Portland Open Thread

[Derek]

It's pretty ugly, but I kind of like it at the same time.

[tworivers]

Originally Posted by Sioux612 View Post
Interesting concept for that plot next to the new hotel from THA:

http://thaarchitecture.com/prospect-...am-hq-building

Love. Nice find.

[tworivers]

OK, the surface parking lot is kind of unfortunate. Still infinitely better than a vacant lot. Of course, the renderings are dated from last December so who knows what the likelihood is of this happening.

[redbeard]

Originally Posted by tworivers

OK, the surface parking lot is kind of unfortunate. Still infinitely better than a vacant lot. Of course, the renderings are dated from last December so who knows what the likelihood is of this happening.

I would say prospects of it happening are slim since it was listed as "PROSPECT: DOWNSTREAM HQ BUILDING" and Downstream is remodeling a different warehouse in the north Pearl for their HQ.

[maccoinnich]

Also, architects tend not to submit buildings for unbuilt awards if they think there's a chance of them being built.

[Sioux612]

With so many apartments in the pipeline, has there ever been a project brought back from the dead (not "stalled") as the market picked up?

The Oak Tower: great location
The Weave: Great design

[bvpcvm]

There was something in the WW maybe a year ago saying that the city so screwed up the Oak Tower site that... IIRC the city is making some sort of payment on it for the next several decades. From what I remember the article said that the lot was, therefore, tied up and undevelopable.

Regarding the Weave, they decided to re-do the existing building instead, although I suppose they could toss out whatever business leased the space and build after all - but it seems unlikely.

[Sioux612]

With the Pearl's development/plans as of late, as well as the Lloyd District, SoWa seems so dead in comparison. And I'm not talking about the ohsu area, south of their campus.

Once touted as a high-rise neighborhood, it's more like a cluster of 325' buildings surrounded by a cluster of 6-floor buildings.

The next likely project? A waterfront cheap/low quality design 6-floor building from a Seattle developer.

/rant

[Sioux612]

If the Portland building is demolished I can't think of a better location for the Portlandia statue other than the James Beard market/tower.

Developers already had this idea a few years ago:

[2oh1]

I agree, but if I recall correctly, the artist who created the statue was firmly against moving it because it had been designed with that specific place - on the Portland Building - in mind. Hopefully, when the building gets demolished, the statue will indeed be moved. I really do think the building will be demolished. I'm having trouble imagining the city pouring 100 million dollars into fixing a building the majority of Portlanders loath.

Then again... how much say would the artist have regarding what happens to the statue?

[maccoinnich]

Does anyone think it's a really exciting time in Portland? It's amazing how much has changed in just a few short years since the recession. I put together a list of things happening in the city right now, in no particular order.

Recently completed

• Collaborative Life Sciences Building: the first new building in the OHSU Schnitzer campus
• The Fields Park: the last of the new parks in the Pearl, which nicely complements Tanner Springs & Jamison Sq.
• Pearl Marriott: the first hotel in the Pearl District.
• Union Way: an inventive infill shopping arcade.
• Edith Green Wendell Wyatt: stunning transformation of a 1970s office tower. Thanks Obama. No, really.
• Downtown Apple store: beautiful pavilion building, which replaced an ugly mall building
• Streetcar CL line: streetcar crosses the river. After a slow start, it seems to be pretty busy every time I'm on it
• The Emory: special shout out for one of the best new apartment buildings in the city. Seems to have been the tipping point for bringing retail to South Waterfront.
• Bud Clark Commons: operational issues aside, it's a fantastic addition to the city's built environment
• Gibbs St pedestrian bridge: (re)connected South Waterfront with Lair Hill.

Under construction

• Park Avenue West: stalled for years. Enough said.
• Park Central, Pearl Block 17 and Unico building: the North Pearl goes high rise
• Portland Milwaukie light rail: the next big expansion of the MAX system, which will also create a much improved bus journey for the 9 and 17, close the streetcar loop, and bring a huge number of cycling/pedestrian improvements
• Grant Park Village: New Seasons discovers mixed use development
• Conway project at NW 21st & Raleigh: New Seasons discovers mixed use development, pt II
• Hassalo on 8th: no less than the complete remaking of a significant part of the Lloyd District
• Division St: a completely different street than it was just a few years ago. A mixed bag architecturally, but there are some real highlights by THA and Works Partnership.
• Williams St: again, sometimes lacking architecturally, but includes some interesting buildings by PATH and GBD.
• PNCA: A new home on the North Park Blocks for Portland's premier art school, designed by Allied Works.
• Pearl West: the first new build office building in central Portland for years.
• Sellwood Bridge: a bridge that was almost falling down is being rebuilt. No expansion in car capacity, but massive improvements for bikes and pedestrians. TriMet will resume service over the bridge once the project is complete.
• New York: Portland's first multi-story industrial building in decades.

In Design Review / Permit

• Skylab Burnside tower: a 21 story tower on a site the PDC has struggled to develop for years.
• Works Partnership building at Couch/MLK: neighbor to the above.
• Hotel Eastlund: from the team that brought you the Modera, the complete transformation of a presently run-down hotel.
• Riverplace Hyatt Place: likely to be the first Hyatt branded hotel in central Portland.
• Oregon Pioneer Building: transformation of an older office building into a boutique hotel, with Portland's oldest restaurant as its anchor tenant.
• Goat Blocks: two full city blocks, which will include residential and retail uses.
• Multnomah County Health Dept: a much needed new home.

Longer term

• SW Corridor: a subway to OHSU? Also a way to get to Tigard, if you must.
• Powell/Division corridor: likely to be Portland's first BRT system. Could be a template for how we can expand HCT more rapidly than we can achieve with light-rail alone.
• Japanese Gardens: new buildings by an acclaimed Japanese architect.
• Convention Center Hotel: 600 new hotel rooms in the Lloyd District.
• North Portland Greenway: a Springwater/Eastbank Esplanade for North Portland.
• Curia Hotel: new downtown hotel by Hilton, on a currently vacant lot.
• James Beard Market: it could happen.
• Ankrom Moisan HQ: new commercial building in Old Town.
• Multnomah County Courthouse: finally seems to be gaining momentum

RIP

• Columbia River Crossing.

[Sioux612]

I think the Curio Hotel is the project I'm most looking forward to simply for the location. Anything to take attention away from the Waterfront Marriott.

With the market getting stronger I'd love to see Skylab to revive The Weave.

[pdxstreetcar]

Don't have high hopes for those two HCT projects. Barbur wont be a tunnel and wont directly serve OHSU. Powell/Division will be BRT-lite which is just a bus painted red running in mixed traffic, maybe in a few places where there is easy right of way and no traffic there will be dedicated lanes.

Don't forget that other Lloyd District project u/c by Burgerville helping populate that no mans land, even the Lloyd Mall renovation. Also the recently completed Art House for PNCA and Janey, two other great tiny infills. City Target is huge bringing basic necessities to downtown (on transit crossroads, historic dept store, no parking, multilevel, big windows, etc). More OHSU and residential buildings in South Waterfront too on horizon to help fill out that neighborhood. Also the apartment tower coming to Museum Place area will help fill in that area. Stadium Fred Meyer renovation will fill out the block and for the most part be a great urban addition. East Burnside as a whole has taken off with many new projects completed, under construction and proposed (many besides the Skylab tower and WPA building). Foster Road road diet is a big deal. In addition to the North Pearl towers, how about how that entire area has redeveloped including the low/mid rises? Riverscape while not architecturally great by any standards is also really developing as one of Portland's big development hotspots. Even a couple mixed use projects coming to both Johns Landing and St. Johns. You mentioned Union Way but I'd include that in the larger complete renaissance in the West End into one of the coolest areas in Portland. Vestas renovation of old long abandoned Meier & Frank warehouse. Northwest has gotten several mixed use infills that have filled empty eyesore lots for years. Ankeny Alley in Old Town.

Further afield, Orenco Station is almost at full build out with the most urban buildings coming now closest to the station (as was the plan). Downtown Lake Oswego is getting another mixed use development if the NIMBYs don't kill it.

And overall while development has flourished with great projects, our transit system has suffered and expansion greatly diminished (remember the citywide streetcar plan, Lake Oswego streetcar, Burnside line on a rebuilt Burnside). No bikeshare, no two-way cycletracks yet.

[mcbaby]

http://vimeo.com/77603516"Today, it's just a vacant piece of dirt.... But soon portland will have some more euro trash.

[Derek]

Fantastic then and now blog. Most of it is beautiful, some of it is incredibly depressing.


http://portlandthenandnow.tumblr.com

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by pdxstreetcar

Don't have high hopes for those two HCT projects. Barbur wont be a tunnel and wont directly serve OHSU. Powell/Division will be BRT-lite which is just a bus painted red running in mixed traffic, maybe in a few places where there is easy right of way and no traffic there will be dedicated lanes.

While I entirely get where you're coming from, I don't share your pessimism here. The short tunnel under OHSU is still recommended for study in the DEIS, sensibly so, given that it's the only real way to serve OHSU. Hillsdale residents are pushing hard for it to extend to Hillsdale Town Center. I wonder how much the extra costs to go to Hillsdale would be anyway - a large part of the cost of tunneling is acquiring the TBM in the first place, and tunneling allows the project to avoid building on the side of Marquam Hill.

As for Powell/Division, I'll wait to see the recommendations, but I'm optimistic. Much as I would love to see MAX running in every corridor in Metro's HCT plan, it would be beyond my lifetime before we could afford to build out that all with light rail. If SW Corridor is the next MAX project, then Powell / Division would be well over a decade away.

Originally Posted by pdxstreetcar

Don't forget that other Lloyd District project u/c by Burgerville helping populate that no mans land, even the Lloyd Mall renovation. Also the recently completed Art House for PNCA and Janey, two other great tiny infills. City Target is huge bringing basic necessities to downtown (on transit crossroads, historic dept store, no parking, multilevel, big windows, etc). More OHSU and residential buildings in South Waterfront too on horizon to help fill out that neighborhood. Also the apartment tower coming to Museum Place area will help fill in that area. Stadium Fred Meyer renovation will fill out the block and for the most part be a great urban addition. East Burnside as a whole has taken off with many new projects completed, under construction and proposed (many besides the Skylab tower and WPA building). Foster Road road diet is a big deal. In addition to the North Pearl towers, how about how that entire area has redeveloped including the low/mid rises? Riverscape while not architecturally great by any standards is also really developing as one of Portland's big development hotspots. Even a couple mixed use projects coming to both Johns Landing and St. Johns. You mentioned Union Way but I'd include that in the larger complete renaissance in the West End into one of the coolest areas in Portland. Vestas renovation of old long abandoned Meier & Frank warehouse. Northwest has gotten several mixed use infills that have filled empty eyesore lots for years. Ankeny Alley in Old Town.

Further afield, Orenco Station is almost at full build out with the most urban buildings coming now closest to the station (as was the plan). Downtown Lake Oswego is getting another mixed use development if the NIMBYs don't kill it.

But here I couldn't agree with you more. While I was trying not to list every new building of the last few years, there really are some major ones I forgot. Stadium Fred Meyer. City Target. Art House. Foster Rd. Vestas.

Originally Posted by pdxstreetcar

And overall while development has flourished with great projects, our transit system has suffered and expansion greatly diminished (remember the citywide streetcar plan, Lake Oswego streetcar, Burnside line on a rebuilt Burnside). No bikeshare, no two-way cycletracks yet.

I'm still optimistic about bikeshare. I think once Alta sort out their vendor problems it will happen.

Don't NE Cully and SW Moody count as two-way cycle tracks?

I do think it's a shame that the streetcar concept plan has been left on the shelf. Not all the lines shown had a great cost per rider ratio, but some made a lot of sense - i.e. Hollywood via Broadway. I can understand though why Charlie Hales wouldn't want to push for more streetcar lines at a time when PBOT is pleading poverty.

But on balance, let's not forgot it's less than 5 years since the Green line opened. The CL line opened 2 years ago. The Orange Line opens in a year, along with the Tillikum Crossing and close-the-loop. The new Sellwood Bridge opens in a year. Powell/Division is likely next, followed by SW Corridor. That's a pace most cities would be envious of. The CRC is never happening, at least in the form recently proposed.

[davehogan]

Originally Posted by pdxstreetcar

Don't have high hopes for those two HCT projects. Barbur wont be a tunnel and wont directly serve OHSU. Powell/Division will be BRT-lite which is just a bus painted red running in mixed traffic, maybe in a few places where there is easy right of way and no traffic there will be dedicated lanes.

Where are they planning that?

There's a dedicated busway getting built alongside the Orange Line to connect to the new bridge. Outside of 39th a Powell corridor bus can run in it's own lanes for most of the distance to Gresham without taking a lot of buildings, and along the whole length it can have limited stops and off vehicle payments which allows for much faster boarding times.

Limited stops, higher capacity, and off vehicle ticketing alone would speed up that line a LOT. The 9 will be improved quite a bit with the new bridge (which will limit stops from SE Milwaukie to the transit mall), and could easily overlap a larger (articulated?) bus that could stop at the locations where the 9 transfers to other buses.

Run those frequently and you'll have made a lot of people in SE who use the 9 a lot happier. I typically use it to transfer to a north/south bus, so waiting for people to get on and off every 3 blocks is a bigger time waster than sitting in traffic.

I use the 9 quite a bit since I live right near it. BRT-lite would be a HUGE improvement over what we have now where the bus drives by during rush hour not infrequently because it's full.

[davehogan]

Speak of the devil:

OLive.

Streetcars to Johns Landing and decreased density in Eastmoreland -- Portland's future in a map?

1) Streetcar and light rail: The city's map includes three potential streetcar routes headed by the Bureau of Transportation. There's an $80 million extension through Johns Landing, a $70 million extension to Hollywood along Sandy Boulevard and a $65 million extension along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Killingsworth Street. Beyond that, the map still accounts for a $300 million light rail extension to Vancouver, even though the Columbia River Crossing is supposedly dead.

Neat.

[maccoinnich]

I'm not sure what to make of this. It's great to see that lots of projects aren't dead, but so far the only thing I haven't found in the interactive map is a pony.

However, in addition to the projects the Oregonian found, I also see: westside Burnside-Couch couplet; streetcar along NW 18/19th; protected bikeway along Broadway/Weidler to Hollywood; bike lanes on Sandy from 12th-101st (yes, that same Sandy they repaved recently); bikeshare; the first phase of the Sullivan's Gulch trail from the Esplanade to NE 21st; realigning the MAX tracks at the airport for terminal expansion; widening McLoughlin to 6 lanes from Harold-Tacoma; filling in the Sellwood gap of the Springwater; street trees along Grand-MLK; North Portland greenway; widening Powell east of 205 from 3 to 4 lanes and adding buffered bike lanes; double tracking the Kenton railway line; building a railway loop on Hayden Island; neighborhood Greenway on SE 9th through the CEID; new freeway access from the Ross Island bridge to I-405; a bridge for cyclists over I-405 on Flanders; and Division "Fastlink" for buses between downtown Portland and Gresham.

[Sioux612]

Have they set any kind of timetable for the indoor market project?

IMO this is the most unique project we've seen in years: