140-unit apartment complex planned for Goose Hollow
POSTED: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at 10:35 AM PT
Daily Journal of Commerce
BY: Lee Fehrenbacher
The developers of the 179-unit apartment complex, Savier Flats, which began construction this month in Northwest Portland, is preparing to double down on their downtown building activities.
Mill Creek Residential Trust is in the early planning stages for a new 140-unit, 143,833-square-foot apartment complex at 2040 S.W. Jefferson St., in the Goose Hollow neighborhood. The building will have six stories above ground and three stories of basement parking.
Sam Rodriguez, vice president of development for Mill Creek, said it is a prime location for such a project.
“It’s in Goose Hollow and we’re looking for properties in markets that haven’t had much development of new apartments,” Rodriguez said. “It’s obviously a very old neighborhood with a tradition of apartment living, it’s close to the core and we believe that right now that’s the most advantageous market that we can be in.”
Rodriguez said Mill Creek plans to market the building to the young professional crowd between the ages of 25 and 35 and is planning the project from a transit-oriented perspective. Located directly across from the MAX light rail blue line, the property will offer residents easy access to the suburbs and downtown, he said.
“If it’s an Intel employee, they can be to work in 20 minutes on the train,” he said. “If it’s downtown, it’s a highly walk-able site.”
While Mill Creek has not yet drafted a firm design for the building, Rodriguez said the majority of it (roughly 92 percent) will be one-bedroom units averaging 700 square feet in size, with the remainder being two-bedroom suites. They plan to market the units for approximately $2 per square foot.
Rodriguez said they also plan to get the building a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating, but they have not yet decided to what extent.
One detail that could potentially delay the planning process is that a portion of the land to be developed is owned by transit agency TriMet.
Rodriguez said the developers are currently in negotiations to purchase this property but that because it is public land, it is subject to the public notification and hearing process. Rodriguez said, however, that initial responses from residents in the Goose Hollow neighborhood had been positive and that developers hope to have final approval from TriMet by February 2012.
If all goes as planned, Mill Creek hopes to begin full design of the building by January 2012 and to send the project out to bid for subcontractor trades by the spring or summer. Rodriguez said they are aiming to break ground by November and that construction will last 17 to 18 months.
The next immediate phase in the planning process will be a pre-application conference, which the project architect, Portland-based Vallaster & Corl Architects, has scheduled for Jan. 4.
http://djcoregon.com/news/2011/12/14...-goose-hollow/
