The Portland Design Commission on Thursday praised the architectural evolution of Portland Public Schools‘ replacement for Lincoln High School, saying it has advanced toward meeting city design guidelines.

The six-floor, 281,000-square-foot building would shift the school on its existing site to Southwest 18th Avenue and Salmon Street. Much of the commission’s discussion focused on how the building would look from that key intersection and other public vantages.

The building design from Bora Architects features glass on the corner of 18th and Salmon, with a sawtooth-shaped façade on upper floors. The glass is meant to create a lantern effect at night when viewed from Providence Park or the Multnomah Athletic Club. The façade would use a reddish-brown ribbed panel contrasted with a lighter-colored panel.

The building would have a large, boxy classroom bar at the north end and a gym at the south end, connected by a lower-slung structure. Canopies extend along the 18th Avenue frontage.

“There’s been some changes to the project that have created an active and strong architectural expression,” BDS staffer Staci Monroe said.

Commissioners praised the overall architecture, although they pushed for minor changes of some aspects.

“It looks good,” Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. “You’ve made remarkable progress on the architecture since you were in (a previous meeting).”

A large mural would front the building as Main Street terminates at 18th Avenue. Bora is working with Portland’s Regional Arts and Culture Council on the mural. The mural’s theme may reflect Tanner Creek and the Chinese gardens that once covered Goose Hollow, said Chris Linn, a Bora principal.

Commissioners seemed poised to bless two modifications, or exceptions, to design guidelines. One concerns the eco-roof, which is supposed to be 60 percent covered by foliage or related features. The Bora Architects design has 28 percent eco-roof coverage.

To compensate, the design team is proposing to install ground-level landscaped areas totaling 63,600 square feet. Ground cover is more environmentally friendly as a heat and carbon sink, and requires less maintenance, Linn said.

“I think we have a proposal that better meets the intent of the guidelines than putting planting on the roof,” he said.

PPS’ large site will enable the design to provide plenty of ground cover. Commissioners noted the eco-roof guideline was written with more densely built sites in mind.

Bora’s design also must contend with a competing requirement for schools to have rooftop solar panels (the existing Lincoln High has a 1-kilowatt solar array installed in 2005). Installing a green roof underneath the solar panels would pose obstacles, Linn said.

Commissioners seemed amenable to the exceptions.

“I’m OK on the (green roof) modification,” Commissioner Sam Rodriguez said. “I believe it is meeting the intent to some extent.”

Bora is also requesting an exception to bike parking standards. Linn said few students bike to the school, and more bike parking could be provided at a later date if necessary. No commissioner objected.

Lincoln High enrolled 1,698 students in October 2018, according to Portland Public Schools. Lincoln is one of three high school being rebuilt with dollars from a May 2017 bond. BDS valued the project at $124.5 million.

The meeting was the fourth time the Lincoln High proposal has been in front of the Design Commission. The project will return for a land-use review, possibly in August, Linn said.

Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2020.

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The Block 290 project at 1417 N.W. 20th Ave. finally has a green light from the city of Portland, allowing construction to start. The City Council on Wednesday finalized a previous 4-1 vote denying the Northwest District Association‘s appeal of the Portland Design Commission‘s unanimous approval of the project.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz cast the council’s lone dissenting vote.

“As I have said, I don’t support this and would have rather upheld the appeal,” she said.

The council did add one condition: the developers must consult with the Regional Arts and Culture Council regarding inclusion of art at both the private development and an adjacent park.

Development of Guardian Real Estate Services‘ project has now dragged on for more than two years.

LRS Architects’ design calls for a mix of luxury and market-rate residential units on top of ground-floor retail space. The development will also include below-grade parking, a public square and a roof terrace.

The plans call for a horseshoe design with elevations ranging from 57 to 70 feet.

The neighborhood association has contended that the project didn’t meet requirements set forth in the Con-way master plan. Of particular concern was a public square that designers claim will measure 16,008 square feet and be able to comfortably hold 50 to 100 people at once.

The neighborhood association believes the size of the square is exaggerated and doesn’t meet requirements set forth in the master plan.

Much of the debate during the City Council’s original hearing on Oct. 12 centered on the need for housing and whether mostly market-rate and luxury units would significantly help alleviate the lack of housing in the city.

Ultimately, the majority of the council deferred to the judgment of the Design Commission, which decided that the project met city guidelines and master plan requirements.

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