PROJECT: Amaterra Winery

LOCATION: 7856 S.W. Mayway Drive, Portland

SIZE:Ěý46,000 square feet

COST:Ěý$26 million

START DATE: January 2019

ANTICIPATED END DATE: April 2021

OWNER: Amaterra

DEVELOPER: Touchmark

OWNER’S REPRESENTATIVE/CONSTRUCTION MANAGER: O’Brien & Company

CONTRACTOR:ĚýEmerick Construction Company

LEAD ARCHITECT: Waterleaf Architecture

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Mayer/Reed

INTERIORS AND FURNITURE: GBD Architects

ENGINEERS: Glumac (MEP), Humber Design Group (civil), TM Rippey Consulting Engineers

MAJOR SUBCONTRACTORS/OTHER ASSOCIATES: Whitaker/Ellis Builders, TT&L Sheet Metal, Team Electric, American Heating, Anning-Johnson, Heinz Mechanical Industries Inc.

NUMBER OF WORKERS EMPLOYED: 45

SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT: Emerick Construction is working closely with Waterleaf Architecture and O’Brien & Company, the construction manager, on this three-story, 46,000-square-foot project – the first full-production winery in the Portland metropolitan area. Approximately 3,600 cubic yards of concrete was used for the foundation and structure of the two lower levels that will serve winery production. Approximately 35,000 square feet of 12-inch, precast/prestressed, hollow-core planks were placed for the Level 2 and 3 suspended slabs. The top level, which will house a restaurant and event space, is wood-framed with a multi-gabled roof structure that emulates the West Hills in which the building is located. The project started in spring 2019 with ground modification. The project was undertaken with an aggressive schedule coupled with a phased design process. A very tight site on a slope, with deep excavation in a microclimate subject to high winds, necessitated a lot of coordination and planning. Currently, site construction and the build-out of the restaurant and event space are under way, and completion is expected late this spring. Like many projects in 2020, this one challenged its team because of the atmosphere of the times. Team members adapted to the momentum adjustments associated with COVID-19. Also, a few weeks of forest fires required constant evaluation of the schedule and creative thinking to keep materials arriving and crews working. Once open, the facility will be home to a gravity-flow winery led by Willamette Valley winemaker Matt Vuylsteke. Its production will be predominantly pinot noir and chardonnay. The restaurant will serve as both a tasting room and dining space.

“Building Blocks” is a 91ĘÓƵ feature that spotlights noteworthy projects either under construction or approaching the start of construction. To submit a project for consideration, please visit: djcorprod.wpengine.com/building-blocks.

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For some businesses, a mission statement isn’t enough.

Carleton Hart Architecture is set to become Oregon’s latest design firm to earn status as a certified B Corporation, tying its values to a third-party auditing process.

Principals with Carleton Hart Architecture and Waterleaf Architecture, which in 2016 became Oregon’s first architecture firm to earn B Corporation certification, said its advantages include marketing and client relations, employee recruitment and retention, and social accountability.

Carleton Hart, which has 37 employees, often works with public-sector and nonprofit clients on affordable housing projects and others that aim for a social good.

“It’s very important to demonstrate that we have a mission, that we have a set of beliefs that are in line with what our clients do,” Carleton Hart founding principal Brian Carleton said.

B Corporations are more common in other industries such as food and beverage. Well-known local B Corporations include New Seasons Market, Grand Central Bakery and Stumptown Coffee Roasters. Green Hammer, a Portland design-build firm, also became a certified B Corporation in 2017.

The B Corporation certification process uses a ratings system that awards points in categories such as governance, workers, community, environment and customers. In some ways, it’s not unlike Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for a company instead of a building.

“What we do architecturally and as citizens matters to us,” said Michelle Black, a Carleton Hart principal. “There’s something about making it formal, if you will.”

Carleton Hart is engaged in a variety of mission-driven projects, including the Multnomah County Behavioral Health Center – a downtown facility that will offer drop-in day services, shelter beds and transitional housing for the homeless. Another is the Cedar Grove Apartments affordable housing project in Beaverton.

Such projects require a workplace culture that lends itself to cohesive solutions driven by shared values, Carleton Hart’s principals said.

“We are often brought into projects and part of conversations that extend past just the physical architecture,” Black said. “It’s more than just how long is the design drawing set going to take, or what is the permit process. We are asking so much of each other. We’re looking at problem solving on a much greater scale often.”

Particularly with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, professional services firms are expected to communicate their values to potential clients.

“This is an era where we need to lead with our values and market with our values first,” said Abigail Bokman, marketing manager for Waterleaf.

Becoming a B Corporation does not change a company’s legal organization. Waterleaf, for example, is a limited liability company, while Carleton Hart is organized as a professional corporation. In other words, B Corporation certification does not change a company’s for-profit status.

“They definitely aren’t shy with being profitable, but they have an emphasis on doing something good at the same time,” said Karen Lange, a Waterleaf associate partner.

For companies accustomed to privacy in their business operations, becoming a B Corporation requires a turn toward transparency. Among the scores that are posted publicly in the B Corporation directory are tallies for workers’ financial security and engagement and satisfaction.

“That’s one of the biggest differences, is you become more transparent as a private company,” Carleton said.

That may have benefits for recruitment and retention. At Waterleaf, which has 17 employees, the company’s B Corporation certification comes up in job interviews regularly. Prospective employees often ask about the firm’s social mission, Lange said.

B Lab, the organization that oversees B Corporation certifications, requires a minimum of 80 points to achieve certification. Carleton Hart .

Certification also links firms to a network of similar companies. There’s an online forum, B Hive, where executives can ask questions of their peers. There are also monthly lunch sessions, panel discussions, an annual regional conference and networking events. Portland has more than 100 certified B Corporations.

In the pandemic era, the B Hive has filled with helpful information on topics such as obtaining federal Paycheck Protection Program loans. Social and racial equity have also been at the forefront of the conversations.

“It’s become a very safe community to share and discuss some of these issues, which we’ve found very valuable,” Lange said.

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Portland general contractor Schommer & Sons was recently honored by the Associated General Contractors of America and Construction Risk Partners with a 2018 Build America award for its work on the Clubhouse at Domaine Serene, a Dundee Hills winery.

The Clubhouse is a sprawling, 35,000-square-foot space designed as a tribute to Domaine Serene owners’ Grace and Ken Evenstad’s 15th-century French estate Château de la CrĂ©e.

“We took a very old-world approach in building the new Clubhouse to ensure that it would endure generations,” Grace Evenstad said.

Waterleaf Architecture of Portland designed the building along with Cole, Martinez, Curtis and Associates of Napa Valley, California. Schommer & Sons, meanwhile, used both centuries-old techniques and modern ones to build a one-of-a-kind facility.

Schommer & Sons was aided by artisans and specialists from 86 other firms. Work included construction of wine caves modeled after those found in the original Château de la Crée, painstaking efforts to create handmade plaster trims, as well as ample use of carved stones inside and out.

The Build America awards recognize the most challenging, creative and inspiring construction projects throughout the United States. The award was presented to Schommer & Sons on Feb. 27 at AGC‘s annual national convention in New Orleans.

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The Structural Engineers Association of Oregon has released the names of the winning projects in the 2017 SEAO Excellence in Structural Engineering awards competition.

The annual awards recognize outstanding structural engineering efforts that feature at least one team member associated with SEAO. This year’s nominated projects were selected by a panel of judges based on criteria that included creativity and complexity of structural design, efficient use of materials, successful fulfillment of owner/client needs, and suitability of the structure for its environment.

The Titus Will adaptive reuse project, submitted by WDY Inc., was selected as the winner in the renovation and retrofit category. The 50,000-square-foot, two-story structure underwent a full seismic upgrade because of occupancy changes. The addition of moment frames to the seismic system allowed an existing large storefront to remain open. The project owner/developer was Tourmaline Capital and Irwin Development Group. The project architect was Lundin Cole Architects, and the general contractor was Korsmo Construction.

The award for buildings over $10 million went to the Q21 mixed-use project, which was submitted by Nishkian Dean. The seven-story, 202,000-square-foot mixed-use structure featured unique columns made from two 12-sided tapered steel sections. Welded together at the center, the sections created double tapered columns that formed the number XXI. The project owner/developer was Rosan Inc. The project architect was YBA Architects, and the general contractor was Andersen Construction.

The Athey Creek Christian Fellowship project, submitted by VLMK Engineering + Design, won the award for new buildings under $10 million. The judges gave the project and its engineering team top scores for overcoming a major hurdle to successfully locate concrete panels, ranging in height from 34 feet to 37 feet, on top of 12-inch-wide, cast-in-place concrete walls. The project owner was Athey Creek Christian Fellowship. The project team included David Bissett Architect and general contractor Perlo Construction.

In the special-use structures category, the winning project was the C-Tran Fourth Plain Bus Rapid Transit Corridor and Maintenance Facility expansion and renovation. The project holds the distinction as the first bus rapid transit system in Oregon or Southwest Washington. The project owner was C-Tran. The project team included Equilibrium Engineers, which submitted the project, PIVOT Architecture and Waterleaf Architecture, and general contractors Emerick Construction, Colf Construction and Tapani.

The Portland Japanese Garden’s Cultural Crossing was selected as the jurors’ favorite. The expansion project added four buildings, a site bridge and several site retaining walls. The owner/developer was the Portland Japanese Garden. Architects for the project were Kengo Kuma & Associates and Hacker. Hoffman Construction was general contractor.

The judging panel for the awards included Eric Thomas of the Portland Bureau of Development Services; Thomas Miller of the Oregon State University School of Civil and Construction Engineering; Judith Sheine of the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Environment; and Stephanie Basalyga, editor of the Daily Journal of Commerce.

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The annual Portland Winter Light Festival will brighten the city Feb. 1-3. While the bulk of the displays will be set up at the traditional site near the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), exhibits will be scattered among three other locations in Portland.

Local architects play a big role in creating many of the festival’s displays. This year, Fieldwork Design & Architecture, ZGF Architects, Walker Macy, Waterleaf Architecture, Interiors & Planning and the team of Holst Architecture and 2.ink Studio will be involved in a variety of exhibits. Two works are Flamethrower Chandelier by Ryan Ramage, and a 50-foot-tall steel, flame-shooting dragon by Ivan McLean.

Besides the main displays at OMSI, other works will be at the World Trade Center/PGE headquarters, Salmon Springs Fountain, North Park Blocks and Cathedral Park. Admittance is free.

Also, the Portland Spirit and Sternwheeler will provide free rides, and a variety of artists will deliver story readings and performances.

Learn more about the festival at .

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The Portland Design Commission gave its first impressions of the proposed $50 million, 4,000-seat expansion of city-owned Providence Park during a design advice hearing on Thursday. It attracted a large crowd of architects, neighborhood business representatives, team officials and soccer fans.

“Every time I hear the door squeak, it sounds like a Timbers horn,” said Tim Heron, senior planner for the Portland Bureau of Development Services. “I was anxious that this was going to be an interesting hearing.”

The proposed expansion of the 91-year-old stadium, which is home to both the Timbers and Thorns soccer teams, calls for the addition of two seating decks as well as concession stands and restroom facilities. Also, the existing 47-foot facade would be modified to rise to 92 feet, 10 inches.

One of the major reasons why advice was requested at this early stage of the design process is that the project owner has an aggressive timeline for construction.

“Their goal is to get first work started in the right of way in October,” said Bob Haley, senior planner with the Portland Bureau of Transportation. “That is a pretty optimistic schedule to get through a very complicated public works permit to do all the utility work in October. And then the following year I believe is when the structural work begins. It’s a very quick timeline.”

One of the major problems is that plans include a major encroachment into the public right of way on Southwest 18th Avenue. That will require approval of the Portland City Council, the Portland Bureau of Transportation and TriMet, which operates mass transit in the area. The Design Commission is expected to recommend that the City Council approve the encroachment request.

Project planners wanted the Design Commission to give advice on the overall concept before moving forward with discussions with other agencies.

“No one has a problem with building in the public right of way,” Design Commission Chairman David Wark said. “It seems like the major encroachment idea is supported. Now it’s about working out the messy details.”

Many of those details still have to be finalized. Project architect Allied Works Architecture is still working on plans ranging from crowd control to whether the proposed roof, extending over the grandstand, will be metal or fabric. Another issue is how Southwest 18th Avenue will be treated.

Currently, temporary barriers are used to direct crowds to transit options on game days. However, those barriers are often ignored as fans cross streets illegally. Commissioners and project officials discussed the merits of a permanent structure that would prevent jaywalking both on game and non-game days.

“It seems to be that there needs to be some idea of how to get out instead of just at the north and south area,” Wark said.

A permanent structure, however, would present its own problems.

“Adding thousands of people … if you build this fence, then you only have a 10-foot-wide sidewalk,” Design Commissioner Jessica Molinar said. “There are 3,000 people on the sidewalk; you’re sort of penning them in in this space.”

Discussions on Thursday also touched on project officials’ need to demonstrate a public benefit in order to justify the encroachment on public space. The Design Commission encouraged the team to look for ways to increase that benefit.

“Obviously there is economic benefit in terms of income,” Wark said. “You do have to pay to go in here, so it automatically limits the people that can benefit from this. It seems like there should be something in addition to the unseen public benefits.”

Overall, the design proposed was largely influenced by the vertical elements of stadiums in Europe and Central America. It includes an open steel latticework to create platforms for people. Tensioned cables lining the new facade would support a roof structure that will cover the new and existing seats.

“The expansion of Providence Park creates a new stadium type,” said Brad Cloepfil, principal and founder of Allied Works Architecture. “The design was conceived to amplify excitement, theatricality and intensity of the stadium experience.”

Also on Thursday:

Lloyd Center

The Design Commission got its second look at plans for CAPREF Lloyd Center LLC‘s renovation and expansion of the aging Lloyd Center mall. The design presented Thursday by Waterleaf Architecture‘s Bill Bailey was different in several ways from the one shown March 9.

Many of the changes focused on the plaza at the corner of N.E. Ninth Avenue and Multnomah Street. Commissioners previously recommended that designers use it to shape the building’s entry.

Overall, commissioners were complimentary of the changes; however, they said the plaza isn’t defined adequately.

“The plaza needs to take a firmer position on whether it’s public space or if it’s part of the mall,” Commissioner Julie Livingston said. “It should be more public and perform more like other public spaces in the neighborhoods do.”

Commissioners also advised designers to make sure the plaza would be useful at all times of the year. Currently, plans call for a lot of outdoor tables, planters and a water feature that could have limited use during winter months.

“The outdoor space needs to work when it’s raining on Tuesday in October,” Commission Vice Chairman Tad Savinar said. “It’s October on a Tuesday afternoon for nine months of the year here.”

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Designers of the four-story Seven Corners Community Collaborative building, now under construction at 1949 S.E. Division St., have overcome a host of obstacles.

First, accessibility became a high priority. The $7.5 million building will hold the headquarters of Community Vision Inc., but also offices for FACT Oregon and Community Pathways. All three organizations specialize in helping people with a wide range of physical and intellectual disabilities.

“We are using universal design principles to allow universal access,” said Bill Bailey, managing partner at Waterleaf Architecture, Interiors & Planning. “We really want to add dignity to access. Everybody approaches and uses the building in the same way.”

As such, elevators were designed with buttons accessible to both abled and disabled people in the same manner. Also, bathrooms had to be designed to exceed Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

A second hurdle for the design team was figuring out how to fit a 25,000-square-foot building on a small, triangular lot.

“There is a challenge of working on a triangular site,” Bailey said. “How (do) you get efficient office layout? The geometry of the site and the space planning for the site is challenging.”

In addition, the building will be located in the Ladd’s Historic District, so the design is subject to more restrictions and reviews.

Another complication is that the building will sit on land where a former gas station caused soil contamination. Multnomah County donated the land to Community Vision Inc. after taking it in a tax foreclosure nearly 15 years earlier. A system is being constructed under the building to vent any residual contaminants away from it.

“Every infill project has its own series of issues,” Bailey said. “This project had more overlapping issues than most.”

The facility will include an assistive technology center, training and education rooms, event space and a state-of-the-art kitchen. The expansive green roof includes a deck as well as a solar panel array.

Nossa Familia Coffee has signed on to occupy part of the ground-floor retail space. The company has a history of reaching out to help individuals with disabilities.

“The project is designed for (Community Vision Inc.) and three other sister nonprofits that will occupy the building,” Bailey said. “The building was designed to accommodate their needs.”

Grand & Benedicts Construction began work this past fall, and then the progress slowed because of winter weather.

“We are so excited to finally be on the ground in construction,” Bailey said.

On the Boards is a 91ĘÓƵ feature offering a look at the projects in Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91ĘÓƵ architecture and engineering reporter Kent Hohlfeld at 503-802-7224 or khohlfeld@djcOregon.com.

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The REvive Jacmel medical center in Jacmel, Haiti, is not a typical construction project. It’s being led by a Portland plastic surgeon, and costing approximately $150,000 — close to $35,000 more than budgeted originally. Project planning began in 2013; completion is slated for 2016.

But now the collaborative effort has almost produced a building … finally.

“It’s been a long, strange trip, and we’ve had lots and lots of help from lots of different people,” said Michael Workman,Ěýthe Portlander who for the past three years has shepherded the effort to build the center. “I’ve never done anything like this before; I mean, I’m a private-practice plastic surgeon. I guess I was just looking for some way to help.”

With walls up and roof trusses assembled and ready for installation, the REvive Jacmel dental and surgical center is now, literally, off the ground. Elections in Haiti caused delays.

“There were times whenĚýI thought, boy, we’re never going to get shovels in the ground,” said Jim McKune, a retired general contractor and REviveĚýJacmel project team member.

On Jan. 12, 2010, Haiti was rocked by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake thatĚýlaid waste to the capital city of Port-au-Prince and outlying areas. By chance it was the same day as Associated General Contractors‘ annual meeting in Oregon. After watching news footage showing the devastation, an AGCĚýcommittee convened and voted toĚýsend money to the people of Haiti. It committed $75,000 up front, and individuals contributed more.

As a recipient for the money was sought, it “sat there and sat there and sat there,” McKune recalled. A land deal fell through and a designer pulled out. In time, students from the University of Oregon and Oregon State University were involved.

“The idea was to make this into a learning opportunity, so everybody benefits,” said Dale Campbell, former AGC president.

KPFF Engineering and Waterleaf Architecture signed on, assisting designs andĚýworking with students. Then, about two years ago, the groupĚýidentified a 5-acre property near aĚýChildren’s Hope orphanage, where a surgical and dental center could be built for the price in mind. Children’s Hope, a ministry of the First Baptist Church of Montgomery, Ala., donated the land. Scott Payne of Children’s Hope has supervised the project on site.

Two months ago, the shovels finally hit the ground. The floorĚýhas beenĚýpoured and the walls put up. OSU students traveled there to assemble the roof trusses, which are under tarps and shouldĚýbe installedĚýsoon.

Workman first visited the affected area three years ago, and came across people dying who couldn’t afford surgery. He saw a woman who contracted gangrene following a foot amputation, and aĚýboy with a hernia whose intestines protruded through his stomach. Many people in the affected area earn no more than $2 a day. Medical centers accept only cash and no insurance.
“In essence, for many people, there’s no medical care,” he said.

Though there is a finish line of sorts in sight, Workman said the work won’t end when construction is complete. Next will come the matter of operating the full-time medical facility.

“One thing you notice when you go there,” he said, is “there’s so much need.”

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Joe Wykowski thinks more buildings should be designed with the disabled in mind, an approach he says would end up benefiting everyone.

He offers as an example, the new four-story, $6.5-million building that a nonprofit called Community Vision is planning at 1949 S.E Division St.

Wykowski founded the Portland organization in 1989 to help disabled people live independently through individualized housing, supported living, meaningful employment and home ownership services.

He has been working closely with architect Bill Bailey of Waterleaf Architecture and Marci Krauss of Marci Krauss Interior Design to make sure the features of Community Vision’s new building will provide safety and functionality for the nonprofit’s clients.

Some of those features, such as wider than usual hallways to accommodate mobility devices and rounded corners to minimize injury in the case of collisions, are obvious. Others are more subtle.

Light switches, for example, are designed so that a person with only thumb movement can operate them with a remote switch.

As for the call buttons for the elevator, they’re located in ground-level wall pads. People in wheels chairs can bump the pads to call an elevator instead of struggling to press a button that’s out of reach.

The building also has back-up evacuation plans that include a special hydraulic device to help disabled people get down stairs if the elevator isn’t working or in an emergency, such as a fire.

“It’s sort of a mix between a stair elevator and a toboggan,” Wykowski said. “You can strap someone in it, but you have a counterweight and someone helping the person and it slides down the stairs.”

Years ago, architectural standards for the disabled were mostly based on the needs of war veterans who still had use of their arms. But that model no longer fits everyone with disabilities.

“Different people have different needs, and when you’re looking at things like towel dispensers and blowers, you have to figure out how they work for people who don’t have enough movement,” Wykowski said.

The Community Vision building will feature a high-tech kitchen with demonstration appliances that are designed to meet disabled people’s needs. It also will have an assisted technology lab on the first floor where people can learn about new technology, such as augmented communication devices for those whose disabilities have left them non-communicative.

WhenĚý it comes to buildings, Wykowski thinks developers usually meet only the minimum requirements of the American Disabilities Act.

“People think it’s (disabled accessible) if they just make the bathrooms accessible and the front door wider,” he said

For Community Vision’s new building, Wykowski, Bailey and Krauss worked closely together to ensure the interior and exterior design elements went beyond the basics. Their efforts were spurred by the shared belief that more buildings should incorporate design standards for disabled people as regular practice because it will contribute to everyone’s overall safety.

“Most of this is good for everyone because we all get older and lose some of our mobility, so we have to think on the creative side,” Wykowski said.

Something as simple as a building’s interior color scheme, for example, can make a big difference for people with disabilities. The floors of the Community Vision building will feature different colors and textures to aid those with diminished sight, Wykowski said.

Bailey also would like to see more buildings incorporate a larger number of design ideas that help people with disabilities. His desire isn’t just driven by his profession.

“As the father of a disabled adult myself, I have an appreciation for the barriers that are there,” he said.

For example, a large percentage of the population has some level of sight disability, Bailey said, and designers can accommodate them through simple techniques.

“There are graphic ways, like with carpet borders and wall accent colors, that can either be confusing or can clarify the pathway to go down,” he said. “It’s beyond signage. It’s making sure that there’s a contrast between light and dark, for example.”

Bailey works on a lot of historic restorations, which he says can be a challenge when it comes to making them ADA-compatible. But for him, it’s an issue of equal rights for everyone. Those handicapped ramps seen on public buildings? Bailey thinks they should always be at the front of a building, not in the back.

“It really is a civil rights issue,” he said, “whether the disabled are being treated the same as the able-bodied are.”

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One of the most significant moves in Cypress Equities‘ $50 million remodel of the Lloyd Center mall has gained Portland Design Commission approval.

Commissioners on Thursday voted 3-1 to approve plans to carve out a new pedestrian entrance and plaza between Macy’s and Lloyd Center’s southwest parking structure on Northeast Multnomah Street. The plaza is expected to include stormwater and conventional planters with attached benches, storefronts, a new sky bridge, and a glass-lined entrance revealing a large spiral staircase inside. The stairs, an element of the original 1950s mall design, will be restored.

As a condition of approval, commissioners requested several revisions to the plaza design by Portland-based firms Waterleaf Architecture, Interiors & Planning and GreenWorks. These included switching out the birch trees proposed for the plaza planters with a species that would create less shade, removing one of the planters to open up access to a covered area adjacent to the parking garage and eliminating plans for fixed wooden benches.

Thursday’s hearing was the third time the Design Commission has reviewed plans to create a new plaza at Lloyd Center across the street from Holladay Park. The project team took careful note of the commission’s feedback at previous hearings and incorporated it into the revised design, said John Fainter, vice president of development with Dallas-based Cypress Equities. He said company officials believe replacing a portion of the mall’s parking spots with a plaza will be worthwhile.

“Our consultants have done a good job of hearing you all,” he told the commission. “We think that by creating this space it will pay off in the long run.”

During a check-in hearing in February to discuss the proposed plaza design, commissioners expressed lingering reservations. They emphasized that they’d like the space to feel less barren and more inviting. Other concerns included providing adequate rain protection and visibility into a planned bike parking area.

In response, revised plans call for awnings that extend the length of the space and relocating the bike parking outside of the plaza to a more visible and accessible location on the west side of a mall truck ramp, said Mark Mikolavich, a Waterleaf Architecture associate. Seating that extends off the stormwater planters and trees were added to enliven the space, he said.

“The intention was to provide more landscaping variability and also draw in the feel of (Holladay Park),” he said.

The latest plans propose a water feature using rain runoff from an existing downspout on the Macy’s wall facing the plaza. The bike parking on the west side of the plaza was replaced with a covered area that could house food carts.

“We’ve made some significant moves,” Mikolavich said. “I think we’ve created a more flexible space that can incorporate a variety of informal and formal activities.”

Overall, commissioners said they were pleased with the changes, but expressed concerns that the covered area when unoccupied with food carts would turn dark and uninviting. Vice Chairman Ben Kaiser noted that when the trees in nearby planters matured they would create too much shade, darkening the space.

“Five or six years from now, I don’t think that will be very appealing,” he said.

Commissioner Jeff Simpson suggested replacing birch trees with a less bushy species.

“To me, the solution may be a change in the variety of trees,” he said. “Maybe it’s a tall, columnar tree that goes in that planter.”

This suggestion was incorporated into the conditions for approval, along with a commission consensus for removal of one of the planters to make the covered area feel less walled-off.

Commissioner Guenevere Millius said she appreciated the addition of an awning that extends the length of the plaza.

“I think there was a lot of push from us to provide rain protection and depth, and this is an ingenious solution,” she said.

Commissioner Tad Savinar, who cast the sole vote against approval, said he would like to see the plaza include more public art than a stormwater wall feature.

“Art is made by artists,” he said. “It’s not really public art.”

Kaiser told the development team that the commission has scrutinized the design of the planned plaza because it will be part of the new face of the rapidly redeveloping Lloyd District.

“It’s in the center of what’s quickly becoming a very important part of our city,” he said. “I’m kind of trying to make up for years of neglect. This is the biggest positive step forward.”

Construction of the plaza is scheduled to start in January 2016. A contractor has not been selected yet.

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