On Northeast Glisan Street, two apartment buildings on neighboring lots offer 25 and 30 apartments, respectively. They’re not particularly remarkable, but they have pleasant courtyards and thoughtful design touches.

“We try to strip our buildings down to what you need to live and provide a price point where medium-income people can afford to live,” said Ed Bruin, director of design at Edge Development. “That’s the goal.”

Multifamily production in Portland fell 13.1 percent in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, inclusionary housing requirements and other factors. Large projects stalled as the number of permitted new units dropped to 3,757, according to the Bureau of Development Services.

Yet in pockets around the city, small multifamily buildings kept rising. The number of permitted units in buildings of three to 50 units actually increased in 2020, by 10.1 percent.

Edge Development is among the small-scale multifamily developers that have found a niche in the current market. The projects aim to meet demand for urban neighborhoods close to employers such as Providence Portland Medical Center, and outdoor attractions such as Mount Tabor Park.

Edge Development’s buildings are often three stories, as are both at Northeast 57th Avenue and Glisan Street. That reduces construction costs.

“We try to limit the scope of the buildings that are what you need to live in a nice, comfortable development, without the amenities that drive up costs,” Bruin said.

Edge has its own construction and property management companies – another cost-management strategy.

Developers are also finding creative ways to keep buildings below the 20-unit threshold that triggers the city’s inclusionary housing policy. Edge Development’s 30-unit NOTA development, at 5635 N.E. Glisan St., is permitted as two separate buildings.

Another local developer, VWR Development, has broken ground at Southeast 13th Avenue and Nehalem Street on a building designed to hold 19 units – just below the number that would require rent-restricted units be offered (or a fee be paid in lieu). VWR owner Vic Remmers did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Both Edge and VWR typically build apartment complexes with no parking – another amenity that increases costs. The Sellwood project reflects the densification seen throughout Portland’s neighborhoods. It required demolition of a home that was built in 1892 and had served as a retail storefront for Sock Dreams and later a small gift shop.

Sellwood has been among the neighborhoods most targeted by multifamily developers seeking walkable urban settings. At the height of the pre-inclusionary housing boom, more than 900 multifamily units were in the pipeline for the neighborhood.

“In the past year, there was a slowdown after (COVID-19) hit,” said David Schoellhamer, chairman of the Sellwood-Moreland Improvement League‘s land-use committee.  “I think we might be starting to come out of that. We’ve got a couple of projects after a long lull.”

An Arizona developer has proposed a three-building, 85-unit project at 1666 S.E. Lambert St. in Sellwood on a surface parking lot that neighbors a church. The developer, Scotia Western State Housing, a limited liability company based in Tucson, could not be reached for comment.

In a December meeting with the SMILE neighborhood association, Sean O’Neill of Scotia Western State Housing said the project would have 16 studio units, 43 one-bedroom units and 26 two-bedroom units. The project would meet inclusionary housing requirements with seven apartments (8 percent of the total) designated as affordable with rents restricted to the level of 60 percent of area median income, according to meeting minutes.

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(Editor’s note: A previous version of this story mistakenly stated that the proposal was denied by the Portland Design Commission. However, the commission did not vote whether to approve the proposal.)

A proposal for a new mixed-use building in the Buckman neighborhood wasn’t approved Thursday by Portland design commissioners; however, they believe TVA Architects is on the right track.

The nine-story building at 820 S.E. Alder St. proposed by VWR Development and owned by Alder 8 Apartments LLC of Vancouver, Washington, would include 176 residential units above 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space along Southeast Morrison Street and Ninth Avenue. The structure would replace a three-story warehouse that sits on the 19,000-square-foot site currently.

A residential lobby would face the corner of Southeast Alder Street and Ninth Avenue, and a combined parking and loading garage with 69 parking spaces would face Alder Street. The building would feature brick, metal panels and vinyl windows.

The project team has requested four modifications to zoning code. One would extend the height of the roof closure. Other code changes would alter the required ground-floor window length and the dimensions of long-term bicycle and vehicle parking spaces.

Iain MacKenzie of TVA Architects said the design team has made some revisions since last meeting with city staff.

“We introduced a second entry, which will be very convenient for cyclists,” he said, because it would connect to the bike parking room. Also, balconies were added to provide more residents outdoor views of downtown and the Willamette River.

Portland senior planner Ben Nielsen told commissioners in his presentation that staff recommended denying the proposal for several reasons. One was because the balconies would be a pale yellow; staff suggested the color match the background for coherency. Also, light fixtures attached to the ground could shine into pedestrians’ eyes, the staff report stated.

City staff also suggested expanding the size of the lobby, and requested opaque panels or translucent glass – instead of mesh, as proposed – be used to obscure views of the parking area.

Most commissioners disagreed with the staff’s opinion on the balconies and said they liked the yellow.

“I think the color of the balconies adds an additional layer of color and texture,” Commissioner Jessica Molinar said.

Commissioner Don Vallaster said he likes the color of the balconies and how it highlights the building.

“This is really strong architecture and really strong work,” he said. “In general, I think a lot of the small moves they’ve made have really strengthened the project.”

TVA Architects’ Robert Thompson told commissioners the building would fit in the context of the neighborhood.

“This is an evolving neighborhood,” he said. “This is very much in sync with the developments happening in that neighborhood. We’ve taken a lot of cues from buildings in that area.”

The design calls for reliefs covered by canopies on the ground level along Southeast Ninth Avenue and Morrison Street in order to increase the width of the sidewalk and allow for more outdoor space, Thompson said. The team also is thinking about adding lights under the canopies in each relief bay and under the canopy of the main entrance.

However, Molinar said she wanted the retail windows to be further out toward the street.

“The recesses, although only three feet deep, I think it’s going to make it really tough for that retail to be successful because you can’t see the storefront from the street as you’re driving by until you’re right in front of it,” she said.

Most commissioners didn’t like plans for large corner windows that would extend outward and asked the design team to address that element.

After making revisions, TVA Architects will return before the Design Commission on April 19.

“Generally, it seems that everybody is responding very well to the grid and the strengths of the building,” Design Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. “Just push a little bit further and we’ll all be there.”

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Sellwood 13, a development under way in Southeast Portland, has been apartments, then condos, then apartments again in its short but eventful life.

Construction of the 30-unit residential building is nearing completion amid softness in rent growth and strong demand for affordably priced homes.

Meanwhile, in Northeast Portland, a new 62-unit building, Overlook Park Condos, includes both condos and apartments. Nonbinding reservations have been made for about 25 of the units, and 10 more are leased as apartments, according to Debbie Thomas, a real estate agent who represents the property.

The story of Sellwood 13 and Overlook Park shows a developer cautiously testing the waters of the condo market and finding it working in one location, but not another. Both buildings were developed by VWR Development, led by local developers Vic and Wally Remmers and Brad Hosmar.

Overlook Park will be fully converted into condos as the apartments’ leases end, Thomas said. Apartment tenants will have the first shot at buying the condos, she said.

Mostly young buyers have been snapping up the Overlook Park units.

“It just speaks to the pent-up demand for sale property,” Thomas said.

The developers declined an interview request.

On Tuesday, a young couple, Juanita Karan, 31, and Matt Zellers, 27, toured the condo units at Overlook Park. The couple has been renting separately, Zellers in Northwest Portland and Karan in the John’s Landing neighborhood, and they expressed interest in buying either a large unit together or smaller condos separately.

“It kills me to pay money to rent and not have equity,” Karan said.

Zellers agreed, saying, “Every month, I get no equity out of the rent I pay. You’re paying someone else’s mortgage.”

For would-be buyers like Karan and Zellers, there is little property available for them to consider. Many homes are owned by investors, who choose to rent them out either monthly or on short-term rental sites such as Airbnb. Portland in April had 1.7 months of single-family inventory, far below what is considered a balanced market.

The Overlook Park Condos, as the name might suggest, look over the park of the same name, which looks over the Willamette River and downtown Portland. Karan and Zellers toured units on the sixth floor. They found the views to their liking – to the east was a view of Mount Hood, while to the southwest, the prospective buyers could see the river, Fremont Bridge and downtown skyline.

The building includes amenities such as a dog wash – which Karan said she would use for her Pomeranian – and underground parking. The 17 parking spaces will be sold separately.

VWR’s other new building, Sellwood 13, located at 1313 S.E. Spokane St., does not include any parking. Sean Z. Becker, an agent who represented the building, said that was an issue for the property. The condos were pulled from the market after nonbinding reservations were made for 12 of the units. The units were made available again as apartments.

Condo buyers demand parking, Becker said.

“For a condo building, that’s kind of mandatory,” he said.

But a well-located rental property may be able to do without parking, he said.

“I believe we’re on the front side of a new building condo run,” Becker said. “It’s just about the right building in the right location at the right time.”

The developments come as home prices continue to appreciate, reaching a median of $385,000 in April, according to Regional Multiple Listing Service. That has caused some buyers and developers to reconsider condos, which fell out of fashion after a boom in the 1990s. Part of that was due to legal liability that looms over condo development.

Yet there are signs the market could be ripe for condos. Recently, a condo in The Casey, a luxury building in the Pearl District, sold for $4.5 million to a buyer moving from the East Coast.

Hoyt Street Properties has seen success with Cosmopolitan, and is building Vista on Block 20 in the Pearl District.

Condos that reach the market are being snapped up quickly. Condos spent only 34 days on the market on average in 2016, down from 37 days in 2015 and 95 days in 2013.

“There’s nothing to buy, so when it hits the market, it’s gone,” Becker said.

Prices per square foot have grown as well, to $498 in 2016, up from $436 in 2015.

Hoyt Street Properties was the first to market since the previous condo boom with Cosmopolitan, completed in 2016. The building’s entire inventory of 150 condominiums sold out almost immediately at prices averaging $700 per square foot.

In 2016, 1,812 condo units were sold, according to RMLS data gathered by Becker’s office. Only 168 were delivered.

The hottest markets are at the lower and higher ends. Condos priced at $300,000 to $500,000 spent on average only 27 days on the market in 2016. Luxury condos of $1 million to $2 million spent 46 days on the market. Condos priced between $700,000 and $999,000 sat on the market longer, 53 days on average.

Nationally, condo sales jumped 9.8 percent in March 2017, compared to a year earlier. That topped sales growth for single-family homes, according to National Association of Realtors data. Prices for condos rose 8 percent on average, also topping price growth for single-family homes.

At Overlook Park, prospective buyers started inquiring about condos as the building was finished in January. Thomas said the interest led the developers to convert to condos.

Condo projects like Overlook Park have been a long time coming, Thomas said.

“I’m just surprised it hasn’t happened sooner, like two years ago, because we’ve had a big shortage of urban housing for sale in general,” she said.

For Sellwood 13, the modest size of the units and distance from mass transit made condos less appealing than apartments, Becker said.

By contrast, the condos at Overlook Park, at 3705 N. Overlook Blvd., are a short walk to a MAX light-rail station. The condos are adjacent to the 11-acre city park.

“They’re the perfect size for millennials or empty nesters,” Thomas said. Prices range from $250,000 to approximately $440,000.

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