The Porter – a 16-story luxury hotel planned in downtown Portland – could open in the second quarter of 2016.

Developers are seeking design review of a proposal for a 299-room hotel on the former Pendleton Building property at 202-218 S.W. Jefferson St.

In June 2014, Hilton Worldwide launched a new brand, “Curio – a Collection by Hilton,” and announced it would locate one of the brand’s “distinctive four- to five-star hotels” in Portland. Other locations include Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston and Chapel Hill, N.C.

Plans submitted to the Bureau of Development Services indicate that the approximately 200,000-square-foot tower will include a ground-floor restaurant, a bar, a lobby, a market and a take-out window, with the main entrance oriented to Southwest Second Avenue.

Atlanta-based HC Architecture designed below-grade facilities to include a pool, a sauna, a spa and fitness area, and a staff area.

No on-site parking is planned for the hotel.

Hilton describes Curio hotels as “a hand-picked global collection of independent properties embodying the distinct culture and spirit of their local communities … Curio meets travelers’ needs for local discovery and authentic experiences and properties’ desire to maintain their individuality, all while providing the quiet reassurance and support of Hilton.”

Christine Miller, manager of development and trade public relations for Hilton Worldwide, declined to offer further details on the project.

The Porter is the second Hilton development under way in Portland. In October 2014, the parent company created another brand – Canopy by Hilton – and announced it had signed a letter of intent to build in Portland’s Pearl District.

Hilton partnered with Widewaters Group – a Syracuse, N.Y.-based real estate development and management company – to form Portland Hotel Ownership LLC.

Widewaters in November 2013 bought the half-block for $4.5 million from WDC Properties. The site was home to the 107-year-old Pendleton Building until WDC Properties in 2013 demolished it following a $1.7 million purchase from Pendleton PDX LLC.

Representatives from Widewaters Group and HC Architecture were not available for comment before press time.

This isn’t the first idea for the site. WDC Properties considered development after purchasing the property, but relisted it for $5.85 million instead. Widewaters representatives in August 2013 met with planners to discuss plans for a 23-story mixed-use tower that would have included ground-floor retail space, 306 hotel rooms on floors four through 19, and 30 private residences on the top four floors.

The Bureau of Development Services is accepting public responses to the proposal through March 3. A public hearing in front of the Design Commission is tentatively scheduled for April 2 at 1:30 p.m.

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Sometimes I drive around Portland, see a crane or a big hole in the ground, and I say to myself: “I sure do wonder what is going in there!”

That happened to me recently as I drove by some construction on the southwest corner of Northeast 24^th Avenue and Glisan Street. Recently a sign went up in front of that lot that would seem to answer all my questions—but it just raised more.

It’s the Glee Apartments!

The Glee Apartment building is one of many small, market-rate apartment projects going up right now in response to the high demand for rental housing in our fair city. It will have 33 units of studio, one- and two-bedroom units.

The Glee Apartments  are being built and developed by WDC Properties. There will be no parking spaces provided for residents, but each unit will come with “one and a half to two bike parking stalls,” said Construction Manager Rich Grimes.

The project is located right across the street from the megablock where the Voodoo Doughnut’s “” and Kevin Cavenaugh’s “Ocean” are slated to soon open, each with their own inspired name choices.

To be fair, the Glee! Apartments name comes from the project’s location on Glisan Street, said Grimes. (Get it?) A smaller WDC Project on Southeast 11^th Avenue and Lincoln Street is going to be called “Link,” according to the same naming style.

I still have hopes, however mundane the true origins of the Glee name are, that the Glee Apartments will be a magical place where suspiciously old high schoolers wear crisp, colorful clothes and worry fervently about making it to regionals.

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2011 was a busy year for sustainable construction, with plenty of momentum being carried into next year. A key project includes the construction of the ‘s renewable structure, a future centerpiece to Portland State University’s ever-expanding hub of green activity.

The OSC building underwent a design feasibility study in 2008, with construction expected to break ground in the third quarter of 2012. The target completion date for this structure is the end of 2013, with the 130,000-square-foot building’s costs cited at just over $60 million.

The building gets attention for its proposed triple-net-zero functionality. Urban design students aside, that fancy phrase means it will produce heat and energy for itself while not using external water sources or generating waste.

This lofty idea was scaled back from more than $100 million in scope to its current form, which will receive some state funding and rely on tenants paying high rent to recoup its costs, in addition to being marketed as having much lower long-term costs than a non-sustainable counterpart. It’s very forward thinking and certainly raises the already high green profile of Portland and PSU…assuming that it gets finished on time and on budget. Expect plenty of updates through 2012 on this beacon of building efficiency—not to mention even more construction on the eastern fringe of the PSU campus, where the , and forthcoming College Station housing building have spelled nearly five years of ongoing construction along that corridor.

Another project of note is the soon-to-be-completed Norm Apartments in Northwest, featuring a dozen units and several eco-friendly aspects as part of the property portfolio of WDC Properties. Construction is expected to wrap up at the end of this year, and the building is up for sale in Portland’s competitive multi-family housing market that boasts just a as of November 2011.

The in Southwest Portland earned awards for its timber frame and the thermal efficiency of the project. McMinnville-based seeks to build on its success as the project’s contributor of reclaimed wood. As of December 2011, it has restored over 20 million board feet of lumber that would otherwise have been junked.

Rendering courtesy of SERA Architects

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A new apartment building in Northwest Portland isn’t even finished being built yet, and it’s for sale.

Construction on the Norm Apartments, at 1415 N.W. 19th Ave., began in summer, and the building is scheduled to be completed this month. The developer WDC Properties has listed the property for sale in Portland’s hot multifamily market.

“There’s demand in the market and in that area in particular,” said broker Joseph Chaplick with . “It’s a solid Northwest location.”

The property is located between the Pearl District and the vast parking lot of the Con-way trucking site, which is being targeted for neighborhood redevelopment. On the other side of the Con-way site is the busy Northwest 21^st and 23^rd avenue area.

The property is part of WDC’s ekoHaus line of sustainable properties. It includes standard green features such as Sustainable Forestry Initiative wood, low-flow plumbing, extra insulation and energy efficient fixtures.

The building is in a stretch ranch style with crisp white and black trim. It includes 12 units of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. It has reclaimed hardwood floors, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances.

For details on purchasing the Norm Apartments, contact Chaplik at 503-546-9390 or
jchaplik@josephbernard.net.

Block by Block is a weekly look at commercial real estate around Portland. Send suggestions for properties to BlockxBlock@djcOregon.com.

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Add this one to the list of nothing but apartment buildings being constructed in Portland right now.

An apartment building called “Norm” is under construction on Northwest 19th Avenue between Northwest Quimby and Pettygrove streets. According to a sign that was up on the lot this summer, the building will hold 14 apartments, though the developer WDC Properties has not confirmed this yet. did the design.

The sign also included the words “Spring 2011,” though crews didn’t start moving dirt at the site until summer.

The apartment complex joins another nearby apartment complex under construction at the corner of Northwest 20th Avenue and Pettygrove Street. That project, called 20 Pettygrove Apartments, is planned to be a 90-unit complex with six floors, a mix of studio spaces and one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, a 21-space parking garage, and a 1,100-square-foot ground-floor retail space. The developer is of Lake Oswego. The general contractor is , and the architect is .

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When completed in two weeks, the space for a new acupuncture and massage business in Raleigh Square in Northwest Portland will feature a reception area, offices and patient and client rooms. WDC Properties is the general contractor and developer of the project that was designed by Fosler Portland Architecture.

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