The Portland Design Commission has reapproved a proposal to build a 23-story tower, the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences, in the Pearl District. The City Council – in a rare move – had remanded the project to the Design Commission on Sept. 26.

Design commissioners voted 4-0 on Thursday to return their recommendation to the City Council, which is now scheduled to hold a hearing on the project, and an initial vote, on Dec. 10.

The project from Seattle multifamily developer Vibrant Cities and hotelier The Sunray Companies of Madison, Mississippi, is for a quarter-block property at 350 N.W. 12th Ave., where a parking lot sits currently. As designed by Otak Inc., the building would have 160 hotel rooms and 113 residential units in 197,118 square feet.

The building’s proposed height of 250 feet is the tallest allowed by Central City 2035 plan guidelines. As larger buildings allowed by the 2035 plan have rolled out, residents of neighborhoods such as the Pearl District and Goose Hollow have often reacted with opposition.

Throughout the design process, the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences project has been opposed by Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design, a group of nearby residents and business owners. The nonprofit is not affiliated with the city-sanctioned Pearl District Neighborhood Association.

PNID representatives have characterized the project as too large for the property, and its use too intensive, with residents and hotel guests constantly entering and exiting.

Thursday’s hearing revealed several design changes made in response to direction from City Council. The middle of the building was pulled back 3 feet from the property line. The hotel entrance at the corner of Northwest 12th Avenue and Flanders Street was pulled back a total of 7 feet from the property line, providing more room for the public realm, said Gary Larson, an Otak consultant architect. Canopies were extended around the building. A cornice was lowered by one floor.

“Our objective has been to reduce the mass of the building through the setback strategy and reduce the apparent height of the building through the cornice line adjustments,” Larson said.

Carrie Richter, a land-use lawyer representing PNID, said the group remains disappointed with the minimal revisions.

“My client is truly disheartened by the lack of fundamental change that went into this remand,” she said.

But the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences would not be out of place in the Pearl District, where buildings are commonly built to property lines, Commissioner Zari Santner said.

“Pearl has a very, very eclectic identity,” she said. “This building would be a great addition to that.”

Commissioner Sam Rodriguez also complimented the design.

“I think the changes are positive and it will turn out to be a good building,” he said.

When the proposal returns to the City Council in December, the council will still be in the lame-duck period following the Nov. 3 election. Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who expressed concerns with the project, is likely to weigh in on the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences before she’s replaced in January by Carmen Rubio. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly also will still be on the council, and not newly elected Mingus Mapps.

If the design is approved by the City Council, opponents could potentially appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals or District Court.

The post Portland Design Commission still says yes appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A controversial proposal for a 23-story mixed-use building won tentative approval from the Portland Design Commission on Thursday despite opposition from Pearl District neighbors.

Commissioners voted 6-0 (Chairwoman Julie Livingston recused herself) to approve the design by Otak Inc. They will hold a final vote on Jan. 16 to adopt findings on the project.

The Hyatt Place and Allison Residences project would bring 160 hotel rooms and 113 residential units to a quarter-block site at Northwest 12th Avenue and Flanders Street. The building would replace a surface parking lot.

The 197,118-square-foot project is a joint venture of Seattle multifamily developer Vibrant Cities and hotelier The Sunray Companies of Madison, Mississippi. The project was valued at $66 million by the city’s Bureau of Development Services.

Plans were scrutinized by the Design Commission in two previous advice meetings and two review hearings, most recently in November.

Pearl District residents have objected to the project for months, lodging concerns about the planned height, mass and density for the small footprint. At 250 feet, it would be by far the tallest building in the south Pearl District under higher limits established by the Central City 2035 Plan.

Commissioners, city staffers and residents have also expressed concerns that traffic from the hotel and residential development would conflict with plans for the – a future path between the waterfront and Northwest Portland that would pass next to the building.

Commissioners did not directly address the largest issues. They said the building’s height and mass were within the zoning rules, giving the design panel little leeway, and potential traffic conflicts were an issue for the Portland Bureau of Transportation to resolve.

“The context issues – height and massing – are not something we can deal with anyway,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

The design has improved over time, Commissioner Zari Santner said.

“They have really done a great job of making the building far more coherent than it first was when it came to us,” she said.

Most recently, Otak incorporated warmer colors into the exterior palette and raised water fountains at the entrance. After objections from neighbors, the valet zone was moved from Flanders Street to 12th Avenue.

The Pearl District Neighborhood Association registered opposition to the project, as did the Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design – a private group that is distinct from the city-sanctioned association.

The neighborhood association, in a letter, objected to design elements such as metal cladding and the “near-blank wall” appearance of the east facade.

Bateman Seidel’s Carrie Richter, a land-use attorney for PNID, attempted to speak to the commission on Thursday. Commissioners declined to hear her testimony, saying the record was closed.

Patricia Cliff, president of PNID, said the building would bring intense use to the intersection, with valet parking and two loading docks competing with traffic from two neighboring residential buildings and the planned bikeway.

“It is not a user-friendly building, and it could be potentially dangerous for pedestrians, drivers and bicyclists,” she said.

Also on Thursday:

No vote yet on hotel project’s design

The Design Commission tackled review for the Proper Hotel, another Pearl District project at Northwest 12th Avenue and Irving Street.

Commissioners identified some issues with a vertical column, and a lack of a water feature. However, they were largely complimentary of the design for a nine-story building with approximately 170,000 square feet.

Past projects have met design guidelines for a water feature reflecting Tanner Creek with everything from poetry to sound. Commissioner Jessica Molinar said future projects should include water features that incorporate actual water.

“It’s not a deal-breaker this time, but it will be a deal-breaker for me in the future,” she said. “Please do not come back with another project that does not include an actual water feature.”

The project is being designed by ZGF Architects for Proper Hospitality, a Santa Monica, California-based company with hotels in California and Texas.

Commissioners did not vote whether to approve the project; the hearing is set to continue on Jan. 23.

The post Contentious project on verge of approval appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A 23-story building proposed for property at Northwest 12th Avenue and Flanders Street would have both hotel space and apartments.

A 250-foot-tall Hyatt Place hotel and apartment building is proposed for the Pearl District.

The project at Northwest 12th Avenue and Flanders Street comes from a pair of development partners – Seattle’s Vibrant Cities and The Sunray Companies of Madison, Mississippi. Vibrant Cities specializes in multifamily development (it previously built Brooklyn Yard in Southeast Portland) while Sunray Cos. owns and operates six hotels in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Principals James Wong of Vibrant Cities and Monica Harrigill of Sunray Cos. were Harvard University classmates.

“It’s a nice fit for both sides to partner together,” said Wong, Vibrant Cities’ CEO.

New height limits in Portland’s Central City 2035 plan directly benefited the Pearl District project, enabling the quarter-block building to accommodate both hotel and multifamily uses, Wong said. Plans call a 23-story building with 180,000 square feet of space.

“Inclusionary zoning was an issue, but now the city is allowing for extra height in the Central Business District and the Pearl District,” Wong said. “That eases the development pressure for us a bit.”

Inclusionary zoning requires developers of new multifamily projects to include affordable housing units, or pay a significant fee. Developers have been wrestling with how to make projects profitable under inclusionary zoning.

The Hyatt Place project would have approximately 170 hotel rooms alongside 100 multifamily units.

“We think the city’s enforcement on inclusionary zoning put a damper in a lot of development,” Wong said. “It was crickets for the last year or so in permitting. However, we’re early in the apartment development cycle right now.”

Brooklyn Yard has 46 apartments and 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Vibrant Cities is also planning the Brio Lofts, a 96-unit micro-apartment project in the Boise neighborhood, in North Portland.

Otak is designing the Pearl District project at 350 N.W. 12th Ave. Otak’s Li Alligood is listed as the applicant.

“Right now, we’re working through how to optimize the space for both the apartments and the hotel,” Wong said.

Different designs would have the project as 11 stories of hotel space and 12 stories of apartments, or vice versa.

According to a preliminary site plan, the main lobby of the building would face the intersection of Northwest 12th and Flanders Street at a 45 degree angle. The residential entryway would be adjacent to the main entry and just to its north.

A garden terrace would highlight the building’s southeast corner, while a lounge and breakfast gallery would take up the southwest corner.

The top floor would have amenities to be used by both hotel guests and residents, Wong said. The ground floor is likely to host some food-and-beverage options.

“We think the hotel is a nice amenity for the apartments, and vice versa,” Wong said.

Other recent projects have sought to combine hotel and residential uses in a single building, including the proposed 35-story Block 216 project in downtown Portland and the Kirkland Tower-Hotel Indigo project now under construction at The Waterfront Vancouver in Washington.

It’s too soon to tell if the hotel-multifamily combination is becoming a popular development type, said Jill DeCoursey, a Bureau of Development Services land-use planner.

“There have been a few recently, but I wouldn’t say it’s a trend,” she said.

Editor’s note: 91��Ƶ reporter Josh Kulla contributed to this report.

The post Pearl District may soon gain a 23-story tower appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.