Portland Infill | North Portland

[maccoinnich]

There's a permit under review for that site. It looks like they only just got approval for transportation (probably sidewalk related). I'm sure why it's not yet showing as either "Issued" or "Approved to Issue".

[hat]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

...continues at Portland Business Journal.

They must be combining the two properties on N Westanna and demoing this.

I know New Seasons was looking at the gas station and then New Copper Penny lots in Lents, but I'm not sure what happened there. The Westanna NS will have an effect on the neighborhood, but a NS in Lents would be night and day.

[maccoinnich]

Pre-application conference [PDF] for a new a 5-story apartment building at N Vancouver & N Shaver. Other side of the block that Hopworks is on. It's kind of weird looking. Architects are Salem-based Studio 3.

[maccoinnich]

Adjustment Review for the St Johns New Seasons. Single story building with a sea parking.

Also another Adjustment Review. This one is for new townhomes on N Vancouver / N Emerson by THA Architects. The reproduction quality is terrible, but it looks like an interesting project.

[pdxtraveler]

Very excited! Drove by the 2/3 site on Lombard and saw construction fence up and works working away! I do think this is going to be the thing that really makes downtown St Johns take off!

http://guerrilladev.co/current-projects/two-thirds/

[maccoinnich]

Design Advice Request drawings [PDF - 7MB] for a mixed use residential /retail project at the vacant site at N Fremont / Mississippi. Architects are Holst. Three options are shown.

I kind of remember a previous scheme for that site? Or am I imagining that?

[hat]

My favorite wafflecart AND tireswing!

[hat]

Originally Posted by pdxtraveler

Very excited! Drove by the 2/3 site on Lombard and saw construction fence up and works working away! I do think this is going to be the thing that really makes downtown St Johns take off!

http://guerrilladev.co/current-projects/two-thirds/

"Expected to be completed in the Fall 0f 2014"? How?

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by hat

"Expected to be completed in the Fall 0f 2014"? How?

That was probably a speculation when pitching the project. They probably haven't updated the information.

[maccoinnich]

Photos: N. Portland building razed for mixed-use project



Crews with LOI Environmental & Demolition Services are demolishing a nearly 40,000-square-foot building on the North Williams Avenue/Vancouver Avenue corridor to make way for a large mixed-use development. Andersen Construction is the general contractor on the project, designed by Myhre Group Architects for Seattle-based owner Security Properties.

...continues at the DJC (no paywall).

[hat]

Dalo's you will be missed.

[hat]

May be a 56 apartment complex near the MAX stop in Kenton.

[RED_PDXer]

Originally Posted by hat

May be a 56 apartment complex near the MAX stop in Kenton.

I realize this is just NoPo, but white stucco sounds like an awful exterior anywhere in Portland. I don't expect this proposal to go far without significant modifications.

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by hat

Whatever happened to the Overlook apartments?

Permit was issued last week:

NEW 6 STORY, 63 UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING WITH ENCLOSED PARKING BELOW AND ASSOCIATED SITE WORK

[maccoinnich]

Portland administrator Dean Marriott placed on paid leave as audit finds insufficient oversight on $11.5 million office project

Portland's longest-tenured administrator, Dean Marriott, has been placed on paid administrative leave in response to a new city audit dissecting why costs for a fancy new office building tripled to more than $11.5 million.

Insufficient design oversight, elaborate design choices and an expanded project scope dramatically increased costs for the Bureau of Environmental Services' office project, according to a report released Wednesday by Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade. The audit also highlighted concerns about various conflicts of interest tied to the project.

In response, Commissioner Nick Fish, who oversees the bureau and who requested the audit in April when cost overruns became public, placed Marriott on paid leave pending an investigation by outside attorneys.

...continues at the Oregonian. The City Auditor report [PDF] makes pretty fascinating reading actually.

[Rob Nob]

Ouch. Some rough words regarding SkyLab in that article!
"In all, city officials approved 85 change orders related to "design problems."
"The firm's inexperience may have been a factor in items missed during the design stage and in the design changes required," auditors concluded."

[PDXDENSITY]

Ugh, this sounds like a shit show. It will muddy the waters of civic involvement because it confirms many people's fears about corruption. It will reduce faith in the comprehensive plan. It smears architects/developers as money grubbing. It smears local bureaucrats as being out for their own interests. All may have been at least partially the case in this situation, I don't know. All I know is the overall vision of PDX is a good one and we don't need more real-world reasons as to why things get fucked up and used as a showcase to dismantle our planning.

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by Rob Nob

Ouch. Some rough words regarding SkyLab in that article!
"In all, city officials approved 85 change orders related to "design problems."
"The firm's inexperience may have been a factor in items missed during the design stage and in the design changes required," auditors concluded."

I've read a couple of these reports. LaVonne Griffin-Valade seems to have mastered the art of saying pretty damning things in the politest way possible.

That said, I think BES comes out of the report a lot worse than Skylab do.

[maccoinnich]

How Portland managers skirted orders to stop paying architect of over-budget Columbia Building



The Bureau of Environmental Services' Columbia Building project cost $11.5 million, more than three times original projections. (Photo courtesy City of Portland)

By Brad Schmidt | bschmidt@oregonian.com

Managers inside Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services sidestepped contracting controls to ensure that the architect behind an $11.5 million office building kept getting paid, even after an elected official wouldn't sign off.

Skylab Architecture designed the striking but over-budget Columbia Building now at the center of this week's critical city audit, which prompted Commissioner Nick Fish to place Dean Marriott, the bureau's director, on paid leave.

The audit blames inadequate design oversight, elaborate design features and an ever-expanding scope for more than tripling the project's cost. Without going into detail, the report also briefly highlights that managers manipulated contracting to ensure Skylab received money against the wishes of Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who oversaw the bureau until 2013.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[Rob Nob]

Oh boy...
"On Nov. 18, 2013, Skylab invoiced Skanska for $95,581: exactly what Skylab asked of Portland, minus 6 cents.
Then, between December 18 and March 27 of this year, bureau officials approved 10 small changes to their $7.7 million construction contract with Skanska, each one increasing the agreed payment amount.
The city's additional payments to Skanska totaled exactly what Skylab had billed the general contractor: $95,581."