[mcbaby]

there is some major construction on se 21st and belmont on the old tice electric site. there used to be a thread and i can't locate it. can anyone help? last i heard was a one hundred unit condo

[WonderlandPark]

Low rise condos, 3 stories or something, don't have any renders. There may be some in the Portland infill thread.

[sirsimon]

This one was panned a while back on this forum as the render showed one long, continuous building with *nothing* to break it up visually. It will be interesting to see if they have made improvements since we last saw it or if it remains a monolith.

[MarkDaMan]

isn't that a Homer Williams project?

[kvalk]

Looks like a 5-story 123 unit condo over retail & parking.... i've got no images though. Should have their building permits very soon.

Some research on the bds site might lead to the adjustment submittal for this...2006-165863-000-00-LU

http://www.portlandmaps.com

2139 SE BELMONT ST

[65MAX]

It was the ~400' long 4-5 story infill project that everybody (except me) hated.

[PDX City-State]

I liked it. It wasn't perfect, but much better than what's there now.

[zilfondel]

I remember it now. I was hoping for a continuous facade too...

[BrG]

4 stories over parking (5 total on Belmont/ 4 levels on Morrison)
4 small independent retail spaces
123 units
dark brick and wood panel facade
large windows
Belmont facade is broken up by two large setback courtyards
most units have decks


No renders available as of yet.

[cab]

So parking infrastructure at street level takes up most of this project?

[BrG]

The only garage program visible from belmont is the entry.

[Snowden352]

Now, when you say "small independent retail spaces" do you mean, like, retail space for local retail or what?
I only ask because it would be nice to see some room added for more local flavor. It seems recently all the local businesses are slowly being forced out to make way for trendy national chains; which diminishes a neighborhood's quality in my opinion, after all a national chain is a national chain is a national chain. (Sorry for the bathos, but I REALLY wanted a Gertrude Stein reference there)

[PDX City-State]

So parking infrastructure at street level takes up most of this project?

Do you know how expensive it is to bury parking? No such thing as affordable housing and buried parking.

[BrG]

Now, when you say "small independent retail spaces" do you mean, like, retail space for local retail or what?


No idea who the tenants could be. But the size of them are in line with the needs of small retail shops/ cafe, etc.

Not large restaurants/ chain stores etc. Could a Quizno's or something fit in one? Perhaps. Will you see a McDonald's show up in one. No.

[asher519]

Thank you for the Gertrude Stein reference :D

[mcbaby]

if anyone finds renderings, please post them :)

[mcbaby]

4 stories over parking (5 total on Belmont/ 4 levels on Morrison)
4 small independent retail spaces
123 units
dark brick and wood panel facade
large windows
Belmont facade is broken up by two large setback courtyards
most units have decks


No renders available as of yet.

how far has construction gotten?

[CouvScott]

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/SE23rdandBelmont.jpg

[der Reisender]

how far has construction gotten?

looked like they had just turned it into a big pile of dirt as of the past weekend

[mcbaby]

it seems out of scale for the neighborhood. i'm glad i don't live across the street anymore. seems like something they would plop down on queen anne in seattle.

[NJD]

I live in this neighborhood, and am glad to see this project u/c. The Morrison Lofts down a block from this site have been such a disappointment in sales and the finished product (the brick is nice, but the windows and such are cheap looking).

The only problem with this building is the lack of a pedestrian walkway through the site since the building is in the middle of a superblock that stretches for 2/3 of Lone Fir Cemetery. This stretch of Belmont and Morrison promotes speeding during most of the day and especially during peak hours since both streets are main neighborhood arterials.

[mcbaby]

on a similar post i suggested that they break up the building with pedestrian alleys in between. i also was hoping that there would be mention of it at the buckman neighborhood association but there is very little information or public input on this project and i lived literally across the street from there until just last month.

[BrG]

:previous:
Mcbaby: That was looked at. It is a good design response that you suggest. Initial design schemes were based on 2 buildings, with a pass-though courtyard.

During initial studies, the "hole in the middle" got "filled in", so to speak. By doing that it meant one common corridor verses two, 1 elevator bank/ verses two, 4 lobbies per floor/ verses 2, etc. That all saves money for other construction expenses. Construction and land costs these days are challenging to say the least.

They chose to simplify the plans some, and spend the budget on the construction materials and exterior finishes. They chose to build it out of concrete, verses wood or steel framing. That costs more. Ditto exterior finishes. Brick/ Wood composite panel/ window wall, etc. No stucco or similar exterior materials planned for it anywhere.

With commercial and esidential development work, it's all about feasibility. Ya gotta walk into a commercial lending bank division, and ask for tens of millions of dollars to finance the construction of your idea, it and you better have the pro-forma numbers to back it up.

WDD was not the first developer to try to make something happen here. Others had studies done by multiple architects, and none were deemed financially feasible until the scheme that WDD is building, was decided upon.

Oh, and I know that WDD met with the Buckman Association representatives twice, to get feedback and opinions.

I'm happy they got something going at the old Tice site. Belmont is such a cool neighborhood. :cheers:

[mcbaby]

thanks for the feed back. will be interesting to see how it turns out.

[BrG]

NP...

BTW, I posted this all reversed:

During initial studies, the "hole in the middle" got "filled in", so to speak. By doing that it meant one common corridor verses two, 1 elevator bank/ verses two, 4 lobbies per floor/ verses 2, etc. That all saves money for other construction expenses. Construction and land costs these days are challenging to say the least.

It should've read:

During initial studies, the "hole in the middle" got "filled in", so to speak. By doing that it meant one common corridor verses two, 1 elevator bank/ verses two, 2 lobbies per floor/ verses 4, etc. That all saves money for other construction expenses. Construction and land costs these days are challenging to say the least.

[BrG]

BTW, the crane should go up reasonably soon. IIRC, Hoffman crews are still prepping the site for the crane foundation.

[BrG]

http://www.wddcorp.com/projects/belmont.asp
http://www.amaa.com/portfolio/project/?category=housing&project=163&redir=L3BvcnRmb2xpby8/IzE4

This rendering is a year old, based on the final concept, and the design is a bit different now. Examples: The courtyards were undesigned here, and the ground level has been revised considerably, for a myriad of reasons. The car entry is on the west end (instead of east), now. The window mullions have changed too.

As I said, new renderings are not yet available, but will be relatively soon.

http://www.amaa.com/_uploads/photo/project/163_lg1_Belmont_Condos_01.jpg

[designpdx]

BTW, the crane should go up reasonably soon. IIRC, Hoffman crews are still prepping the site for the crane foundation.

The crane went up yesterday. Saw it on my way home.