A bold design for a 12-story, 271-unit residential building on Southeast Sandy Boulevard drew a largely positive initial reception from the Portland Design Commission on Thursday.

The podium and tower concept from developer SolTerra Capital Inc., with a design by LEVER Architecture, would be constructed from cross-laminated timber at 900 S.E. Sandy Blvd. The building would rise to 124 feet, just below the 125-foot height limit for the property with bonuses.

The project team plans to incorporate rent-restricted inclusionary housing units, Bureau of Development Services planner Staci Monroe said during Thursday’s design advice hearing.

SolTerra’s move to develop a large-scale residential building on Sandy Boulevard comes as developers increasingly target the thoroughfare with projects: Security Properties is tackling the Pop Blocks and Guerrilla Development is pursuing several small-scale commercial projects. The Troy Laundry building is located nearby.

LEVER on Thursday presented commissioners with early schematic drawings for SolTerra’s building. The V-shaped design takes advantage of the lines from Sandy Boulevard, which slices diagonally across east Portland’s street grid.

“Sandy was originally a Native American path that connects the Willamette and Columbia (rivers), and it breaks the grid of Portland,” said Thomas Robinson, founding principal at LEVER. “We think the building could reinforce that path with its shape and how it works in context.”

The design’s treatment of its context with Sandy Boulevard is excellent, Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said.

“This is thrilling,” she said. “It’s like a meta-response to guidelines.”

Commissioner Jessica Molinar questioned whether the project’s orientation could be changed to have the tower along Southeast Ninth Avenue. Robinson said LEVER considered many massing strategies before settling on the one presented Thursday.

“I feel pretty strongly that the orientation that we have is the right one, but I respect what you’re saying,” he said.

Commissioners praised LEVER’s overall approach.

“I think it’s a really strong design, and the neighborhood could handle a really strong design,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said. “Along Sandy, there’s been a tradition of that.”

The property, unusually, has five sides. It’s bounded by Southeast Pine, Sandy and Oak streets, and Southeast Ninth and 10th avenues. Because of the way Sandy Boulevard cuts diagonally, the site is just less than a full block, totaling 39,584 square feet.

The proposed building would loom large, at approximately 250,000 square feet, including 18,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. A slight taper of the mass, as well as the shape, will reduce the apparent size, said Jonathan Heppner, a LEVER architect who was promoted to principal in June.

The program also calls for live-work units on the ground floor. Commissioner Sam Rodriguez said pedestrian activation will be critical for the project, and he warned that live-work units can be tough to pull off.

“They have to really be functional so they don’t become a dark space that’s not going to activate the ground floor,” he said.

The building would have two floors of underground parking, with at least 0.5 spaces per resident, Robinson said.

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The build-out of Northeast Sandy Boulevard is continuing apace, and the latest proposal is for a six-story mixed-use building between Northeast 19th and 20th avenues.

The Portland Bureau of Development Services on Thursday will host a pre-application conference with applicants from Ankrom Moisan Architects. Plans call for 205 residential units and approximately 2,330 square feet of retail space. Structured parking would be accessible from Northeast 19th Avenue with 89 spaces on the ground level.

The new building would be 56 feet tall, and hold an amenity deck and a dog park on the roof.

The five-sided property, at 1939 N.E. Sandy Blvd., covers 0.97 acres and is bounded on the north by Northeast Glisan Street, on the west by 19th Avenue, on the east by 20th Avenue, and on the south by both Sandy Boulevard and Flanders Street.

The design team is seeking Type III design review for the project.

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The Portland Design Commission on Thursday declined to hold a vote on a land-use permit for the Pepsi Blocks development’s first phase because of unresolved issues with the Portland Bureau of Transportation. From a design perspective, commissioners favored plans; however, staff advised them to push back a vote until PBOT approves a loading zone and woonerf – a shared street designed primarily for pedestrians.

Located at 2505 N.E. Pacific St., near the Sandy Boulevard corridor, the development would arise on land that previously was long occupied by a Pepsi bottling plant. While most of the existing facilities will be destroyed, an iconic bow-truss structure at the entrance will be preserved; it is to become one or two restaurants.

A Seattle-based team has been working on the Pepsi Blocks for some time now, with owner Security Properties bringing in Mithun to design the 230,000-square-foot expanse of mixed-use buildings and KPFF Consulting Engineers handling the civil engineering duties. The project received its first design advice hearing in May, when it was met with mostly positive reception from the commission.

The first phase of the project involves construction of an eight-story, 87-foot-tall building with 219 residential units and 15,000 square feet of retail space. The first phase also includes two levels of below-grade parking, a landscaped public plaza with art and the woonerf.

Two problems are primarily keeping the project from moving forward. First, the applicants requested an adjustment to loading zone requirements. A main loading zone is required on-site, but the owners requested to place it off-site on an adjacent right-of-way.

Another issue is the woonerf. The city of Portland has only a few examples of precedent for the feature, which is a somewhat new trend adopted from Europe. Since many of the city’s codes predate the woonerf’s use in Portland, the designation is currently for a public street, which makes it liable for several other strict codes.

The applicants are trying to change its designation to an “on-site vehicle area.” That more accurately represents the woonerf’s purpose because it is designed primarily for pedestrians, but there must be vehicle access in case of an emergency.

PBOT has not yet approved these adjustments, and because of that, the Design Commission cannot vote unless it issues a denial, which would greatly delay construction. For this reason, commissioners opted not to vote, and instead rescheduled a future land use review. Then they used the time allotted to talk more about the actual design guidelines.

The Pepsi Blocks’ design was universally lauded. Special praise was given to the project’s integration within the neighborhood, as commissioners said it would create a lively and pedestrian-friendly environment that Sandy Boulevard hasn’t seen in a long time – perhaps ever.

“Public realm is where this thing is quite exceptional,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said. “It gives more back to the city than any project we’ve seen in a really long time.”

Commissioner Brian McCarter said the project sets a very high bar for the potential future of Sandy Boulevard, and Commissioner Jessica Molinar said she wished the project was built already. A few minor criticisms were directed at project aspects such as window tint and certain colors, but commissioners said they would not hesitate to approve the project following resolution of its more pressing issues.

“This is a great thing for the city of Portland,” Design Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. “This is going to be a really great addition to the neighborhood.”

Pepsi Blocks plans will return before the Portland Design Commission for a land-use review on Sept. 19.

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As multifamily development catches on along Sandy Boulevard in Northeast Portland, one big upcoming project shows the auto-centric corridor’s past is coming along for a ride to the future.

A massive four-story Lexus dealership is planned for Northeast 31st Avenue and Sandy Boulevard. The project won unanimous approval from the Portland Design Commission last week.

The building’s ground floor will have a vehicle showroom and a coffee shop, the second and third floors will have auto inventory display and the fourth floor will have room for employee parking. One story below ground will provide space for a service garage and back-of-the-house functions.

The project comes from Holman Automotive, a national group based in New Jersey with 37 dealerships in eight states. The company previously acquired Kuni Lexus of Portland, Kuni BMW in Beaverton and Kuni Auto Center, also in Beaverton.

The Lexus dealership is intended to serve customers in the Portland-metro area’s northern portion, said Michael Graves, founding partner of The Gravity Co., a design-build firm specializing in auto dealership design that is working for Holman Automotive. The Sandy Boulevard dealership design is a collaboration of The Gravity Co. and Mackenzie, a Portland architecture firm that served as architect of record.

“We drove the conceptual design and they did the day-to-day coordination of the design efforts,” Graves said. “The original design concept we did, got … approved by Lexus, and then we worked with Mackenzie to get to a permittable, designed project.”

The forthcoming Lexus building comes at the same time as hundreds of multifamily units are in development nearby. Security Properties‘ Pepsi Blocks project will have from 485 to 1,297 housing units, while NBP Capital‘s Sunshine Dairy site is envisioned as home to 300 to 350 apartments, according to an early assistance application filed with the Bureau of Development Services.

Sandy Boulevard has a long history as an auto corridor, where Portland residents would buy cars and have them serviced. The Lexus property once hosted a Pontiac dealership. More recently, it was a Comcast office. Holman Automotive purchased the 1.6-acre site for $6 million in 2016, according to Multnomah County records.

“You want to pick a spot where it’s complementary of the zoning and the historical nature,” Graves said.

The building will be highly visible not only on Sandy Boulevard but also to drivers on Interstate 84. The interstate curves behind the wedge-shaped property, which presented designers with some challenges, Graves said.

“That site is both vertically and horizontally challenged, but it laid out really well when we started working with the utilitarian functions of a dealership,” he said.

Mackenzie referred questions to The Gravity Co. The Kerns Neighborhood Association did not respond to an e-mail message seeking comment.

The building frontage will create a linear look along Sandy Boulevard, in keeping with the Design Commission’s wishes. The coffee shop will operate at extended hours, independent of the dealership.

Subject to the permitting process, Graves said the project team hopes to begin demolition of the existing building in May or June and start construction in September.

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A Portland-based company has snapped up a property near Northeast Sandy Boulevard in the latest demonstration that developers see strong bones for future growth in the midcentury auto corridor.

NBP Capital has purchased the former Sunshine Dairy building and adjacent properties totaling 1.2 acres for $8.1 million, and is now looking to develop it.

An early assistance request filed with the city of Portland indicates NBP Capital is considering plans for a 271,000-square-foot mixed-use building. It would hold 300 to 350 apartments, including a percentage of rent-restricted inclusionary housing units. The building would be seven stories, but also have one floor of below-grade parking.

“Our business plan will consider vertical development of the Sunshine Dairy site,” NBP Capital Vice President Ryan Feigelson stated in a news release. “When we first saw this deal, we were initially drawn to the rapid transition and development of the immediately surrounding area. NBP Capital is excited to be a part of the area’s continued growth and long-term future.”

Feigelson was out of the office and did not respond to messages seeking additional comment. The company, which has Los Angeles billionaire Nicolas Berggruen as a passive capital partner, has a track record as a long-term holder of capital assets.

NBP Capital purchased the property from Karamanos Holdings Inc. CBRE‘s Charles Safley, Josh McDonald, Joe Nydahl and Phil Oester represented the seller. NBP Capital represented itself in the deal. The transaction closed on Feb. 12.

The move is the latest from NBP Capital, which has steadily expanded its footprint in Portland’s commercial real estate market. The company, which also has an office in Los Angeles, purchased the former Multnomah County Courthouse building for $28 million. NBP Capital also is co-owner of the Woodlark Hotel, which opened recently in downtown Portland following a renovation.

NBP Capital is in the early stages of developing the proposed RiverPlace site in the South Waterfront District. The 8-acre site could have up to 3 million gross square feet of buildable area, according to a pre-application notice filed with the city.

The Sunshine Dairy holdings comprise parcels at 801, 915 and 959 N.E. 21st Ave. The land is zoned for large-scale commercial mixed-use with a design overlay, or CM3(d). The zoning allows for high capacity commercial development.

“It is such a flexible zone,” said Marty Stockton, a planner with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

The maximum building height is 120 feet with a planned development review. Without the planned development review, allowable heights top out at 75 feet with bonuses.

The NBP Capital development will follow one by Security Properties on the Pepsi Blocks nearby. That 4.7-acre project will include from 485 to 1,297 housing units. Security Properties opted to undergo a planned development review to gain additional height, and the site plan won approval in December.

Both developments represent a new chapter for Sandy Boulevard, a once-gritty commercial corridor that has begun to show signs of gentrification. Before Security Properties and NBP Capital took an interest in the area, Guerrilla Development‘s Kevin Cavenaugh built there a series of adaptive-reuse commercial projects. They house hip tenants such as Han Oak, which The Oregonian named its 2017 Restaurant of the Year.

NBP Capital’s purchase is likely to only add to the growing interest around Sandy Boulevard.

“I think it’s exciting for that area,” said Joren Bass, project manager for Urban Development + Partners, a developer that is not involved in the project. “It’s really going to be a benefit for that district and neighborhood. It will be transformative.”

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Designers with Mithun, a Seattle-based architecture firm, are working to integrate a public plaza into the multi-block Pepsi Blocks development planned off of Sandy Boulevard in Northeast Portland.

The Pepsi Blocks, a 4.7-acre site that for decades held a beverage packaging and shipping facility, will also feature a woonerf – a slow-speed, one-way street. It will run westbound through the site, filling a gap in Pacific Street.

The woonerf will bend through the site to encourage slower speeds, said Dorothy Faris, a Mithun principal and landscape architect.

The project appeared before the Portland Design Commission for design advice on Thursday. The Pepsi Blocks team is likely to return for a meeting that focuses on building design before proceeding to a Type III design review.

The project is poised to be the first to undergo the city’s new planned development review process. That will make the project eligible for a 5-to-1 floor-area ratio, in exchange for meeting affordable housing, open space and other requirements.

Some design commissioners said the site plan appears too crowded, particularly next to the plaza and the existing pavilion building, which would be retained, according to current plans.

“I wonder if we’re pinching the pavilion too much,” Commissioner Tad Savinar said. He suggested notching surrounding buildings to give the pavilion “more breathing room.”

The highest buildings – 120 feet – are proposed along Northeast Holladay Street, stepping down to 60 feet for the buildings facing Sandy Boulevard.

Security Properties‘ first phase would include the pavilion renovation, construction of two new apartment buildings with underground parking and construction of the public plaza.

The multifamily buildings would have a total of 335 units and 28,500 square feet of retail space. Parking would total 350 spaces.

Commissioner Andrew Clarke said the proposed retail spaces should reflect the “organic nature” of the existing shops on Sandy Boulevard.

“There’s kind of a sterility to the (proposed) retail,” he said. “It’s more oriented to a different kind of neighborhood.”

Elevated hallways also caught the attention of commissioners. They debated whether the hallways constitute sky-bridges, which are discouraged by city design guidelines.

Mithun partner Bert Gregory said the elevated walkways did not meet the definition.

“These are not sky-bridges,” he said. “They are not over the public right of way.”

The Design Commission rarely approves sky-bridges, Savinar said.

“It’s just a heads-up that there may be a discussion later on,” he said.

Commissioners also signaled the design elements facing Sandy Boulevard and Holladay Street will be reviewed carefully.

Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said the Sandy Boulevard-facing aspect will be important to the project’s appearance.

“This is so incredibly visually important as one travels westbound on Sandy,” she said.

Security Properties is considering building live-work units to face Holladay Street, Gregory said. The units would have ground-floor “maker space” with residences above. Townhouses would not work well on Holladay, he said.

Commissioners said Holladay Street would benefit from ground-floor activity.

“That is a very obscure street,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

Security Properties purchased the site from PepsiCo in August 2017 for $27 million, according to public records. The property at 2505 N.E. Pacific St. encompasses four city blocks off of Sandy Boulevard between 25th and 27th avenues.

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A Seattle-based developer is betting heavily that Sandy Boulevard will be the choice of a new generation.

Security Properties Inc. has closed on the purchase of a 4.7-acre Northeast Portland tract that has been used since the 1960s as a PepsiCo bottling and distribution facility, the developer announced Thursday. It plans to redevelop the superblock site offering market-rate and affordable housing, offices, retail space and other product types during the next several years, the developer stated in a news release.

The redevelopment would use the city of Portland’s Large Site Master Plan guidelines.

“We look forward to creating Portland’s next dynamic urban village through the city’s newly adopted 2035 Comprehensive Plan,” said John Marasco, chief development officer at Security Properties, in a prepared statement. Marasco was not immediately available for comment.

Security Properties is partnering with Beijing Jade Investment Group as its initial financial partner for the project. The sale price was not disclosed, and was not yet available via Multnomah County’s online property records.

“We’re excited for this partnership as well as the opportunity to create a thoughtful, amenity-rich community that further contributes to Portland’s urban development,” Beijing Jade Investment Group Vice President Xiaorong Zhai said in a prepared statement.

Security Properties will serve as master developer of the PepsiCo property. The company is in the process of interviewing architects to begin conceptual design for the multiphase redevelopment project.

The nearly 5-acre site offers a large canvas for development. In a public notice for an early assistance meeting with the Bureau of Development Services to discuss zoning, Security Properties revealed it’s considering four to five mixed-use buildings on the site, potentially including parking, retail, housing, offices and senior housing.

Sandy Boulevard is a key Northeast Portland arterial road that has retained a gritty character while other corridors such as Williams Avenue and Alberta Street have gentrified.

“We see Sandy becoming Portland’s next great boulevard, and this Large Site Master Plan will play a significant role in its continued transformation,” Gus Baum, director of development at Security Properties, said in the news release.

Sandy Boulevard’s width and lack of pedestrian-friendly design has proved an obstacle for some projects. Yet developers have begun to bring amenities to the corridor. Guerrilla Development‘s Kevin Cavenaugh has built projects including restaurant-focused building The Zipper and office project New New Crusher Court to Sandy Boulevard.

Based in Seattle, Security Properties has expanded its presence in Portland with the Peloton Apartments on North Williams Avenue and Heartline in the Pearl District. Security is also the developer of a 250-foot-tall residential tower in Goose Hollow on the Press Blocks site. That project recently received design approval.

Editor’s note: 91��Ƶ photographer Sam Tenney contributed to this report.

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Is Sandy Boulevard the next street to attract developers’ interest?

A new proposal on the Northeast Portland street could represent a tipping point for the commercial corridor, as large out-of-state firms follow the footsteps of smaller projects from local developers.

Security Properties of Seattle is eyeing a PepsiCo bottling facility at Northeast 27th Avenue and Sandy for redevelopment. The company has requested an early assistance meeting with the Portland Bureau of Development Services to discuss zoning rules at the site, 2505 N.E. Pacific St., according to a public notice.

The project is in the very early stages, but the public notice gives a hint at what the Seattle developer is considering: “Demolition and redevelopment of Pepsi distribution facilities with four to five mixed-use buildings. Potential uses include parking, retail, housing, office and senior housing.”

The 4.7-acre property is a superblock encompassing four city blocks. Since the early 1960s, it has been the site of a massive PepsiCo bottling and distribution facility.

A Security Properties spokesman, Ed McGovern, referred questions to PepsiCo. Jen Ryan, a PepsiCo spokeswoman, said “there’s no deal at this point” for the property. The Multnomah County Assessor’s Office had recorded no recent sales of the property, given a $13 million market value by the county’s assessor.

If it goes forward, Security’s development would follow in the footsteps of smaller projects from the likes of Kevin Cavenaugh, whose Guerrilla Development has developed several new construction and renovation projects along Sandy Boulevard.

Cavenaugh said he was not surprised a major developer is considering investing on Sandy.

“I kind of expect it,” he said. “It’s not just me, but any architect or developer that pioneers a street is going to do a lot of heavy blocking for folks that follow. I can’t get upset with what state developers are from. I only look at what they’re going to do to criticize.”

The PepsiCo facility was built in 1962 based on a design by Scott & Payne. The vaulted design was included in the city’s 1984 Historic Resource Inventory as a significant example of “Fifties modern” architecture.

Security Properties is not new to Portland. The Sandy Boulevard development would follow on the firm’s involvement in the Oregonian Press Blocks project. Security is the developer of a planned 250-foot tall tower in Goose Hollow that would have approximately 340 apartments and ground-floor retail space. The City Council on Thursday rejected an appeal filed by the Goose Hollow Foothills League over the height and appearance of the tower.

Historically, Sandy Boulevard has been a commercial corridor where Portlanders go to buy cars and get them repaired. The street extends from inner southeast Portland up to parallel the Columbia River before ending in the far reaches of northeast Portland near Troutdale.

Cavenaugh said he was excited to hear senior housing is in consideration for part of the product mix at the PepsiCo site.

“There’s a whole heck of a lot of studios and one-bedrooms going in the close-in Eastside,” Cavenaugh said. “The neighborhood’s feeling homogenous.”

Sandy’s width poses issues for any developer, Cavenaugh said.

“There are some big, wide boulevards in Portland that are just made to move cars through and are never going to be pedestrian-friendly,” Cavenaugh said. That includes Foster Road along with Sandy, he said.

The busy street poses a design challenge. At New New Crusher Court, Cavenaugh’s 17,900-square-foot office development at 2450 N.E. Sandy Blvd., Cavenaugh addressed the busy street by turning the building inward. The offices face a central courtyard.

“That’s a response to Sandy,” Cavenaugh said.

If Security Properties chose, the developer could replicate something similar on a much larger scale at the PepsiCo facility, with buildings of different uses facing a center. It’s not clear if Security has hired an architect for the Sandy Boulevard proposal. For the Press Blocks project, Security Properties used Mithun, also of Seattle.

Cavenaugh said the choice of architect “matters a lot” for large projects like that proposed at the PepsiCo superblock.

“The projects that I’m most disappointed on in town are hulking monoliths,” he said. “Usually when you talk about superblocks and out-of-state money, you don’t get granular answers to design problems. So that’s my fear, but I’m still hopeful.”

As Security Properties considers developing the PepsiCo site, other developments are moving ahead. Fairfield Development of San Diego was issued a commercial building permit Aug. 1 for a six-story building with 206 apartments over ground-floor retail. Parking is provided in an underground garage. The permit values the project at $22.17 million. Construction has begun on the project at 2865 N.E. Sandy Blvd.

The San Diego developer did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Cavenaugh, who typically raises relatively small sums from local investors, was attracted to Sandy Boulevard in part because it was affordable.  “I tried to buy something on Mississippi for a long time,” he said. “I was too late. I can’t afford Alberta or Division.”

The PepsiCo superblock neighbors Cavenaugh’s development The Zipper, completed in 2015 at 2713 N.E. Sandy Blvd. The 8,000-square-foot building hosts Wares restaurant, Seven Virtues Coffee and other eateries.

Cavenaugh said he put an offer on the PepsiCo property years ago, but now admits the project would have been out of his league.

Another Guerrilla Development project on Sandy aims to rent affordable apartments without government subsidies. The project at 2510 N.E. Sandy Boulevard is on the site of a car repair shop. It would have 88 apartments, with 40 percent of those provided at below market rates. The project’s design has been approved, and Cavenaugh had planned to go in for permits last week. He’s still seeking investors and a builder.

“Pricing is through the roof,” Cavenaugh said.

Auto dealers aren’t going to forget about Sandy, either, but the used Cadillac lots of yesteryear are yielding to modern tastes. A three-story Lexus dealership, with another underground level, has been proposed for 3075 N.E. Sandy Blvd. The Lexus dealership is being designed by Mackenzie.

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