Broadway Tower | 269' 8" | 19 floors | Complete

[maccoinnich]

This is now on the Design Commission agenda for November 5th:

EA 15-203240 DA – Broadway Tower

Design Advice Request for a new 19-story building for hotel and office use with ground-floor retail and 4 levels of below-grade parking. The proposal would require a Central City Master Plan to obtain an additional 3:1 FAR above the maximum allowed. Parking for the office/hotel use is shown to extend below-grade onto the RX-zoned portion of the site; above-grade development on this portion of the site is currently undefined. Primary exterior materials include glazed curtain wall systems and metal panel.

[ORNative]

Mighty fast timeline

[cityscapes]

Parking for the office/hotel use is shown to extend below-grade onto the RX-zoned portion of the site; above-grade development on this portion of the site is currently undefined.

Means they're not going to build on the portion of the site abutting the south park blocks, correct? Seems strange to leave that a surface lot but build a parking garage under it.

[maccoinnich]

As Malix mentioned upthread, the Park Blocks portion of the site is zoned RX, which doesn't allow office or hotel uses. Personally I think single use zoning is dumb at the best of times, and is especially dumb in the middle of downtown.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

As Malix mentioned upthread, the Park Blocks portion of the site is zoned RX, which doesn't allow office or hotel uses. Personally I think single use zoning is dumb at the best of times, and is especially dumb in the middle of downtown.

I agree it is dumb, but I am guessing that would leave the quarter block open for a residential development of some sort.

[65MAX]

"EA 15-203240 DA – Broadway Tower

Design Advice Request for a new 19-story building for hotel and office use with ground-floor retail and 4 levels of below-grade parking. The proposal would require a Central City Master Plan to obtain an additional 3:1 FAR above the maximum allowed. Parking for the office/hotel use is shown to extend below-grade onto the RX-zoned portion of the site; above-grade development on this portion of the site is currently undefined. Primary exterior materials include glazed curtain wall systems and metal panel. "

Ah, Okay.

Now the square footages make sense. That's 120,000sf below grade, so only 328,000sf of the total 448,000sf is above grade. 328,000sf/19 stories is an average of 17,263sf/floor, easily attainable on the 20,000sf half block fronting Broadway.

[innovativethinking]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

This is now on the Design Commission agenda for November 5th:

So this tower is 19 stories not 20??

[maccoinnich]

Drawings for the Broadway Tower [22 MB]:

http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/Rec.../File/Document

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Drawings for the Broadway Tower [22 MB]:

http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/Rec.../File/Document

I like it a lot. It'll tie in nicely with the look of Ladd Tower.

I can't help wondering when the surface lot at SW 6th & Columbia, a block away, will get developed. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll tear down the building that takes up the southern half of that block. Not the Regency apartments. I'm talking about the building along SW Clay between 6th & Broadway, directly across the street from the old Post Office site.

[cityscapes]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

I like it a lot. It'll tie in nicely with the look of Ladd Tower.

I can't help wondering when the surface lot at SW 6th & Columbia, a block away, will get developed. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll tear down the building that takes up the southern half of that block. Not the Regency apartments. I'm talking about the building along SW Clay between 6th & Broadway, directly across the street from the old Post Office site.

There are a lot of surface lots along 10th and 11th in that part of downtown and a couple along Clay and Market. I've been wondering when those will get developed too especially when there is so much going on in farther out areas. You'd think there would be some more office and residential construction going on in this area filling things in.

It seems strange they're waiting to build the 1/4th block along the park blocks in a second phase when there's so much demand for housing right now.

[urbanlife]

Well we were just saying we were surprised there isn't any major new office building being built in Portland....this definitely looks like something close to major, though it wouldn't be all office space, but a good portion of it will be.

As for the design, I love this half block design, very simple and elegant, I think the glazing will look really sharp especially in the reflective light. I also like that they are planning to add a smaller residential building along the park blocks, this is probably the best use for this site as a whole where it seems to benefit the city on many different levels as well as make the building connect to the street in a very Portland fashion.

This and the PAW are the types of buildings I would love to see more in Portland.

[WestCoast]

Looks great. Broadway is dead from Ladd on south. This will start to help, the Oregonian building remodel should help... Finally something going on there.

Build it!

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by cityscapes

It seems strange they're waiting to build the 1/4th block along the park blocks in a second phase when there's so much demand for housing right now.

That really jumped out at me too. I thought the initial proposal was for a 3/4 block office/hotel. Now, it's become phase 1: 1/2 block office/hotel, and phase 2: 1/4 block residential. Talk of phases makes me worry the phase 2 portion will get scrapped. On the upside though, it'd be great to have even more residential facing the park blocks.

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

That really jumped out at me too. I thought the initial proposal was for a 3/4 block office/hotel. Now, it's become phase 1: 1/2 block office/hotel, and phase 2: 1/4 block residential. Talk of phases makes me worry the phase 2 portion will get scrapped. On the upside though, it'd be great to have even more residential facing the park blocks.

Reading through this thread, the only place it's stated that it might be 3/4 of a block is where I made that guess, based on the assumption that they were going to get a zoning / comp plan change.

Residential facing the Park Blocks would be good, but not inherently better than a hotel. Both would bring evening activity to the Park. I understand the desire to ensure that Downtown has a resident population, but single use zoning is a very blunt tool to achieve that. The entire Pearl is zoned Central Employment, with no requirement for residential uses (although there are bonuses). Despite (or likely because of) the anything-goes zoning, it has the greatest density and diversity of uses of any neighborhood in the city.

BTW - project name is "Broadway Tower". 19 floors. 269'-8".

[2oh1]

maccoinnich, I agree. I would be just as happy to see a hotel in that parcel along the park blocks. I just wish the whole project were being built at the same time rather than in two phases.

[innovativethinking]

How many stories is the 2nd phase?

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

How many stories is the 2nd phase?

It looked like it would be a similar size as the other residential building on that block.

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

BTW - project name is "Broadway Tower". 19 floors. 269'-8".

Thanks! :-)

[ORNative]

According to Wikipedia (Portland tallest buildings) Broadway Tower would come in at 20th tallest building in the city. Going to drop below that with completion of Cosmopolitan and AAT Oregon Square though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...rtland,_Oregon

[maccoinnich]

Memo to the Design Commission.