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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The Prosper Portland Board of Commissioners on Wednesday authorized a $750,000 loan to the developer of an approximately 230-unit, net-zero, middle-income housing project in the Broadway Corridor. The loan will pay for a share of predevelopment expenses associated with the development of Parcel 6 on the 14-acre former United States Postal Service property.

The site is at the northeast corner of the intersection of Northwest Ninth Avenue and Johnson Steet. Prosper Portland acquired the USPS property in 2016 and has since secured approval of a master plan, completed site preparation activities, and coordinated with city bureau partners on the construction of public infrastructure and utilities to serve the district.

Related Northwest is developing the project. The team includes ZGF, Mithun, PAE and Walsh Construction.

Apartments will range from studios to three-bedroom units and be for people earning 60-120 percent of area median income, Prosper Portland spokesperson Shawn Uhlman stated in an email. Plans call for inclusion of structured parking and a commercial component.

Prosper Portland was awarded $33.5 million from the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) for the redevelopment of Parcel 6. Once funding is received, Prosper Portland will add $250,000 to the loan under the same terms and conditions, for a total of $1 million.

The Parcel 6 project is one of the first net-zero developments of its kind via PCEF, Prosper Portland senior project manager Sarah Harpole said.

Wednesday’s action allows Related Northwest to advance predevelopment activities that are necessary for determining project feasibility, a Prosper Portland staff report states.

“The scope of work will move Related and their team through conceptual design and schematic design, some early environmental assessment work, geotechnical work, some market analysis, and most importantly, some updated construction pricing,” Harpole said.

The project is estimated to cost approximately $130 million, but the predevelopment process will help the team refine the numbers and create greater certainty, Uhlman stated.

Another Broadway Corridor project, led by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, is under construction to extend Northwest Johnson and Kearney streets. Johnson Street will serve as the heart of the district and include wide sidewalks. Construction of the street extensions is scheduled to finish in late 2026, Harpole said.

Meanwhile, a 14-story, approximately 230-unit affordable housing proposal is still in predevelopment. Home Forward and the Urban League of Portland are developing that project for Parcel 4A, directly south of Parcel 6. Apartments are expected to range from studios to three-bedroom units.

The Parcel 6 project is on a similar timeline as for Parcel 4A; both buildings are projected to open to residents in late 2028.

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