inc.

Santner also said the campus needs to better relate to the river.

“The whole district, the plan, is inward-looking,” she said. “It’s not really embracing the river.”

Both city and private planners have expressed some frustration regarding the vagueness of the Green Loop – a linear-park concept through the Central City. There are two options for the Green Loop’s alignment, and it must meet other segments of the loop north and south of OMSI’s campus.

“There’s two routes it could follow, and it’s really not up to OMSI to decide which it should follow,” said Ben Nielsen, a senior planner at the Bureau of Development Services. “It’s a continuing conversation at this point.”

Nielsen acknowledged the Green Loop could be better defined.

“It’s not as codified yet as it should be to be a real thing, but it’s in process,” he said.

The OMSI master plan is scheduled to return before the Design Commission in August for more advice.

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The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry has chosen a prominent Portland developer to remake the nonprofit group’s 18-acre riverfront campus in Southeast Portland.

Gerding Edlen beat out six other applicants to serve as master developer of OMSI‘s campus. Three applicants were interviewed, OMSI spokesman John Farmer stated in an email message.

Gerding Edlen, founded in Portland in 1996 by Mark Edlen and the late Bob Gerding, has risen to become a large-scale real estate investment and development firm. The company has played a role in developing the Brewery Blocks in the Pearl District, the South Waterfront, Twelve West, Oregon Health and Science University‘s Center for Health and Healing and many other local projects.

“I was impressed by their demonstrated expertise in developing transformative urban neighborhoods like the Brewery Blocks and South Waterfront, and their ability to work with the city of Portland and other public agencies in securing public funds for public-private partnerships,” OMSI President and CEO Nancy Steuber stated in an email message.

Securing public dollars was a stumbling block for the proposed Zidell Yards project, which collapsed earlier this month after Zidell officials determined the South Waterfront project wouldn’t work without additional money for public infrastructure. OMSI officials had hoped Zidell Yards would serve as a “bookend” development across the Willamette River.

“The city has given us a pretty strong commitment that they’ll be a good partner in this process,” said Ken Wilson, OMSI’s senior director of campus development. “We already have a lot of public infrastructure in place, which Zidell Yards didn’t. The request is probably going to be less than (Zidell officials asked the city to contribute). We’re optimistic the city is going to be able to step up and help out where appropriate.”

Gerding Edlen’s team includes SERA Architects, the Farkas Group, Long Haul Capital Group and Urban Systems.

OMSI in January issued a request for qualifications. The nonprofit developed a campus master plan concept with design firm Snohetta, in consultation with city officials.

The plan identified 11 acres of developable land with capacity for up to 1.7 million square feet of buildable space. The development opportunities are on seven developable parcels ranging from 0.69 acres to 4.49 acres. Maximum building heights vary from 80 feet to 250 feet.

“What particular uses will be on the site are still to be determined as we partner with Gerding and decide what makes sense,” Steuber said in an interview.

Jill Sherman, a Gerding Edlen partner, is leading the OMSI campus redevelopment. The project will go through the city’s Central City master plan process, she said.

Sherman said an anchor tenant will be sought that aligns with OMSI’s mission.

“It’d be great to find an anchor tenant for a building that is somehow technology- or energy-focused,” she said.

Multifamily buildings will not be a focus, Sherman said.

“There may be some component of housing, but it’s not meant to be the majority,” she said.

Office uses are likely on the site, Sherman said.

OMSI’s campus also makes sense for a cutting-edge sustainability project, Sherman said.

“It seems like such a great, obvious location for a demonstration project for a new, innovative technology, or a known technology that hasn’t been used much here,” she said.

That could mean a central plant shared between buildings, sustainable wastewater treatment or an innovative transportation project.

“Those are all possibilities and we’ll be looking at what makes sense for OMSI’s campus,” she said.

OMSI has insisted on retaining ownership of the land to create a long-term financial asset that would support the museum. Ground leases will be available on individual sites, with a structure to be determined. Gerding Edlen has successfully used that approach before, including with Sound Transit’s under-construction development in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

“It’s always going to be a little bit easier to finance a project that’s fee simple, but we have done a number of ground leases and it’s not an unusual approach for a public or nonprofit entity that owns the land,” Sherman said.

Gerding Edlen has developed more than 75 buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council‘s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. As Gerding Edlen has grown, it has increasingly looked to other markets, including Boston, Chicago and Oakland, California.

Last year, Edlen reduced his day-to-day management of the firm, turning the keys over to co-managing partners Kelly Saito and Molly Bordonaro. Edlen continues to serve as the firm’s board chairman.

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OMSI’s request for qualifications (PDF)

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is soliciting a proposal for a densely built 18-acre campus, with flexibility to shift with changing market conditions and transportation technology.

OMSI has issued a request for qualifications for a master developer or team to lead redevelopment of the museum’s property along the Willamette River in Southeast Portland. Responses are due by 5 p.m. on Feb. 28.

OMSI worked with design firm Snohetta and the city of Portland to craft the master plan. The campus includes 11 acres of developable land with capacity for up to 1.7 million square feet of buildable space.

The museum’s RFQ comes as developers are scrambling for available space in central Portland. Strong demand for residential, office and industrial uses has pushed land prices higher, particularly in close-in locations like OMSI’s.

“This is a big opportunity,” OMSI President Nancy Steuber said. “It’s an amazing site. Just from the reaction we’ve seen, we expect to attract interest from near and far.”

Several other large, master-planned development projects are in development, including Zidell Yards in the South Waterfront District, the Broadway Corridor in Northwest Portland and The Waterfront in Vancouver, Washington.

OMSI can take advantage of a “bookend” relationship with Zidell Yards, said Carol Gossett, the museum’s property development manager.

“OMSI has some very unique features at this site, being next to one of the transit hubs of the city, having a quarter-mile of waterfront, being in the central core,” Steuber added. “Most importantly, OMSI’s here. So we are already seeing a million people a year that we serve.”

The property includes seven developable parcels ranging from 0.69 acres to 4.49 acres. Maximum building heights vary from 80 feet to 250 feet. The property will be rezoned as Central Employment (EX) with a design overlay, according to the Central City 2035 plan, giving it flexibility for a range of uses. OMSI’s pitch to developers gives broad guidelines, but officials said they wanted to remain flexible to see how developers respond.

“We anticipate that a developer would come in with a mix of uses across the site,” Steuber said. “It would be market-driven.”

OMSI is making the parcels available for ground leases, not for sale. Museum officials are counting on the ongoing lease revenue to be a “revenue generator to support OMSI’s mission,” Steuber said. The revenue would create a “quasi-endowment” to support OMSI’s educational mission.

OMSI’s RFQ asks for “distinctive design” with activated ground-floor spaces and ample public gathering places. Developers’ proposals should “strive for maximum density” in accordance with the master plan and include “market-driven uses such as office, commercial, hotel, retail, entertainment and residential uses.”

The master plan assumes 1,936 parking spaces would be created on the OMSI campus, but the eventual amount will be driven by city requirements and market analysis.

As part of the master plan, OMSI envisions a realignment of Water Avenue to the east and conversion of a portion of the old avenue into an internal street on the OMSI campus.

OMSI officials have had discussions with a number of groups that have expressed interest in space on the campus, including the proposed Portland River Center and James Beard Public Market. But OMSI officials have consistently said they’ve made no promises, and want to work with a developer first.

“We’ve committed to nothing,” OMSI spokesman John Farmer said. “We want to be thoughtful and deliberate in our process and how we do this.”

An informational pre-proposal meeting for developers will take place Tuesday at 1 p.m. at OMSI. Officials plan to host presentations by short-listed respondents during the first week of April. A development partner would be approved on April 13. A nonbinding memorandum of agreement would follow around midyear. Transactions may be phased over many years, according to OMSI.

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The Portland Design Commission on Thursday got its first look at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s master plan for development around its Southeast Portland campus, and overall was encouraged by progress being made.

“I have great confidence in this team and its work,” Commissioner David Wark said.

The plan, featuring work by international design firm Snohetta, will govern use of seven developable parcels that sit north of the �վ�������ܳ�������Dz������Բ�‘s eastern bridgehead. The parcels range in size from 0.69 acres to 4.49 acres.

While the master plan won’t dictate what structures will be built or what they will look like, it will provide guidance coming out of what OMSI‘s development team envisions for the site.

“While about 11 acres is relevant,” Snohetta partner and landscape architect Michelle Delk said, “once we look at waterfronts, freeway connectivity offerings, other improved public spaces and outdoor spaces, we are really looking at development on about 50 percent of the property.”

The nonprofit intends to lease the parcels to developers. Structures on the campus would likely house a mixture of small retail and light industrial businesses, Delk said.

“This is not a plan that is intended to be specific about the types of uses,” she said.

The plan calls for active ground-floor uses, underground parking and walkways to provide pedestrians access to the Willamette River.

Commissioners feared that the layout of the plots could lead to a development pattern that creates a wall of buildings separating the campus from the city’s east side.

“Basically this development has turned its back on the east side,” Commissioner Tad Savinar said. “I keep looking for a way to invite the whole east side onto your site.”

The commission also warned the team not to overpromise public amenities.

“What has happened is someone comes in with a giant plan that has all kinds of amenities, and we say, ‘Go, team, go,” Savinar said. “We kind of look the other way on some other things a little bit and then the project comes in for the second DAR or design review, and public amenities are completely watered down and we have already given go-ahead on other things and we are stuck. We are not going to be stuck anymore. Anything you show us as a public amenity, we want to see it.”

The design team also was warned to make sure the photos in presentations matched their descriptions of uses for the site.

“That image looks like they could have a Gap (clothing store), and that is not what we have been talking about,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

OMSI hopes to bring a more complete plan before the commission in early 2018.

Also on Thursday:

5036 N.E. Sandy Blvd.

The Portland Design Commission denied an appeal of approval given for a six-story, 64-foot-tall mixed-use building on Northeast Sandy Boulevard by a 4-0 vote. Vallaster and Wark didn’t vote because they weren’t present at the original hearing. Commissioner Andrew Clarke wasn’t present Thursday.

Resident Laurie Skokan claimed that the building designed by TVA Architects would be too tall to fit in the neighborhood. Her appeal also claimed Everett Custom Homes’ development lacked parking.

South Waterfront greenway

The Zidells‘ proposed greenway that would become part of the 2004 greenway development plan was presented to the Design Commission. As designed by Place Studio, the greenway would stretch from Heritage Park to the Marquam Bridge.

Thursday’s discussions focused on the slipway and a proposed pedestrian bridge. The proposal calls for providing primary public access to the river, including a bridge across the slipway and two docks.

The commission’s key concern revolved around circulation of pedestrians and bicyclists through the site. Project developers plan to bring the project for another design advice hearing early next year with hopes of getting a full design review and approval by March.

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