[pdxstreetcar]

Looks like this project will be getting underway very soon. There was a small article in the Oregonian today that they had "arranged $96.5 million in construction and permanent loans." Also I walked by this site today and the parking lot is blocked off.

[Dougall5505]

great news!

[der Reisender]

that'll be an exciting one to watch go up

[sirsimon]

Awesome - I often wondered what was going on with this building.

[NJD]

anyone have a bigger version of this render?

http://www.globest.com/newspics/por_12th_and_Washington.jpg

[Dougall5505]

i've never seen that before where did you find it?

[NJD]

Globe St.

http://www.globest.com/news/845_845/portland/153012-1.html

[WestCoast]

some bigger renderings here (not sure if 100% most current)

http://chatterbox.typepad.com/portlandarchitecture/2006/01/zgfs_tower_and_.html

[navyweaxguy]

^ wow, i have a pic of that three story building in the ad next to the story on the ZGF tower

[Dougall5505]

some bigger renderings here (not sure if 100% most current)

http://chatterbox.typepad.com/portla...ower_and_.html
those are old these are current: http://www.gerdingedlen.com/project.php?id=43

[pdxstreetcar]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/166/395778113_25c4e3bfd8_o.jpg

[JoshYent]

NICE!

glad to see this is going to be built

another notch in the Portland Skylines belt ;)

[WonderlandPark]

Yea! another parking lot gone.

[MarkDaMan]

From the PBJ:

The Portland office of CBRE Capital Markets has arranged a $96.5 million package of construction and permanent loans to finance a 22-story tower just north of downtown.

The project is being developed by Gerding/Edlen Development Co. LLC in conjunction with the Goodman family -- which owns the half-block site -- Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architecture, which will move its headquarters to the new building, and Hoffman Construction, which will build the structure.

The development will be constructed on a parking lot at Southwest 12th and Southwest Washington, about two blocks from the Brewery Blocks. It will have underground parking, ground-level retail space, nearly 84,000 square feet of office space and 274 apartment units.

In total, it will encompass more than 540,000 square feet and is being designed to meet the gold level of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

The financing includes a combination of construction and permanent loans from Pacific Life Insurance Company, as well as a $29 million allocation in New Market Tax Credits. The New Markets program is administered by the Portland Family of Funds and controlled by the Portland Development Commission.

John Petersen, senior director for the Portland office of CBRE Capital Markets, predicted the project will spur activity in a district that is seeing signs of revival as the Pearl District spreads south across Burnside Street.
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/02/26/newscolumn2.html?page=3

[pdxskyline]

I walked by the ZGF Tower site today and was pleasantly suprised. Site demolition has begun!!!!! :tup:

The first building to go is between American Aparrel and Jake's:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/sparkythepenguin/construction/IMGP6890.jpg

From the back:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/sparkythepenguin/construction/IMGP6887.jpg

Full site:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/sparkythepenguin/construction/IMGP6886.jpg

Fencing is in place around the former Thai place:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/sparkythepenguin/construction/IMGP6888.jpg

Congratulations everyone, it's a TOWER! :notacrook:

[alexjon]

Yay, I hang out down that way all the time, I'm going to love watching this thing go up!

[65MAX]

Finally, it's about time....

[der Reisender]

yay! construction activity AND pictures of it. now i will just need to find more excuses to walk by the site while i'm at the office...

[pdxman]

^I wonder how many of us walk by each other and don't know it?

[zilfondel]

Thousands. =P

[sirsimon]

This should be a good boost for that area. :)

[tworivers]

Spooky rubble

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/422259792_a236c2acff.jpg?v=0

[JoshYent]

yes! another one is under way! cant wait!

:)

[pdxskyline]

Wow, that is a great shot TwoRivers. We've seen a ton of renderings of the front of the tower, but none of the back or perspectives showing it. I'm very curious as to what the Stark Street sliver is going to look like.

[WonderlandPark]

So is this the biggest u/c at the moment? (or when official construction begins)

[MarkDaMan]

biggest what? tower? nope...

[WonderlandPark]

biggest what? tower? nope...

Which is the tallest u/c ?( not counting the John Ross-which is almost done)

[pdxman]

Probably the 3720...unless you count Park West, but thats not really u/c.

[pdxskyline]

Walked by the site last nite, the Thai place is now history. Anytime now, they should be excavating! This is sooooo exiting!!!!

:skyscraper:

Will check there on Monday to see what's up. I oughta check out the 1st & Main site and see if that's going on yet.

[65MAX]

The Thai place has some asbestos abatement that has to happen before it's demo'd. I don't know how fast that's progressing, but it could be another month. It's a very tedious process. But otherwise, it's still good to see progress on this site. :)

[Dougall5505]

no renders in this thread? what a travisty
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l177/dougall5505/Picture2-8.png?t=1174153969

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l177/dougall5505/Picture1-11.png?t=1174154027

[65MAX]

Nice. :tup:
Thanks Dougall.

[GreenCity]

God thats pretty... I like how the face has been broken up.

:tup:

[Dougall5505]

I like everything about the top I just keep remembering that there could have been wind turbines on the top. oh well

[hi123]

Any updates? :D

[sirsimon]

I like everything about the top I just keep remembering that there could have been wind turbines on the top. oh well

I keep remembering that it could have been 30+ floors. :(

But, at least it is happening at this level. :)

[JoshYent]

nice

[urbanlife]

very cool, i really need to make a walk or bike ride around downtown to see all these new things going on.

What I really want to hear is new development for that dirt half a block lot that is kitty corner to this tower. Would love to see something as tall or taller than the ZGF building there. Would really increase the urban/downtown density over there.

[sopdx]

I noticed...at least I hope I'm right and not delusional...that car toys is gone. Is that true? Anyone know what's going on.

[urbanlife]

nope car toys is still at 10th and burnside. no news I have heard of it going away any time soon.

[hi123]

Has anyone been by the site lately?

[MarkDaMan]

I have, the garage between American Apparel and Jakes has been gone for a couple weeks, as has the green restaurant building...they are digging down now.

[hi123]

^ awesome!

[pdxstreetcar]

i just saw the car toys site tonight and i could have sworn i saw it closed up and with the sign removed.

[hi123]

Cool! can anyone confirm?

[pdxskyline]

Cartoys: Seen it too. Went by Powell's last week and saw it was closed up.

[twofiftyfive]

The Car Toys on 10th is no longer listed on their website (http://www.cartoys.com/cartoys/webpage.cfm/WebPage_ID/18/Action/storepref).

The Wayback Machine (http://web.archive.org/web/20060530223148/http://cartoys.com/cartoys/webpage.cfm/WebPage_ID/18/Action/storepref) confirms that it used to be listed.

[mSeattle]

That's a goodlooking building.

[MarkDaMan]

^oh, you must be talking about ZGF...at first I thought the Car Toys building...and than this guy needs to get banned...yes, ZGF is an example that a 'slab' design, with the right materials, even modern day, can be an attractive building.

[65MAX]

Just got a notice in the mail from CarToys (I bought a CD player there) that this location IS closing, but they have 6 other convenient locations in the Portland area to serve me. And they thanked me for my business. :D

[MarkDaMan]

^wow, stores still sell CD players? :)

in any case, good news!

[65MAX]

This was for my Jeep, 3 years ago. I know, it's an antique now... lol

[asher519]

Yay! That's a prime location. I wonder how long it'll be before someone announces a new development there.

[brandonpdx]

I went by there this morning and there's a For Lease sign on the building.

[MarkDaMan]

^seems like a prime spot for a check cashing place :no:

[pdxskyline]

I sure hope not Mark. Bad enough they've floated turning the old Ghetto King across from Big Pink into a payday loan operation. I think with how upscale the area is trending, that little CarToys lot has a better chance of becoming something nice than lots farther east down Bside.

It'd sure make a heck of a point tower!

[zilfondel]

I got that letter, too. :D

[sirsimon]

Thank god - let's cross our fingers for something great to go in there. :)

[Drmyeyes]

"Bad enough they've floated turning the old Ghetto King across from Big Pink into a payday loan operation." pdxskyline

That has to be a joke. Has to be!

Years back, when a more or less standard design BK was first proposed for that location, the neighborhood association fought it hard because of the problems such a business in that kind of location was susceptible to and that finally consumed it. The neighborhood assoc finally won some concessions, none of which I can particularly remember. I think improved aesthetics as in the building's angled corners were part of it though.

Certain kinds of business in certain kinds of neighborhoods just isn't a great idea.

[MarkDaMan]

^I think half of the BK is going to be a drive through Starbucks, the other half a check cashing place. However, that was some time ago, before the Oregon leg changed the payday loan requirements, but the information was posted here somewhere.

[Drmyeyes]

No way ! Oh, I see...you got me...April Fool's

[asher519]

^That really was the proposal. Frightening, yes... but I think check cashing joints are more concerned with making a buck than aesthetics.

[Drmyeyes]

My sense of alarm arose from the thought of the aparrent symbiotic relationship those businesses might have with the long-term dominant residents of the area. It seemed to me that the BK was a disaster for the area. The restroom experience there was one of the more unpleasant you could imagine. I don't want to be unfair to residents of the area who might easily be assumed responsible for the decline of that restaurant, and actually weren't.

Somebody in that neighborhood, or coming into it from elsewhere fed (not on burgers)off the opportunity BK offered and thoroughly destroyed it. Maybe it was drive-by out of neighborhood people that ruined it. I figure the check cashing payday loan type of business would feed some of that same bad activiity.

The starbucks wouldn't neccessarily be so bad. I can't even really describe what I feel is wrong about that business there without sounding as though I'm quibbling over petty concerns. Anyway, there's far worse places for people on disability to waste away their lives.

A more balanced mix of people representing a wider range of incomes and abilities, without making it so costly poor people can't afford to be there, might solve most of these problems.

[MarkDaMan]

^hmmm, I don't think any long term problems are going to be solved in the BK building. I see a drive through Starbucks as a way to profit off the 30,000+ cars that drive down Burnside daily. The check cashing place may not even happen, and the problems associated with those businesses go a lot farther than the residents of OTCT.

If I were the landowner I'd find temporary uses too, until the value can be maximized either by selling to a developer, or developing it at your own expense. I don't know who owns it, but I doubt in five to ten years whatever moves into that building will still be there, nor the building itself.

[65MAX]

I don't know who owns it, but I doubt in five to ten years whatever moves into that building will still be there, nor the building itself.

That's true. This is a prime site for a new tower.

[PDX City-State]

I don't know who owns it, but I doubt in five to ten years whatever moves into that building will still be there, nor the building itself.

Starbucks signs long leases...

This is a prime site for a new tower.

Being located next door to Central City Concern severely limits the options.

[Drmyeyes]

Oh definitely, I would agree the BK building itself is negligible. Demolition and a parking lot would make more sense. That should have been done long ago. Suppose the owner was hopeful a new fast food joint would take an interest.

What PDX City-State says about the sbucks makes sense. A final resolution on the couplet would probably be important to them too. With the couplet, they could have a hell of a drive through with the store located on the Broadway side of the block...they could siphon cars from both Burnside and Couch...I'm sure the city or the neigborhood assoc wouldn't let them do that though.

I've walked by the Central City Concern building (the new residence tower is what I expect was being referred to) and really haven't experienced any particularly intimidating characters or activities going on right there. Further down on 2nd and 3rd, and generally north ...yes. As long as people in the immediate area are genuinely in the recovery mode rather than the using and dealing mode, it seems like office workers and stable, working condo/apt residents might be able to comfortably live amongst them.

I know people hate to hear this, but the impact of any tower proposed for blocks adjacent to the Park Blocks on the experience the park is able to continue providing visitors to it, hopefully would be carefully considered before being approved. I think of poor Ankeny Park just south of W Burnside on the Park Blocks, deeply shadowed by the tall buildings surrounding it. The problem is aggravated in this area of downtown Portland due to the comparatively more flat terrain compared to that in the South Park Blocks.

I'm sure some towers will go in. The area needs some towers. It should be interesting to see how issues are dealt with.

[hi123]

Have they started construction on this one yet?

[65MAX]

Yes. They're drilling piles.

[hi123]

^sweeeeeeeeet :D

[WestCoast]

how are we getting on here? drove by Monday and saw lots of dirt being moved around, more piles being dug I guess. How far down are they going? Looks like lots and lots of work ahead!

[Dougall5505]

they're digging
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1200/794087671_5bf8f5a80f_b.jpg

[downtownpdx]

The Car Toys building has been leased by The Red Light Clothing Exchange, which was previously around the corner (Stark and 11th?)

[tworivers]

Gettin' deeper.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1106/946747214_bbddd4d532.jpg?v=0
photographer=me

[MarkDaMan]

The Silverado nightclub has also announced it will be moving shortly, but didn't give a date. Once their gone, that building across from ZGF/Jakes will be 100% vacant.

[pdxtraveler]

Rumor has it Silverado is following the migration to Old Town, don't know the building though.

[Pearl_Steve]

Here's a pic I snapped today of the giant hole in the ground that will soon be the ZGF tower:

http://leo.noc11.net/~six/zgf1.JPG

[Dougall5505]

whoa deep does anyone know how many stories of underground parking there are?

[Pearl_Steve]

whoa deep does anyone know how many stories of underground parking there are?

I thought I remember reading 5 stories. Not sure where that was from though. Looks about right..

[rsbear]

whoa deep does anyone know how many stories of underground parking there are?

The site says five floors of underground parking.

http://www.gerdingedlen.com/project.php?id=43

[PDX City-State]

The base for the crane has been erected. Any day now....

[downtownpdx]

Seems like it's downtown's turn for the crane-fest :) ...with PAW, 1st and Main, the Cyan, this project, (and I THINK a new hotel with additional floors added at 6th and Oak?). It's nice to see the core of the city get some more action now, not just Pearl and South Waterfront.

[Pearl_Steve]

Seems like it's downtown's turn for the crane-fest :) ...with PAW, 1st and Main, the Cyan, this project, (and I THINK a new hotel with additional floors added at 6th and Oak?). It's nice to see the core of the city get some more action now, not just Pearl and South Waterfront.

Yeah I don't know where that thread was, but I believe it was getting a new facade and and three additional floors. Was going to end up being a Courtyard Marriott. Not sure what the progress on that was - I know that when I walked by a week ago the building was fenced off and they were not using it for parking anymore.

[zilfondel]

Ross shopping store is going to get a new facade as well.

[urbanlife]

oh thank god for Ross, that is one butt ugly facade.

And the Courtyard Marriott's building is currently in gutting phase. It will be a while before that is done. It will be interesting to see what happens to the little white building on Stark between 5th and 6th because that is going to be apart of the new hotel and the section that will probably get the most built on if I remember correctly.

[Pearl_Steve]

The crane for ZGF is going up today.

[CouvScott]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/MVC-052F-1.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/MVC-054F.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/MVC-056F.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/MVC-055F.jpg

[scleeb]

Removed

[zilfondel]

^ The hell??

[PacificNW]

⤴ I think your Ross building post was removed because you posted it under the ZGF Tower thread...instead of its own thread....I liked the rendering, by the way. Can you repost under its own thread?

[zilfondel]

oh lol

[Dougall5505]

the crane on flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/7256857@N07/
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2357/1783829852_ad80990acf_b.jpg

[Castillonis]

I took these photos at about 1600 on Thurs 01Nov07. Notice the markings on the shoring. There are Orange A,B,C,D and white numbers denoting each section. There also is a green 40, 50, 60 above the letter G. Is the hose connected to a sump pump?
http://aycu24.webshots.com/image/32103/2005747995286470163_rs.jpg

http://aycu08.webshots.com/image/31647/2005768073422076577_rs.jpg

[zilfondel]

These are big bloody holes!

Amazing that they can pencil in this much parking in these projects (ZGF, Ladd Tower, etc).

[pdxman]

Holy crap those are huge ass holes haha...you'd think a 600' would be going there

[Castillonis]

I took this photo at about 1700 on Thurs 15Nov07. It was too dark, so I applied the equalize filter in photoshop. This will allow you to see what is going on with construction.
http://lh5.google.com/stoneyv/Rz1GnKGfDRI/AAAAAAAAAWo/O93yAs0SKaI/s800/IMG_6561_equalize.jpg

[MarkDaMan]

http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/102881-400-0.jpg?rev=2
Rendering courtesy of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects
The new “12W” building at Southwest 12th Avenue and Washington Street is being developed by Gerding Edlen. It is scheduled for completion in May 2009.

Downtown Portland project could be among the first urban buildings in the U.S. to rely on wind energy
Portland Business Journal - by Wendy Culverwell Business Journal staff writer

A building now under construction at Southwest 12th and Washington could become one of the first urban buildings in the nation to integrate wind energy in its design. A series of wind turbines will sit on the roof and generate a small portion of power -- about 1 percent -- the 22-story tower will use.

The building, dubbed "12W," is being built by Gerding Edlen Development Co. and will contain a mix of luxury apartments and several floors of office space. Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP is designing the building and will move its corporate headquarters there in two years. ZGF's role as both designer and chief occupant give it a double incentive to design something memorable.

Construction of the world's first wind-integrated high-rise building started earlier this year at the twin tower Bahrain World Trade Center on the Arabian Coast. The Bahrain project consists of two 50-story sail-shaped towers with three graceful wind turbines suspended from bridges between them, like gems channel-set between two bands.

Until now, rooftop wind turbines have appeared more frequently in architectural renderings than in real life, said John Breshears, an associate partner and architect with ZGF. Breshears is working on the design for 12W and has tasked himself with determining if wind energy will work.

Breshears estimates that half of all buildings in design today have wind turbines drawn on them. Few, if any, will be built. The early drawings for 12W were equally fanciful.

"We drew them up there because they look cool," he said.

Portland-based Gerding Edlen is the city's most prominent green builder, incorporating sustainable elements into all its designs. Together with its partner, the Goodman family, the firm was intrigued by the wind-power concept and agreed to underwrite the cost to study the issue.

"We wanted to do it, but do it in a way that works," said Patrick Wilde, a Gerding Edlen project manager.

ZGF enlisted Sander Mertens, a Dutch consultant considered one of the world's leading experts in harvesting wind energy in a built environment. With Mertens on board, the team collected wind data for Portland. The work led the team to Oregon State University for testing last month.

There, they used the school's equipment to simulate Portland's typical wind patterns. Summer winds flow across the city from the northwest and reverse themselves in the winter. At an elevation of 79 feet -- the height of 12W -- wind hits the leading edge of the building and sheers upward, leaving a wedge of weakened wind swirling near the roof.

Position a turbine below the sheer plane and the chaotic wind won't push the turbine blades. But elevate the blades above the plane and they twist happily in a windstream that averages 10 miles per hour.

A wind station at the nearby M Financial tower in the Brewery Blocks provided data that confirms the findings for the 12W location, Breshears said.

The team selected the Skystream 3.7, built by Flagstaff, Ariz.-based Southwest Windpower Inc., for the wind tunnels. The turbines cost about $10,000 each to install. They are widely used in rural settings, but not urban ones and never on top of tall buildings.

In ZGF's revised drawings, each turbine sits on a 40-foot mast anchored to 12W's roof in a bed of steel and concrete and wired into the building's electrical system at the power panel.

The Skystream model consists of three "S" shaped blades with a diameter of 12 feet and capacity to generate 1.8 kilowatts of power. Breshears and Wilde said the "S" shape helps address one of the chief objections to urban wind turbines: noise.

Using a tried-and-true product like Skystream could help Gerding Edlen and its development partners sell the idea to the Energy Trust of Oregon, which underwrites sustainable energy projects.

Alan Cowan, an Energy Trust project manager, said the key to Energy Trust support is using proven technology. At this juncture, 12W appears to be a winner.

"It meets our criteria for wind energy," he said.

If installed, the four turbines will provide 12W with about 1 percent of its electrical requirements. Breshears and Wilde say the figure is deceptively small given how difficult it is to generate power on-site and the amount of energy the building will eventually consume.

"Is 1 percent window dressing? No," Wilde said.

wculverwell@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3415
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/11/19/story1.html?t=printable

[dkealoha]

At an elevation of 79 feet -- the height of 12W

Is this a typo? The building can't be only 79 feet tall...

I think the wind turbine idea is really cool. This seems like the next frontier of sustainable building and I'm glad Portland is one of the first in the world to try it. The article mentions that so many designs include the wind turbines but they never really get built. Why is that? Cost?

[Dougall5505]

the bahrain world trade center in case anyone is interested:
http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/bahrainwtc2.jpghttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/bahrain3.jpg

[rsbear]

[QUOTE=dkealoha;3172366]Is this a typo? The building can't be only 79 feet tall...QUOTE]

I think it might be that ground level there is 79 feet above sea level.