Should Ione Plaza be a protected historic building?

[Drmyeyes]

I'm kind of rethinking some of what I said earlier about pulling down the Ione and starting fresh. I'll have to take a closer look at the building when I'm down there again. There is a certain studied mentality associated with the x configuration. I suppose part of the thinking was that this would avoid having at least some of the residents faced with the view they would be faced with in a conventionl square building: the side of another building.

Here, the arms of the x affords all residents some kind of view down onto their own plaza as well as a horizontal viewing angle that, in a more conventional apartment building setting would allow a more favorable view past other adjoining buildings. I'm not really sure, but I guess allowing for this kind of thing is part of the philosophy of the international style.

It's worth keeping such a building around for the lesson it offers. Also, aparrently it's a solid, working building. There's probably all kinds of things that could be done to correct weaknesses the building has. I suppose costs would be prohibitive, but larger balcony units could probably be built to replace those that someone commenting earlier said were too small.

[twofiftyfive]

Originally Posted by puerco

I don't quite understand what you're saying. Because the magnificent Portland Hotel was torn down and replaced with Meier & Frank's parking lot they should do the same with the Ione Plaza?

No, I'm saying just because something is "historic" and represents a period of development, that doesn't mean it is worth saving, particularly when that era of development was a horrible mistake.

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

how many X shaped building in Portland where there before this one? It might have a place in history being a first of its kind, leading to King Towers, Portland Towers and such, which are all non spectacular, but changed urban living in Portland. I hate to just throw away a building especially if it did serve a purpose in P-town history.

Are you suggesting that it changed urban living in Portland for the better? If not, why preserve it? It isn't like some historically significant artifact that can be kept in a museum. It's a 150' eyesore on an acre lot in downtown Portland. After all the destruction of worthwhile buildings that was done after WWII, forgive me if I don't really care whether we preserve the monstrosities that replaced them.

[puerco]

There's no comparison between apartment buildings and parking lots. I'd like to see all parking lots torn down or put underground.
I believe the Ione and the others did alter urban living in Portland. They were most likely the largest apartment buildings in Portland when they were built. They definitely had a noticeable presence in Portland throughout the 50's-70's if not longer. My parents said there was a real shortage of housing during the war when the Kaiser shipyards were operating. And then in the post war years that followed. They're a part of that era's history. The M&F parking lot's only claim to fame is that it replaced the beautiful Portland Hotel.

[MarkDaMan]

^I agree, and they now act a default affordable housing. The Ione is a bit more expensive than the X towers in the Goose Hollow, but they are all significantly cheaper than the Louisa, or 10th and Hoyt or the new Ladd Tower. When I moved back to Portland I was able to live central because of those X towers and the affordable rents. They served a purpose introducing high rise apartment living in Portland when they opened, and continue to serve the average people of Portland today. So, unless it is replaced with a moderately priced apartment tower, it's fine with me to keep it and see it upgraded.

[Dougall5505]

well looks like the PDC vetoed the stainless steel balcony railings but the building is getting a 35 million makeover
Park Blocks tower gains friendlier entrance
Thursday, May 17, 2007
By Fred Leeson
At 15 stories and 314 units, Ione Plaza loomed as Oregon's tallest and biggest apartment building when it opened in 1951.

The big concrete tower's footprint took the shape of an X facing the South Park Blocks. But despite its 1717 S.W. Park Ave. address, residents and visitors found the stairless back entry off Montgomery Street more convenient.

New owners would like to change that pattern -- or at least establish a better connection between the Ione's private entry plaza and the Park Blocks.

"The building is backward," says Graeme Gabriel, a principal with ColRich, a San Diego company that is the managing partner for investors who bought the Ione last year for $34.9 million. "We want to bring them in off the park."

Plans by Leeb Architects show two new stairways separated by a waterfall stepping down the eight-foot drop from the Ione's first-floor level to Park Avenue. A new glass canopy would protect pedestrians from the top of the stairs to the entrance.

A smaller canopy would be added at the Montgomery doorway, and new pavers and brick planters would provide a stylistic unity to three public plazas adjoining the tower in various places.

"There is definitely an idiom to this kind of building, built in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s," Robert Leeb says. "There's a simplicity and a clarity to the mass. We want to stick with that."

The new owner also wants to stick with something else traditional about the Ione: rental units. Portland State University once hoped to buy the building for use as a campus residence but lost out in a 2002 sale. Since then, several downtown apartment buildings have been converted to condos.

ColRich has been engaged in the condo development business for 20 years, but Gabriel says investors intend to keep Ione as a rental building. Target clientele includes students, young professionals and seniors.

ColRich investors also have purchased the Park Plaza at 1969 S.W. Park Ave., another 1951-vintage apartment building. Gabriel declined to discuss plans for the 149-unit building.

As for the Ione, he says, "It was a landmark building. It's not in that condition today." But he likes the building's layout, its Art Deco influences and terrazzo floor in the lobby. "There's a tremendous amount to work with."

Members of the Portland Design Commission persuaded the owners to drop plans to add stainless-steel cladding to upper-story balconies. But the commission unanimously endorsed the new entrance plan.

"If this could be used as a model for how to engage private space with public open space, the city would be better for it," member Michael McCulloch said. "This is the kind of project I hope to see more of."

The commission, which has stamped design approval on a river of condo projects in recent years, also was pleased that the Ione isn't converting. "I love the fact this will stay in the rental pool and that this group is not shooting for the high-end market," McCulloch said. "This balances our culture and our civilization."

Alas, there will be no rollback to historic rents. When it opened in 1951, the Ione's smallest studios rented for $65 a month. Spacious two-bedrooms: $144.

And now? Rents range from $630 to $3,000.

Fred Leeson: 503-294-5946; fredleeson@news.oregonian.com

[vjoe]

It looks like Ione plaza is getting a lot of bad reviews at apartmentratings.com.

http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate...one-Plaza.html

Most of the complaints have to do with rent increase since the new owner took over. I used to pay around $550 for a 1 bed room, 8 years ago. Now it cost $950 according to Ione's website. Is that affordable rental these days?
The 2 bedrooms looks like a better deal at $1,186.

http://www.ioneplaza.com/pages/floor3.php

[puerco]

It could always be worse. Studios in my building start at $1200. And it was built in 1926.

[pdxtex]

950 for a 1 bedroom in an old ass building?!! eek. sure its close to stuff but i would rather live with roomates at half the cost and still only be 5 minutes to downtown by bike....

[mcbaby]

these prices are ridiculous.

[zilfondel]

I cannot believe that developers claim they can't make a profit by building anything higher than 2 stories with rents like these. Don't they realize people would be lining up around the block for even a small studio if the rents are below 7 or 8 hundred bucks?! There is absolutely no reason for them to focus solely on 3-bedroom 3,000 ft^2 luxury units when there is a huge demand by normal people to live downtown!

Just reading about that new luxury apartment tower in SOWA, the Alexan, which will rent for $2/ft^2 - that's about the same price as my old apartment in NW, which I paid $600/mo for 300 ft^2! These prices aren't exactly out of the stratosphere... but neither can I afford a 1,000+ ft^2 unit, either! By comparison, a friend of mine attended school at UCLA and rented a 1-bedroom for $2200 a month.

And, just to note - I was a student! As are MANY of the people who live in the Ione. For them it is well worth the cost to be close to classes, the library, and everything else... particularly when you are spending $30,000+ on your education.

By comparison, shared studios (~200 ft^2) at the university of Oregon 6 years ago went for $700 a month - per person! That is $7 a square foot! (granted, that included meals... but everything was communal, including the bathrooms)

[mcbaby]

this is where the PDC screwed us. promising affordable housing and jobs and instead paving the way for overpriced condos in a hundred year flood plain.