Hassalo on Eighth | 21 floors | Completed

[Grantenfuego]

As disappointing as this is, it keeps with Portland's trend of being a more European city in the US. Narrow streets, smaller blocks, smaller buildings.

[pdxtraveler]

Originally Posted by tworivers

Hate to be Debbie Downer yet again but this is so Portland. Seems like almost every tower gets cut down eventually and I had a feeling that would happen with this project. It just seemed too good to be true. Is it like this in every city?

I know we do notice this more about Portland buildings because we are here and we care more about this city, but yes, I see this often in the other threads. Really disappointed about this one though! It would have been neat to have a new tall one!

[PDX City-State]

Disappointing yes, but three new residential buildings in the Lloyd District is huge. Think of the additional amenities that could finally come with density. The only way the Lloyd, Convention, Rose Quarter area will ever become vibrant is if people live there so round the clock retail can be supported. And to put this into perspective, the tallest residential building currently in the Pearl District is 19 stories (the Metropolitan). This is only one story shorter than that. So yes, would have been nice to see more height, but I will take 18 stories over a vacant lot any day of the week. Investment follows people, and this is going to help.

[crow]

Originally Posted by pdxtraveler

I know we do notice this more about Portland buildings because we are here and we care more about this city, but yes, I see this often in the other threads. Really disappointed about this one though! It would have been neat to have a new tall one!

I know this is an architecture site, but really at times it is not as much about the architecture that forces changes. Some are economically driven. I hate to state the obvious here, but it has to be said. At times; money, politics, zoning, growth, absorption, market forces...and even costs and availability of construction labor and materials. Even as currently downsized, this project is a VERY ambitious project. It is a catalyst to the area, and not only fills in surface parking lots, but also injects housing…people actually living in the area. A HUGE and much NEEDED change. On top of that this is really more like four projects when you include the underground parking. It is being proposed to happen simultaneously. What is the last project in Portland that saw that kind of construction all at once? The Brewery Blocks is the only one I can think of? Not even South Waterfront.

The Lloyd Blocks project is an urban infill project. It is easy to be a downer about projects when they change, but the big play here is that something is actually moving forward. Now if the Architects and designers could do whatever they wanted, then I am sure it would be a beautiful and lush place.

[PDX City-State]

what crow says!

[Mr. Walch]

I happened to get a chance to talk briefly with one of the GBD architects for the project and he said it scaled back due to cost issues. The numbers kept coming in way to high and they were sent back multiple times to cut money out of the project, leading to the stubby buildings we now see. I can't remember the exact number but it was very substantial. The other nugget he had, which should be clear, is that the developers (Langley, who own lots of other under utilized property in the area) view this as a catalytic project. They are hoping that by dropping so many apartment and a decent grocery store into the neighborhood all at once it will transform the area and people's perception of it. I really hope they succeed. I just read in the Hollywood reporter that they have pushed back their design review meeting so many times that the board said they must be at the one they are currently scheduled for or start the process over.

[philopdx]

Welcome to Portland - it's like Viagra, in reverse!

[maccoinnich]

I just want to add my +1 to what RED_PDXer, PDX City-State, crow and Mr. Walch have said. Sure, it would be nice to have a cluster of towers, but this is still a very ambitious project, that has the potential to transform the district. If they are successful, then it will have a halo effect on the surrounding properties, and make towers more viable in the future as the value of the land increases. It's not like there's a present shortage of car parks that can be developed in the future.

[bvpcvm]

They initially proposed 645 units. Now they've scaled it back to 637. So I think as far as adding vibrancy to the streets goes, it'll be just fine.

[zilfondel]

The downsize is either because the developer cant get a big enough loan, or their pro forma or market analysis doesn't believe that rents can support it.

If they aren't really changing the # of units they were planning on building, the original 24 story tower was likely large luxury units, being scaled back to normal-sized ones.

[PacificNW]

I think Joe Weston is still on board to build his 30+ tower in the district....

[Mr. Walch]

They actually cut a substantial number of units - around 140, the original proposal was for 780. The new plan and the shorter buildings allows them to build most of the project with wood (5 wood apartment levels over a 1 story concrete podium) instead of concrete or steal, a substantial savings. That being said, 640 or what ever it is now is still a massive numer of new units to be dropping into the neighborhood. At 1.5 people per unit thats about 1000 new residents, a nice place for them to shop and some new public space in the midst of the Lloyd wasteland.

[tworivers]

Don't you guys think that this is probably good for the overall health of the Portland rental market? Or does a project of this scale losing 20% of its units even have an effect on the larger market?

Some of you may be able to answer this: I know the vacancy rate is still low, but in a smaller city like Portland just how many rental units do we need to build before we run into over-supply problems? A few thousand? Ten thousand? I don't have the slightest idea but I'm curious.

[Shilo Rune 96]

Originally Posted by tworivers

Some of you may be able to answer this: I know the vacancy rate is still low, but in a smaller city like Portland just how many rental units do we need to build before we run into over-supply problems? A few thousand? Ten thousand? I don't have the slightest idea but I'm curious.

Exactly. This could actually be a good thing, especially since a lot of the mid-rises around town have started finishing up (or will be when this is completed). We can all agree over saturating the rental market is very possible. I hope these units will rent for less than $1,000/month, because we already have so much available for $1k+ in the Pearl and our inner neighborhoods.

[zilfondel]

Considering that over the past year, Portland's residential vacancy rate has basically stayed stable over the past year, reported around 3.6 to 3.7%, there is most definitely a demand for housing!

http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porc...nts_conti.html

Also, it appears that, at least according to Google, Portland's (city) population has grown by ~40,000 since 2008 to ~593,000 (2011):

https://www.google.com/publicdata/ex...d%20population

[Mr. Walch]

There are something like seven thousand apartments in the pipeline right now and in the last several months only about 800 units have been delivered, over 200 of them subsidized apartments in the SoWa. The Lloyd project is back a ways in the que so will be probable be coming on line late in the game which could be risky, especially since they will no doubt be charging big rent for Lloyd living (A beautiful flat a short walk from Burger King, Taco Bell and other great dining - take that Pearl, where's your McDonalds?) . Interestingly, Joe Weston decided not to be involved in the latest big Pearl apartment project with Hoyt because he see over building on the horizon. You can read about it here. Of course the way the housing market is going there is the possibility that some of the condos that became apartments after the crash will start switching back reducing inventory. People could also switch to buying houses|condos again lessening demand for apartments. I'm just an armchair real estate observer though. The banks seem confident enough to keep lending and developers bar Joe Weston still seem eager to build.

I really hope the Lloyd project works out. I have been biking through that wasteland in the heart of the city for a decade now and ready for it to grow up and become a great neighborhood.

[pbd]

Here is the design review announcement for the Lloyd Blocks, it has a few drawings.

http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/web...d%20Notice.PDF

[pdxtraveler]

Originally Posted by pbd

Here is the design review announcement for the Lloyd Blocks, it has a few drawings.

http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/web...d%20Notice.PDF

It looks good! My earlier post of disappointment is only about what could have been. This would have been sooo exciting without the build up! I really am excited for the area with this plan as well.

[bvpcvm]

I like the fact that they're reinstating the street grid, and I'm glad to finally see this parking lot disappear. Too bad they've scaled back (now down to 17 stories), but the main thing is what happens at street level.

[PDX City-State]

Originally Posted by bvpcvm

Too bad they've scaled back (now down to 17 stories), but the main thing is what happens at street level.

This is so true. I spend a lot of time in Austin, where they've built some very tall apartment towers with lackluster or in some cases no ground floor retail. They look pretty from a distance, but are dead when you walk by.