South Waterfront News

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by cronked

They named the bridge today - Tilikum Crossing.

...which means it's going to end up being called:

Tilikum Bridge
or
the transit bridge

[Derek]

It looks like tear down of the old warehouse at SW Moody and Abernethy has begun as of this morning. Was the 6 story apartment building that was planned for that block approved?

[maccoinnich]

Looks like the permit is "Approved to Issue", which means that the plans are all approved and ready to be picked after review at the Bureau of Development Services, but the developer has yet to pay the fees & charges.

[Sioux612]

The file is so huge I'm just going to post the link - new rendering from placesovertime:

http://placesovertime.files.wordpres...14/04/37_1.jpg

[Derek]

Not bad for a 6 story building.

[bvpcvm]

Yeah, I think this building looks pretty decent. Certainly better than the other low-rises already built/currently planned a couple blocks west.

[cab]

Does this maximize views of the locations main asset? The design should balcony the crap out of the east facing units. Instead they push back half the building away from the views. Look how Vancouver BC does it. Its all about the water and views. There is something deeply wrong with our architecture community if they cannot even identify an asset like the waterfront.

http://images.fineartamerica.com/ima...da-joe-fox.jpg

[philopdx]

For some reason, I forgot there was an empty lot right there. So many contiguous empty lots to still be filled.

[dkealoha]

Originally Posted by cab

The design should balcony the crap out of the east facing units.

AGREED! I don't understand why it's so hard to find an apartment or condo in this town with decent sized outdoor space. Yes, it rains, but I'd pay a lot more to be able to sit on my private patio with a small group of people on a nice day. Common area decks are nice but not a substitute.

[cab]

Clean line BS. God forbid you break up a building. Its as taboo as color. We really need to move away from the standard vocabulary of PDX architects, flat, boring, clean over functional. Every unit should have an outdoor space, it takes a lot of pressure off communal space. The designers of this building really should be embarrassed for missed opportunities. The sad thing is, just identifying the value of the location and designed to maximize that wouldn't cost more. This is a case of designing in a vacuum. That project could be anywhere.

[Derek]

I disagree, not everybody needs or wants a balcony, especially in an apartment building (condos are a different story).

In my building, nearly every unit has a balcony, and I'm one of the few people who actually uses it. Yes, I use mine in winter. I love rain and cold weather. However, the outdoor terrace on the 5th floor gets used year round. From April-October somebody is having a BBQ or a birthday party or picnic etc. daily. In the winter months, people cozy up by the fire pit and play pool and watch sports inside the common room. There's people who go out there and sunbathe or just to have lunch, something that can easily be done from our balconies but people would rather go out there because the atmosphere is more open and green.

[urbanlife]

Not a bad looking building. Good to see the area starting to fill in more.

[Derek]

Teardown of the old warehouse at SW Moody and Abernethy is almost done. It's been fun watching them take this building apart piece by piece.

[Derek]

So they're using the lot in the picture above as the staging area for the apartments across the street, south of the Ardea. They're putting the crane together right now.

[MarkDaMan]

May 16, 2014, 10:53am PDT UPDATED: May 16, 2014, 11:14am PDT
View-loving South Waterfront neighbors mobilize against Block 37 proposal
Wendy Culverwell
Staff Reporter-
Portland Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...0271820&page=2

The first river-facing development to hit Portland’s South Waterfront since the recession chilled residential development is running into opposition from the area’s residents and businesses.

Critics say Block 37, a 278-unit apartment proposed by Mack Urban Development, is too close to the green way being constructed along the Willamette River, encroaches into public view corridors and promises to exacerbate an existing street shortage.

...

Mack Urban and its architect, GBD Architects, presented its case to the Portland Design Commission Thursday. The commission made no decision. The firm needs several variances from city codes, notably those that govern building heights along east-west roads. The “view corridor” requirements are meant to preserve views of the river from points to the west, including Portland’s West Hills.

George Crandall, a resident representing a local committee formed to review the project, said the proposed Block 37 design packs too many units into the project.

“The developer is looking for a 30-unit bonus at the expense of the public,” he said.

“The promise to the people in West Hills when these buildings went up is there would be view corridors.”

Allowing developers to encroach on view corridors would set a dangerous precedent, he said.

Neighbors are also asking the city review Mack Urban’s footprint, which puts its building within a few feet of the green way at its northern-most edge, and to require additional parking for residents as well as shoppers at the project’s retailers.

...

[Derek]

So a 6 story building would block view corridors from the West Hills? Seems legit.

[riterpdx]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

May 16, 2014, 10:53am PDT UPDATED: May 16, 2014, 11:14am PDT
View-loving South Waterfront neighbors mobilize against Block 37 proposal
Wendy Culverwell
Staff Reporter-
Portland Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/...0271820&page=2

Sounds like some point towers like Pearls block 15 is what they're looking for..

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by Derek

So a 6 story building would block view corridors from the West Hills? Seems legit.

Nah, it would block the view of the water in the river...at a certain point you just have to tell someone in the West Hills to suck it, you wanna see the river, then buy property on the river.

[bvpcvm]

From the article - it's not totally clear - it sounds like it's local SOWA residents who are opposed, not actual West Hills residents. The opponents are just using West Hills views to support their flimsy, hypocritical arguments. Seriously, if you bought down there, you saw the plans and have zero right to complain.

[zilfondel]

Lol, Portland doesn't protect private "view corridors" anyway.