The Portland Historic Landmarks Commission on Monday got its first look at the proposal for a seven-to-eight-story affordable housing development. Flatworks, at 240 S.E. Grand Ave., would have approximately 143 rent-restricted units. The site is in the East Portland/Grand Avenue Historic District.

The project is valued at $25 million, according to Portland Permitting & Development.

TVA Architects‘ design calls for eight-story dark massing clad in masonry on the north third of the block and seven-story light massing clad in high-quality fiber-cement panels on the remaining two-thirds of the block, according to the project’s narrative.

Sturgeon Development Partners is developing the project. The team also includes civil engineer Langan of Clackamas, structural engineer KPFF, landscape architect Shapiro Didway, MEP engineer Interface Engineering, and general contractor LMC Construction.

During a type III historic resource review hearing in 2020, the Historic Landmarks Commission had approved for the site a similar proposal with office space. But that proposal did not advance, and the developer shifted to affordable housing. The plug was pulled because of a lack of demand for office space, said John Jamiel, a TVA Architects senior associate.

The project team expects to seek a permit for the new proposal by April 2026.

At the ground level facing Southeast Grand Avenue, programming would include a lobby, offices, community rooms, a gym and bike parking. Eight parking stalls would be provided inside a ground-level garage with access at mid-block on Pine Street. Ground-floor glazing and active programming would generally be oriented toward Grand Avenue and on the corners, with building services at mid-block facing Ash and Pine streets.

The design team wants to offer some kind of roof deck for residents – on level 8 – and is looking into the cost of such an amenity.

Exterior cladding materials would include brick, composite metal panels, fiber-cement paneling and ribbed metal paneling. There would be five levels of wood framing over three levels of concrete.

The proposed fiber-cement material appeared to be of decent quality, commission Chair Andrew Smith said. Previously, for the office building proposal, only a couple of materials would’ve been used, he added.

“I would encourage the design team, as you move this forward, to take a hard look at that and try to simplify (the material palette),” Smith said.

Commissioner Hugo Hamblin-Agosto suggested the design team look for softer colors for the exterior instead of the dark brick so the building would blend more with the district. Pam Saftler, a TVA Architects principal, said alternatives would be a red or brown brick.

“I don’t find the dark nature of the material that has been chosen to be objectionable at all,” Smith said. “I’ve seen a couple of other buildings of this scale using that type and tone of brick and I’ve seen them be very successful.”

One of the potential modifications is related to required building lines. The space between the building and the street lot line must be designed as an extension of the sidewalks and committed to active uses such as sidewalk cafes, vendor’s stands or developed as “stopping places,” the city’s staff report states. The proposal includes raised planter beds along most of the street frontages between the building setback and the lot lines instead of treating this area as an active space. The commissioners suggested removing the planters to allow for a communal space for residents.

Another potential modification is to the requirement of an eco-roof. Currently, one is planned on level 2.

“We’re looking at providing solar panels in lieu of providing an eco-roof,” Jamiel said, adding that stormwater would have to be managed in a different way.

Commissioners expressed support for eliminating the eco-roof as long as there would be stormwater mitigation. Smith suggested the team seek an equivalent that would provide benefits like those of an eco-roof.

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Design concepts for the highway cover portion of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project were discussed by stakeholders on Monday. Members of the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, the Portland Bureau of Transportation and ZGF Architects held a work session with the Oregon Department of Transportation‘s Historic Albina Advisory Board and Community Oversight Advisory Committee. The meeting focused on how potential highway cover uses would relate to public spaces, adjacent uses and the surrounding street network.

ODOT will own the highway cover, but there will be opportunities for community-based organizations to own the buildings atop the cover.

Construction of Phase 1 of the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project will include a portion of the highway cover. It will connect streets that are currently divided by Interstate 5 and add new land, allowing wider sidewalks and new spaces for community activities. Once built, the highway cover will be able to support buildings up to three stories, depending on the final design, according to the project’s website.

What will be built atop the highway cover will be determined through a public process in partnership with the city of Portland and ODOT. The process will include preferred opening-day and longer-term development concepts, street and path designs, and options for governance and financing. Then a Community Framework Agreement will be formed to guide future development of the highway cover. During the process of determining highway cover uses, input will be sought from the Black and Albina community through guidance from the project’s Historic Albina Advisory Board, the project’s website states.

During Monday’s meeting, Albina Vision Trust (AVT) Executive Director Winta Yohannes said the mission has been clear that the organization wants whatever ends up on the cover to create wealth, build community and celebrate culture. AVT also wants the spaces to be future-focused and multigenerational family friendly.

During previous meetings, two core concepts for the cover were reviewed. One was that the highway cover should be anchored to something related to health and wellness, such as a bridge to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, as well as provide connections to workforce opportunities and other sorts of possible partnerships. The other was the idea of creating more of a cultural district with some kind of anchor in the middle such as a performing arts center or Black history museum. What ultimately derived was the idea of a cultural district featuring a combination of those uses.

Design concepts being explored would maximize wealth creation for the community. They include a community-focused building connecting to the street, sidewalks on both sides, and a bike lane with a raised planter above the highway cover’s surface.

A bicycle network intersects the site, and public transit options exist; however, many people would likely arrive by car. But creation of a parking structure atop the highway cover would be a challenge, said Nolan Lienhart, a ZGF Architects principal and director of planning and urban design.

“There are some places on the cover where street parking could happen, but it would happen as a result of widening Williams (Avenue),” he said.

There may be ways to signify that the area where North Vancouver and Williams avenues intersect Broadway is a gateway to North Portland, Lienhart said. That could be signified with a sign, a gate structure, or public art pylons, he said.

As far as the possibility of monuments, feedback was that they do not build wealth for the community and that the design should include as much of the historical storytelling (monuments or art) in the public right-of-way or in public space not otherwise able to be used for wealth creation.

Other feedback included the desire for wider sidewalks and gathering spaces for larger groups.

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For more than 40 years, LRS Architects has blended experience with innovation, delivering designs that shape communities and advance sustainable development. Based in Portland, the firm specializes in commercial, residential, and civic architecture, earning a reputation for tackling complex projects with creative solutions.

A standout example of LRS’s work is Slabtown Square, a key development in Portland’s Con-Way master plan. Transforming a former industrial site into a dynamic mixed-use neighborhood, the project features a public plaza and a festival street, demonstrating the firm’s ability to integrate community-oriented design into urban redevelopment.

LRS is also a leader in mass timber construction, adaptive reuse, and transit-oriented development, incorporating environmentally responsible practices into each project. The firm’s team-driven approach ensures that every design reflects both technical expertise and a deep understanding of how people interact with the built environment.

As an employee-owned firm, LRS fosters mentorship and collaboration, empowering emerging architects to contribute ideas and grow within the profession. This investment in talent has helped the firm remain at the forefront of the industry, continuously evolving to meet new challenges.
LRS Architects goes beyond designing buildings – it creates spaces that serve communities today while anticipating the needs of tomorrow.

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Urban designers are evaluating options for the layout of the 34-acre Broadway Corridor site, including park spaces and the block configuration.

ZGF Architects has come up with three possible master plans for the site. Each one is designed to accommodate the 3.8 million square feet of development that is expected in the Northwest Portland district.

The three concepts are known as “Play,” “Discovery” and “Nature.” They were presented to the Portland Design Commission in an informational briefing Thursday. Designers are tentatively set to return in mid-December for a design advice request.

Each option would continue the Green Loop and set aside space for buildings. A park is likely to be built in front of the Pacific Northwest College of Art, at 511 N.W. Broadway, and extend the Park Blocks northward.

One option would have a podium with a skate park stepping up to the Broadway Bridge. The master plans offer different configurations of parcels that would translate to large floor plates or smaller office plates.

Julie Livingston, chairwoman of the Design Commission, told the designers on Thursday to integrate the Broadway Corridor into its surroundings.

“How is what is being proposed not an inward-facing campus?” she asked.

The Broadway Corridor site was created by the U.S. Postal Service’s move to the Portland International Airport area. Union Station and vacant parcels are also part of the plan.

Continuum Partners of Denver was selected in April by Prosper Portland as master developer of the 14-acre Postal Service property – the largest single portion of the larger Broadway Corridor.

A request for proposals closed Friday for pre-development project management services at the USPS site.

A Pearl District resident, Glenn Traeger, on Thursday urged the planners to account for the area’s traffic woes.

“We are at a stage where we need a transportation study,” he said.

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has developed a fast-growing reputation nationally for his groundbreaking work tying together the role of architecture in creating the impoverished urban environments that inspired the creation of hip-hop music and culture. Ford presented his lecture Thursday at an and presentation at the Ziba auditorium in Northwest Portland and also hosted his popular Hip Hop Architecture Camp for middle school students all week at Benson Polytechnic High School. This photo gallery shows a few scenes from both the camp and lecture.

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