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Originally Posted by pdxstreetcar
I'm as into infill as anyone on here but why does moving forward require high rise towers? Seems more like some outdated 1960s vision of the future where the skyline as viewed from the Interstate is all that matters.
I think Portland has better developers than most other cities and I'm not just talking about Gerding Edlin but also other big developers and small developers. Most other big city developers are out of state wall street funded REITs and crappy national developers that build bland mirror glass towers on top of a 10 story parking garage.
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Of note... The local big and small developers are very often funded by them too.
For starters, changing the FAR and height restrictions in the land use code Portland is no easy task. This city sems to digest gradual change rather than drastic.
Well executed at the base, a tall tower (or a set of them) can work fine in Portland. Often, the bases are not well executed, with oversized plazas and landscaping that leaves something to be desired. They also often have substantial above grade parking that mucks up the design of the base. However Portland's design rigor within the BDS would at least help with keep those undesirable features in check. The 200' block sizes will help with that too.
Really, the biggest issue for tall towers in Portland, is the question of whether the market can support the rents. They are costly to construct and design and that reflects in the rents/ condo costs, obviously. The land costs are not yet an obstacle here, as in other pricy markets but the rents will still be more than anything that has been seen in the PDX market. Will the businesss and potential residents that inhabit these towers see the dollars and cents case for moving into one, two or ten of them? Will the projected rents actually support the design and construction of handsome quality buildings?
Questions yet to be answered.