Latest Portland bridgehead plan: Go small on Burnside
By Special to The Oregonian
March 22, 2010, 7:01PM
An old building, parking lots and mossy patches of bare land sit on what has been a developers' graveyard for decades at the east end of the Burnside Bridge.
Back in 1985, one private developer, Hans Hoeck, tried to expand an old hotel building on the site from six stories to 10, only to lose financing even after some structural steel had been welded in place. The city government eventually ordered the whole building razed in 1992.
Then in 2005, the Portland Development Commission, after assembling the land in public ownership, partnered with a large development firm, Opus Northwest, on plans that included retail, offices and high-rise condos. The collapse of the condo market scuttled that in 2009.
Could 2010 be the year something finally happens on the four-acre Northeast Portland site called the Burnside Bridgehead? If so, it might not look anything like earlier proposals.
GS.00011806B_OU.BRIDGEHEAD.jpgView full size"The goal is to get an early project on the site complementary to what is there now and to provide a catalyst," says Geraldine Moyle, project manager for the commission. The site sits at the northern end of the Central Eastside Urban Renewal Area, and ideally a project should provide space for new jobs and generate property tax revenue for the larger renewal zone.
While the development agency once hoped to clear and sell all four blocks to a single developer, a newer strategy percolating through public planning channels takes a smaller-is-better approach.
Retain 1926 building?
For instance, the largest building on the site, the four-story Convention Plaza that dates to 1926, probably will be retained instead of demolished. Parking lots and open space near it could be carved into lots as small as 30 by 85 feet and sold to individual builders who would erect new structures in the range of four to six stories.
That's a far cry from the 200-foot heights allowed under existing zoning rules, but it might provide a chance for small-business owners who like the idea of controlling their own buildings.
"This gives them an opportunity to have a building built for them that has their own identity on it," says Brad Malsin, a developer who is consulting with commission planners. "I think this is a really inviting, central-eastside opportunity."
Perhaps Malsin recognizes the opportunity as well as anyone. His firm, Beam Development, turned vacant or underused buildings into the successful Eastbank Commerce Center and Olympic Mills projects in the same urban renewal area. He says a lot of tenants in creative services and light manufacturing like the "gritty" feel of the city's old industrial district and the communal vibe.
"The whole notion of this being about community is the idea that you're buying into something different," Malsin says. "A lot of companies want to attract employees who want that kind of feeling."
No one is going to come in and take the whole site, Moyle says. "We tried that and it didn't work."
Still, a single developer could buy several small lots, or perhaps an entire block. She notes that given contemporary lending problems, it's difficult right now to finance large-scale projects.
Not a Pearl clone
The small-lot concept has won some plaudits from the Portland Design Commission, an agency of volunteers that would review proposals for new construction.
"Multiple development teams could contribute to an area that will make it far richer than a bigger, glamorous development," says Tim Eddy, an architect who sits on the design panel.
David Wark, another architect on the panel, agrees. "It doesn't try to be the South Waterfront or the Pearl," he says. "It tries to be something different."
As a reality check, however, Eddy suggests the Portland Development Commission study how much usable floor space would be available in a small-lot building after stairwells, elevator shafts and utility needs are subtracted.
New plans for the bridgehead probably will leave opportunity for taller buildings, but that could slow the pace of redevelopment.
"If we hold out for a while, you could start to see higher buildings," Moyle says. "But we'll be waiting for a while if we wait for one developer to take the whole site as a high-density development."
The revamped planning appears to mean continued life for the 96,000-square-foot Convention Plaza building at 123 N.E. Third Ave., which would have been demolished under the high-rise condo plan.
"I think it is a very appropriate building to be retained and refurbished," says Malsin, who sees it as a catalyst for providing reasonable rents for small businesses. With its heavy timber framing, "the building provides a platform for cost-effective renovation," he says.
Moyle says the city has no one in mind to renovate the building, though Malsin's firm could become a candidate. She says the PDC would like to see a developer blend the old building with a project on the site.
Parking, transit access
Parking and transit access are likely to play key roles in the bridgehead redevelopment. The new Eastside streetcar will stop at Couch Street, providing one link. A citizen advisory committee asks that plans not reduce any existing parking serving the central eastside industrial area. "Parking is a touchy subject over there," Moyle says.
Malsin says it is possible that parking could be added as part of new buildings, but he thinks many entrepreneurs who would be attracted to the site may be less dependent on automobiles than in the past. He says many employees on the central eastside use bicycles, transit or Zipcars.
"If I really had my way, I'd try to do this with minimal parking," he says.
If land has to be used for parking structures, Malsin suggests the structures be designed so they can be "repurposed" if parking demand drops in the future.
So what's next? The redevelopment agency hopes to wrap up its new planning framework in the next few months. Then it will start looking for developers for the first phase -- someone interested in renovating and making use of the Convention Plaza building.
"Our goal is to get to work on phase one this fall," Moyle says.
Given the decades over which little has happened on those four acres, several more months is a mere blink of an eye.
-- Fred Leeson, special to The Oregonian
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