At first glance, a new $34 million building at the University of Portland doesn’t stand out from nearby structures that are well over a century old. School officials and the building’s architects consider that a success.

Dundon-Berchtold Hall, the first new academic building to open on the North Portland campus in over two decades, was designed to be aesthetically similar to historic buildings in the vicinity.

“When driving up our main drive and seeing the building for the first time, we wanted it to seem like it had always been here,” said Jim Ravelli, the school’s vice president for university operations. “We wanted to have a classic, traditional look, yet have the features of a modern building.”

University leaders and the buildings’ donors were looking to echo design elements of older buildings across campus built in the Collegiate Gothic style, which is more typical of East Coast universities and less common of those west of the Rockies.

To achieve that goal, the university hired the design team of Robert A.M. Stern Architects, a New York-based firm with a portfolio including buildings at Harvard, Princeton and Notre Dame, and Soderstrom Architects, a Portland-based firm that has designed multiple buildings on the campus and has experience with education and faith-based design.

The building is clad in distressed brick and variegated Indiana limestone, while large oak doors in arched, recessed entries as well as a 58-foot clock tower and copper downspouts contribute to the classic look. Inside, a cathedral-like entrance, extensive use of wood molding and wainscoting, classic light fixtures and other details contribute to the sophisticated academic feel.

“This is something you would see at Yale or Harvard,” said Dan Danielson, president of Soderstrom Architects. “This is a very unique piece of architecture for Oregon.”

The L-shaped building footprint creates a large, open quad between Dundon-Berchtold Hall and Waldschmidt Hall, a 128-year-old administrative building. In order to create a cohesive aesthetic between the structures, the architects used tumbled brick on the new building for a more rustic, warm feel.

A classic appearance belies what is a thoroughly modern building equipped with high-tech features. Its 17 classrooms are equipped with drop-down projection screens and true-color laser projection, touch screen controls, digital white boards, and options for recording lectures. An 80-inch high-definition planar touch screen display is mounted in the lobby, and a student lounge has four collaboration areas with digital displays for presentations and content sharing. High-speed internet connectivity is delivered by 60 interior and six exterior wireless access points.

Green features include LED lighting, occupancy sensors to ensure lighting and air conditioning are on only in rooms that are in use, automatic window shades, and roofing materials designed to reflect sunlight and reduce the heat island effect. The university is targeting a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating.

The 65,616-square-foot building contains two stories of above-grade steel-framed space over one below-grade level. Each classroom has a capacity ranging from 40 students to over 90; some have tiered arrangements and installed furniture, and others have podiums, desks and chairs that can easily be moved and rearranged to facilitate collaboration and discussion. The building also has a 146-seat multipurpose auditorium, faculty offices, a large study lounge with a red marble fireplace, 12 formal and informal gathering areas, and the Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Moral Formation & Applied Ethics.

Dundon-Berchtold Hall opened to students in late August after 17 months of construction by contractor Fortis Construction; a formal blessing and dedication took place Sept. 26. The site formerly held Howard Hall, a gymnasium that was built in 1927 and then demolished following completion of a new recreation center in 2015.

The building’s design was formulated in part through a lengthy due diligence and study process. A steering committee co-led by the design team spent about 18 months engaging with faculty and students to discuss programming needs. Soderstrom Architects served as the prime architect, and Robert A.M. Stern was the project’s design architect.

The project team also included KPFF Consulting Engineers (structural and civil engineering), Interface Engineering (mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering) and PLACE Studio (landscape architecture).

Ravelli offered high praise for the architects, Fortis Construction, and the subcontractors and skilled tradespeople who collaborated on the building.

“They took immense pride in this project,” he said, “and many of them have described it as a once-in-a-career opportunity.”

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Sub-bids were published this week for work on a $46 million arts center in downtown Beaverton, the latest sign the showcase civic project is moving forward.

Construction manager/general contractor Skanska USA Building will build the 43,235-square-foot Patricia Reser Center for the Arts. The regional arts venue will include a 550-seat theater, art gallery, and space for rehearsals, workshops and meetings. The project will be the first new performing arts center built in the Portland metro region in three decades, supporters say.

Project backers expect to break ground before the end of the year. If all goes well, the arts center would open in mid-2021.

The project would be built on a city-owned parcel adjacent to The Round, increasingly a hub of public life in Beaverton. The area is on the MAX Blue Line and near a bustling food-cart pod.

“This project is part of a larger project for downtown Beaverton to create a more vibrant downtown,” said Chris Ayzoukian, general manager of the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts.

Renderings show an expansive two-story building on Beaverton Creek with transparent glass facades framed by narrow white columns backing into a box-shaped performing arts venue and the taller parking garage.

A light-filled, transparent design was repeatedly mentioned by local residents in surveys as desirable, Ayzoukian said.

“The site is unique in that it’s right along Beaverton Creek, so there’s real opportunity to play with the natural landscape, and the urban, with The Round next door,” Ayzoukian said.

The project is funded by $21.9 million from the city of Beaverton via a lodging tax. The venue received a boost from the Oregon Legislature, which awarded $1.5 million in lottery funding during the 2019 session. Reser, who serves as chair of the Beaverton Arts Foundation board, donated $13 million.

Other private fundraising will provide the balance of the funding. The Arts Foundation is still looking to raise $3.5 million, said Executive Director Lani E. Faith.

The Beaverton City Council must give final approval to break ground. A Skanska executive declined to comment, referring questions to the city of Beaverton.

“There are a few more steps and hurdles to go before the project is green lighted,” said Cadence Petros, development division manager for the city of Beaverton. “City Council needs to make a determination that they’re far enough along in the fundraising to pull the trigger.”

The city would continue to own the building after completion. Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle also serves on the Arts Foundation’s board.

The Arts Center will include 2,400 square feet of office space for administrative purposes. The facility will not have enough space to lease out to other users, Ayzoukian said.

A neighboring parking garage will be built at the same time. The parking structure will have approximately 350 vehicle spaces and 7,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. “We’re looking to attract activation of the street along the lines of restaurants or retail,” Ayzoukian said.

During the design phase, the Arts Center theater was enlarged from 450 to 550 seats. The facility is meant to host both regional performing arts groups as well as touring acts. “The center has evolved quite a bit, as often these projects do,” Ayzoukian said.

Opsis Architecture is designing the project, and Gerding Edlen is serving as owner’s representative. The project team also includes landscape architect PLACE Studio, KPFF Consulting Engineers, Otak, and PAE Consulting Engineers.

A smaller, 1,800-square-foot room called The Lab will host more intimate performances and workshops.

“For a long time there’s been a shortage of performing arts in the region, especially on the West side,” Ayzoukian said. “This center fills a real need in terms of performance space.”

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Portland design commissioners signaled Thursday they may be flexible in interpreting a 12-foot setback requirement for new development fronting the Green Loop.

Designers for the Block 216 project, along with city officials, are working to interpret new city standards for the Green Loop – a six-mile route in the Central City. The proposal from developer Walt Bowen and GBD Architects for a 35-story mixed-use building is the first along the Green Loop to undergo design review since the Central City 2035 plan was enacted.

A key question is how to enforce a guideline requiring 12-foot setbacks along 75 percent of the property line facing the Green Loop. The Block 216 tower would adjoin the Green Loop on Southwest Ninth Avenue between Washington and Alder streets.

Several commissioners said they would be open to a modification for the Block 216 project.

“I’m not going to be really a stickler on the 12-foot setback requirement; it’s going to be more about the environment you create,” Commissioner Andrew Clarke said. “I think you’re going in the right direction.”

If the Design Commission approves a modification of the setback requirement, it could open the door for developers of future projects to argue they, too, deserve an exception.

“I do believe this is precedent-setting for the city as well,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

Phil Beyl, GBD’s director, said the Design Commission’s decision on the Block 216 project does not need to bind the commission in the future.

“What’s developed here does not have to be a precedent for all other block faces,” he said.

The setback would require the building to give back approximately 1,800 square feet along the ground-floor property line. That would render some projects undevelopable, Beyl said.

“From a plan development standpoint, it’s an extremely difficult condition to accommodate on our small blocks,” he said.

Beyl said if he’d been aware of the rule when it was being considered, he would have been “screaming from the rooftops.”

Bowen is proposing a food hall fronting the Green Loop. Early designs indicate large trees, benches and other outdoor seating would be installed where the Green Loop and building meet.

Commissioner Tad Savinar suggested the Design Commission should see what the landscape architect comes up with before the commission prescribes what the Green Loop frontage should look like. PLACE Studio principal Charles Brucker is leading the landscape design.

“I’d like the landscape team to go crazy on this first,” he said. “We want it to be fantastic.”

Commissioner Zari Santner suggested plants may be the way to go, recommending clematis and trellises. “It would be wonderful if you could treat these as gardens,” she said.

Commissioners said they can’t be sure the Ninth Avenue side of the building will always be a food hall. The design must meet guidelines regardless of future tenants.

“This could be a Walgreens,” Commissioner Jessica Molinar said.

The Ninth Avenue frontage was being designed with small-scale tenants in mind, Beyl said.

“We certainly can’t guarantee that it will never become a Walgreens,” he said, “but it’s highly unlikely.”

City officials are also weighing whether to remove curbside parking spaces on the east side of the block fronting the Green Loop. Several commissioners said they favored removing the parking spaces to help create a Dutch-style woonerf, or shared street.

City officials have not decided if motor vehicle traffic will continue to be allowed on that stretch of Ninth Avenue.

“In the near term, it may need to accommodate vehicles,” senior planner Mark Raggett said. “Long term, we may want to take advantage of the opportunity to remove vehicles entirely.”

The Block 216 project is scheduled to return for another design advice meeting on Sept. 13. Beyl said the Design Commission discussions were helpful.

“We’ve advanced our critical issues a long way and understand what we need to do to finish up,” he said.

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Portland design commissioners expressed numerous reservations about the proposed design of a 35-story tower that would be built in downtown on the famed food-cart block surrounded by Southwest Ninth and 10th avenues and Washington and Alder streets. The project would be one of Portland’s tallest and largest buildings, a signature of its era and a dominant element of the fast-developing West End.

On Thursday, the project team met the Design Commission for a second design advice meeting. Commissioners made clear the project will not sail through without significant revisions.

“It might be the most important project that we’ll ever review,” Commissioner Tad Savinar said.

Commissioners’ tough questions and critical comments came as a deflating turn of events for the development team, which is looking to break ground as quickly as possible while a hotel operator is interested in the building.

Here’s a look at the project, the design issues and the regulatory hurdles it must overcome before it joins the downtown Portland skyline.

The proposal

The 35-story tower would reach 455 feet, 7 inches, just below the 460-foot maximum bonus height allowed on the block. It would include approximately 801,500 square feet of commercial and residential space. The program would include a luxury hotel with rooms on floors 9-18 and hotel uses on the ground floor and second floor. Approximately 10,400 square feet of retail space is proposed on the ground floor. The 138 residential units would be located on floors 21-35. Office space would be on the ground floor and on floors 3-8, opening onto roof terraces. Four floors of structured parking would be built underground.

The design pairs a tower on the west end of the block with a terraced podium on the east side.

The project team

Developer: Walter Bowen, BPM Real Estate Group (in February, Bowen formed BDC/Washington Street LLC, a project-specific entity).

Developer’s representative: Brian Owendoff, principal and CEO, BMO Commercial Real Estate.

Architects: Phil Beyl, director of GBD Architects, principal Kyle Andersen and senior associate Jesse Emory.

Landscape architect: Charles Brucker, principal, PLACE Studio.

Landowner: Downtown Development Group.

The site

A full block encompassing 40,000 square feet and bounded by Southwest Ninth and 10th avenues and Alder and Washington streets. The block is home to parking spaces and more than 50 food carts.

Project valuation

$235 million, according to a Bureau of Development Services estimate.

The hotel deal

The development team has executed a letter of intent with a hotel group that wants to operate a luxury hotel in the building, Beyl said Thursday.

“There is continued great momentum to make this project happen on behalf of the developer,” he said. “What that means is we are working with great urgency to move the project forward.”

Beyl declined to identify the hotel brand, but said he would do so at a later date.

The hotel deal comes amid a rush of hotel development in Portland, including the 11-story, 220-room Moxy project from Graves Hospitality across 10th Avenue.

Design concerns

Several commissioners said they were dissatisfied with the design presented Thursday. It included too many architectural “moves,” too much space devoted to accommodating vehicles and too little consideration of the context of stately older buildings including the Galleria building, the Stevens building and the Pittock Block, they said. (Disclosure: The Daily Journal of Commerce is a Pittock Block tenant).

“There’s too much going on here that looks like I’ll move this here, stack it here and put a fold here,” Savinar said. “I’m looking for the logic and the reason. It feels a little flitty.”

Designers returned Thursday with much the same scheme as they presented at a previous design advice request. Savinar made clear it’s not good enough.

“I feel that this project has a very long way to go,” he said. “I thought we said that last time, but not in strong enough terms. The dozens of moves, flips and carves – I just don’t understand it and I don’t see the reason for it.”

Chairwoman Julie Livingston read aloud the city’s guidelines for design coherency. Savinar later asked his fellow commissioners whether they’re “having trouble with design coherency.” Commissioner Don Vallaster replied, “Yeah, we all are.”

The Green Loop and the food hall

The project team is asking the Design Commission to waive a new requirement for buildings constructed along the Green Loop to carve out a 12-foot setback along 75 percent of the property line. The setback requirement is meant to provide space for trees, landscaping and other elements of the six-mile route through the Central City.

The Block 216 project is the first test case of a project facing the Green Loop, and design commissioners said they were concerned about setting a precedent by waiving the setback requirement.

Andersen said the food hall concept facing Ninth Avenue is in keeping with the spirit of the Green Loop, featuring a high degree of activation, including outdoor, structural benches, and the “porosity of the façade” that would face the street.

Beyl said the food vendors would be arranged in a food hall orientation similar to Pine Street Market and other food halls around the nation. The Ninth Avenue façade is designed with flexibility in mind so it could be a “really good retail space” in the future. Beyl said keeping the square footage intact is critical to the project.

Vallaster said he had concerns that a food hall would lack the grittiness that Portlanders love about the current food cart block.

Design commissioners also wrestled with street parking on Ninth Avenue. Savinar pressed Kurt Krueger, development review manager for the Bureau of Transportation, to remove street parking spots along the western curb.

“Why are we not pulling out all of the parking?” Savinar said. “You’re nickel and diming that edge of the sidewalk. If you want to make a special place, just do it.”

Krueger replied that he was “willing to entertain taking parking off,” but had concerns about setting a precedent for future Green Loop projects.

The stretch of Ninth Avenue may not have a dedicated bike lane. Instead, it would be a shared, European-style woonerf. City officials said it could be well lit and closed to vehicle traffic at times for special events.

Vehicle drop-off

The design includes a 50-foot-wide “luxury drop-off” area for valet services for hotel customers arriving on Washington Street. Commissioners said that conflicts with pedestrian and public realm guidelines.

“Fifty feet of auto activity on Washington is just not meeting guidelines,” Livingston said.

Krueger also indicated the hotel’s drop-off area may not pass muster.

“It’s not an appropriate amount of driveway space on a small block,” he said.

Krueger said cities around the nation are struggling with how to organize curb zones, particularly with the advent of Uber and Lyft drivers dropping off customers. “It is becoming really precious space and we have no idea what the demands are going to be 10 years from now, five years from now,” he said.

What’s next

The project team will return for a meeting Thursday that will focus on the Green Loop and Ninth Avenue frontage. Yet another design advice meeting to work through other elements of the project will be set for a later date. A design review application that has already been submitted to BDS will have to be revised, Beyl said.

Savinar told the designers to “take enough time to really address this.”

Beyl replied, “We will. Heard you loud and clear.”

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A major expansion under way at the Mary’s Woods retirement community will add nine buildings to the Lake Oswego campus. General contractor R&H Construction is building The Village at Mary’s Woods, a $100-million-plus project that includes 198 units of independent living space, 48 assisted-living residences, three retail buildings, a community center, and significant site improvements.

Ankrom Moisan Architects is the designer of the project, which spans six acres of former open field space. Site work began in early 2017 with grading, installation of utilities and geopiers, which run eight feet on center under every structure. Construction of buildings commenced last May.

The initial scope of the project was for six new buildings consisting of a mix of independent and assisted living, a retail structure, and the community center. After construction had begun, two more retail buildings and a fourth independent living building were added to the project, extending the duration of the project by approximately six months.

The four independent living buildings are all three-story wood-framed buildings over single-level below-grade parking structures. Buyers of the one- and two-bedroom units are being given the option to pick custom finishes, which R&H is keeping track of using a software program it has used on previous projects to track building multiple units with a wide variety of finishes.

Approximately 300 trades workers are currently working on the site, and the contractor has a team of about 15. The project team also includes landscape architects PLACE Studio, civil engineers Humber Design Group, and structural engineers Froelich Engineers. The mechanical/electrical/plumbing/fire protection systems are design/build by Prairie Electric, Tapani Plumbing, Hunter-Davisson, and Patriot Fire Protection.

The first of the residential buildings is slated for turnover late this year, with two more slated to follow in the coming months. The project is slated for total completion by fall of 2019.

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A new 101-unit affordable housing development is rising on Southeast Foster Road in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood. LMC Construction is building 72Foster – a four-story mixed-use building designed by Holst Architecture for REACH Community Development. The building will feature three stories of wood-framed apartments over a concrete podium that will hold commercial and residential amenity space.

Carpenters with framing contractor Wood Mechanix are nearly finished framing the building’s fourth floor. Installation of roof trusses and the weather-resistant barrier will begin next week, and windows will follow starting next month. The building will be topped out in early June.

72Foster’s 101 apartments will range in size from studios to three-bedrooms to primarily serve seniors and families. The units will be available to people earning 60 percent of median household income; 20 units will be occupied by residents with Project Based Section 8 vouchers. REACH is partnering with Asian Health & Service Center to provide outreach and on-site programs and services to residents.

The ground floor will hold five commercial spaces totaling 8,900 square feet, as well as residential amenities including a community room and bicycle storage. A breezeway will connect the corner of Southeast 72nd Avenue and Foster Road with a public courtyard on the property.

The building will have two parking lots – one with 23 stalls and another with 12. The $24 million project also includes right-of-way work and frontage improvements, including new sidewalks, lighting and vegetation. Crews began work on the site, a former parking lot owned by Prosper Portland, in September 2017. The building is slated to open in February 2019.

The project team also includes development consultant Housing Development Center, landscape architect PLACE Studio, civil engineer Humber Design Group, and ABHT Structural Engineers.

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ZRZ Realty Company has chosen the first architectural team to work on its 33-acre Zidell Yards development in Portland’s South Waterfront District. The San Francisco office of Chicago-based SCB will design the Block 8 towers, with GBD Architects serving as the architect of record.

The towers, planned between the Barge Building and the Ross Island Bridge, could be as tall as 325 feet. The mixed-use structures will feature ground-floor retail space and residential units.

“We were certainly looking for team members that had high-rise experience,” ZRZ Realty Chief Operating Officer Thomas Henneberry said. “It really is a collaboration when you do buildings this large.”

SCB will serve as the design architect, while GBD Architects will handle local business such as construction documents.

The development team was looking for a complementary group of designers, Henneberry said.

“It has always been our plan to bring (on board) some national presence and … people from Portland that understand land use and the local process,” he said.

GBD Architects previously worked with landscape architect Place Studio on development of the master plan for the site. National firms Sasaki Associates and West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture also helped develop that plan, which was released in 2016.

The master plan for the site calls for 15 to 20 buildings. They’re expected to provide 1.5 million square feet of office space and 250,000 square feet of retail, grocery and dining space. Also, 2,600 residential units, 200 hotel rooms, 5,500 parking stalls and several parks and other public spaces are planned.

The Block 8 towers represent the first phase of that development.

“We’re thrilled that we’ve been given an opportunity to further our work in the South Waterfront,” GBD Architects Director Phil Beyl stated in a press release. “Zidell Yards is not only the new chapter of South Waterfront; it’s a chance to connect this neighborhood to the city as a whole.”

Block 8 will be the first large-scale residential project proposal since inclusionary housing rules – requiring inclusion of affordable units or payment of a fee – took effect in February 2017. It’s unclear at this point how the rules will impact the project, according to Henneberry, because design is in an early stage – currently, massing is the focus. The exact timing of delivery for the first building has yet to be determined.

“We don’t intend to build both (towers) at once,” Henneberry said. “The westerly tower will be first and easterly in a second phase.”

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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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The Block 290 mixed-use project continued its long and twisting path through the Portland Design Commission on Thursday. At the request of the Northwest District Association, the commission agreed to keep the record open for seven days to allow submission of additional testimony.

With more time granted for responses and rebuttals, Guardian Real Estate Services‘ Block 290 project won’t return before the Design Commission until Aug. 3. City staff has already recommended approval.

As designed, the horseshoe-shaped building would have two seven-story elevations and one four-story elevation with a rooftop amenity. The elevations would range between 57 feet and 79 feet. Retail space would occupy the ground floor, with residential units above. The floor area ratio (FAR) would be 2.7:1.

The design process has already dragged on for more than two years. The site at 1417 N.W. 20th Ave. is complex because it falls within the Con-way Master Plan. It requires that a public square be included in the project. The development team believes LRS Architects‘ design of the square meets requirements.

“We wanted a flexible square,” said Mauricio Villarreal, a principal with Place Studio, the project’s landscape architect. “We wanted to create a square that is lively and engaging and entertaining, and has whimsy if you will – a place that people want to come with their family, with their friends from out of town.”

Villarreal said he believes the 16,008-square-foot space would be comfortable for 50 people or 100 people. Also, an arcade would provide 2,922 additional square feet.

Neighbors have a decidedly different view of the square. Karen Karlsson, president of the Northwest District Association (NWDA) disputed nearly every assertion the development team made. The group claimed that only the portion of the square that had a view of the sky should count toward the Con-way Master Plan requirement for a public square. Project developers also counted square footage under an arcade to boost the total.

“The development needs to be this large in the opinion of the developer and the Design Commission,” Karlsson said. “You can’t fit that development in the envelope of that particular block, so something has to give.”

Neighbors were also upset with a 15-foot encroachment into a public right-of-way that was necessitated by the redesigned square.

“I believe the 15 feet here is sacred ground,” said Ron Walters, former president of the NWDS. “Block 290 was the core of the master plan. It was the fundamental idea of not building 3:1 (FAR) throughout the entire 17 acres.”

There was even some disagreement within the association about whether the group should even work with the developer.

“NWDA, I think made the mistake of opening Pandora’s box and trying to work in good faith with the developer,” Walters said.

In the end, commissioners seemed to reach a consensus that the redesigned square both met Con-way Master Plan requirements and followed city’s design guidelines. They also believed that other projects featuring more dubious uses of public space had been approved.

“To me this seems like an infinitely better situation than over at the New Seasons (Market),” Commission Chairman David Wark said.

Commissioners did express some concerns regarding planned bench types and placement, and other building materials. They encouraged developers to explore small adjustments before they return in August.

Appeal of Press Blocks approval on tap

The Portland City Council will hear an appeal of the Portland Design Commission’s approval of the Press Blocks project on Aug. 10 at 2 p.m.

The Goose Hollow Foothills League on May 31 filed paperwork to appeal the Design Commission’s approval granted May 5.

The project, planned as three buildings over one and a half city blocks, would include office, retail and residential space. The development would occupy lots at 817 S.W. 17th Ave. and 1621 S.W. Taylor St.

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The design team for Oregon Square, a two-phase superblock development in the works due south of Hassalo on Eighth in Northeast Portland, still has a lot of work to do.

City planner Staci Monroe told the Portland Design Commission at a hearing last week that staff did not recommend approval for the project planned on property bounded by Northeast Holladay and Oregon streets and Seventh and Ninth avenues.

Submitted plans for phase 1 of Oregon Square call for two mixed-use buildings on the property’s west side and a portion of a central plaza. An 11-story building would have 189 residential units, ground-floor retail space and a loading bay on the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue. A 24-story building would have 438 residential units, ground-floor retail space and a loading bay on Oregon Street.

Plans for phase 2 call for two mixed-use buildings on the property’s east side, the remainder of the plaza and underground parking for 170 motor vehicles. An 11-story building would have 163 apartments, ground-floor retail space and a loading bay and garage entrance on Ninth Avenue. A 30-story building would have 347 apartments, ground-floor retail space and a loading bay and garage entrance on Ninth Avenue.

A previous iteration of the project was approved by the Design Commission in November 2015. Then the developer, American Assets Trust, earlier this year shifted to a phased approach. Design changes triggered a new review process.

Kyle Andersen, principal at project designer GBD Architects, said he had hoped that the effort to gain the commission’s approval would be further along following “slight changes” to the central courtyard that will unite the entire development.

However, commissioners on Thursday expressed concerns about a lack of active use because residential units had been added to the ground floor and courtyard-facing retail space had been eliminated.

“It’s too homogeneous, and the same attention needs to appear in this scheme as it did in the last scheme,” Commissioner Julie Livingston said. “There needs to be a bit more differentiation in those outdoor rooms.”

Livingston was also concerned about activation of the courtyard. She referred to small waterways in front of residential units on the courtyard as “moats” that would cut down on activity.

“When a pedestrian comes into this property there’s nothing that says to come in,” she said. “So put a road through or get rid of those moats. There are a whole bunch of things going on that have privatized the feeling (of the courtyard).”

Landscape architect Mauricio Villarreal, a member of the design team and a principal at PLACE Studio, said he agreed that the “character and quality” of the plaza needs more development, but added that building a road would be a mistake.

“If you’re expecting us to come in with a road or it’s a no go, that’s a very big deal for us,” he said.

Commissioner Tad Savinar also agreed that there is nothing to invite pedestrians into the plaza and it needs more active use.

“You take the residential away and I might see it differently, but what you have is privatized space,” he said. “You don’t see it that way, but I do.”

Savinar said changes to the courtyard created “an extremely different environment” and seemed to him more like a privatized garden.

Anderson assured commissioners that the courtyard would be active, noting that American Assets Trust will sponsor farmers markets and street fairs in the courtyard as it has for its adjoining property, Hassalo on Eighth.

“It’s a much smaller plaza but has a richness of different uses,” he said. “All the buildings have lobbies that are open on both sides, and you have a public elevator to parking.”

Near the end of the meeting, Livingston said she wouldn’t push for a road through the property if the design team were to return with a different solution.

“If you come back with a really strong resolution on the courtyard and the residential space, you may not need the automobiles,” she said. “What it comes down to is that you will have to solve the design problem very well.”

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