Will Portland finally get a mass-timber high-rise?

Plans for Sandy Pine, a 12-story, 125-foot-tall structure, were unanimously approved by the Portland Design Commission on Thursday. The building would hold 276 apartments (including six live-work units), 14,500 square feet of commercial space and bike parking, and 2.5 levels of below-grade parking for 178 motor vehicles.

The project is the second mass-timber tower LEVER Architecture has designed for a Portland site. Framework, a 12-story mixed-use building envisioned for the Pearl District, gained approval and even had building permits issued – but was never constructed. Financial difficulties halted the project in 2018.

Sandy Pine, if built, will be Portland’s tallest mass-timber building. The eight-story Carbon12, at 85 feet, became the tallest wood building in the U.S. when it was completed in 2018.

SolTerra Capital is the developer of Sandy Pine, which according to the Bureau of Development Services would cost approximately $36 million. Framework initially was expected to cost $34 million.

The tower will rise to the maximum height allowed for 900 S.E. Sandy Blvd., with a 6.45-1 floor area ratio. A bonus was granted that increased the standard maximum of 6.1-1 for the site.

Structurally, there will be no beams. Instead, Sandy Pine will have a 10-by-16 column grid, creating a fairly dense wood structure. LEVER Architecture principal Jonathan Heppner, who also served as the project manager for Framework, said this will allow floors to be higher.

Commissioner Chandra Robinson did not participate in the hearing; she recused herself because she is a LEVER Architecture principal. Other commissioners had little to nothing to say about the V-shaped tower, with a one-story podium. They had previously seen the proposal during a design advice hearing in November 2021.

Most of the discussion was centered on how string lights could be allowed along Ninth Avenue. Plans call for reconfiguring that stretch into an outdoor gathering space.

“Does anybody have anything that they wanna discuss on the building at all?” Commission Chairman Sam Rodriguez said. “Doesn’t seem like it, since we’re talking about lighting on a tree.”

The development team has worked with the Portland Bureau of Transportation to extend the sidewalk along Ninth Avenue, on the property’s western edge, and turn the road into a two-way bicycle lane. That will expand the typical 4-foot furnishing zone to roughly 14 feet.

Vehicle access will be cut off from the street in favor of a 70-foot-wide bike lane. Signage, striping, and probably a bollard will be added to the ends of the avenue to indicate there is no vehicle entry, PBOT development supervisor Bob Haley said.

The project owner strongly desired string lights be used in this area, Heppner said, but did not want that to hold up potential approval. The Bureau of Environmental Services denied the request to place poles necessary for the lights within stormwater planters. Without another pole placement option within BES’ purview, the lights were removed from the proposal.

The development team indicated it may choose to return for a Type 1 design review hearing in the future in another bid to add the lights.

No public comments were received for the project. Commissioners praised the development team for creating a design that met every one of the necessary guidelines.

“The idea of turning that Ninth Avenue into a wonderful public street – I hope our Green Loop would take notice and use these elements as an example,” Commissioner Zari Santner said.

The commission included minor conditions of approval such as height limitations for mechanical equipment on the roof, material requirements for glazing and metal flashings, and a requirement that the residential space in the live-work units be limited to the second floor.

“This will be a massive change on the character of Sandy Boulevard,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

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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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