DJC article with some choice quotes. Nice to hear from Kevin Cavenaugh.
On a side note, I've thought for a long time that urban design/architecture is fertile territory for social pressure and protest. Why not picket every day outside Myhre Group? They, and many other firms in Portland, should be ashamed of themselves for being willing to participate in projects like this.
No parking, no retail, no love for planned Northeast Portland apartments
POSTED: Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 03:58 PM PT
BY: Lindsey O'Brien,
DJC
Tags: Everett Custom Homes, Northeast 44th Avenue and Fremont Street apartments
Elaine Falbo did not go to work on Wednesday, but she wasn’t sick and she wasn’t on vacation.
Falbo stayed away from Bella Flora Studio, the Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood vintage shop that she has owned for 15 years, because she was upset after recently learning of plans to raze the buildings from 4419 to 4439 N.E. Fremont St. – including her shop – to make way for a new apartment complex.
Though the plans are still preliminary, Falbo and others are concerned that the proposed four-story apartment complex would disturb the “Main Street” commercial feel of the neighborhood because it wouldn’t include ground-floor retail space and on-site parking.
“I’m feeling so sad for this neighborhood right now, and for myself – I’ve lived here my whole life and operated my business here,” Falbo said. “It’s a monstrosity.”
Other Fremont retailers that would be displaced include Nip & Tuck, Sparkle Beauty Bar and Scene Marketing Group. The project proposed by Wally Remmers and his son Victor of Everett Custom Homes would not replace the lost retail space.
Wally Remmers said that a purely residential project makes sense because a growing number of Portlanders want to live near the neighborhood’s other businesses, and because the retail buildings are old and outdated.
“
The best times are behind those buildings (that would be demolished),” Remmers said. “Our project will be an improvement to the block. … People want to be able to live in retail corridors where they can walk to the store or walk to coffee shops.”
Beaumont-Wilshire and several other neighborhoods in Northeast and Southeast Portland are hot residential markets, according to Remmers. In addition to the project on 44th and Fremont, he is planning five similar apartment projects throughout the east side.
None of the planned developments includes retail at this point, although he did consider it for the project at 44th Avenue and Fremont Street and one of the others. But several consultants advised him that there was no demand for more storefronts along Fremont, so Remmers decided to stick with housing only.
“It’s a flip of the coin on this one, but (retail) just doesn’t make sense,” he said.
The decision bothers developer Kevin Cavenaugh, who owns the mixed-use Ode to Roses building across the street.
Everett Custom Homes is proposing to build a four-story apartment complex at Northeast 44th Avenue and Fremont Street. Local business owners, residents and others, however, object to the plan calling for residential space on the ground floor. (Rendering courtesy of Everett Custom Homes)
“There’s nothing worse than walking along the sidewalk (next to) a building where the blinds on the ground floor will always be drawn because it’s someone’s bedroom; it’s anti-urban design,” he said.
Cavenaugh contends that ground-floor apartments are tough to rent and turn over quickly, and that at-grade residential space kills commerce in a retail village like the one along Fremont Street.
“It’s a horrible solution,” he said. “I love telling people in other cities how our development community is different, but sadly, thanks to these projects, Portland is looking more like a Phoenix or a Sacramento.”
The proposed lack of parking is generating concerns from some business owners who would not be directly impacted by the development.
Mike Mallar, co-owner of Green Dog Pet Supply at 43rd and Fremont, said parking already is in short supply in the area. In fact, the business formerly was located two blocks east on Fremont, but it relocated in part because parking was so strained there. A new apartment complex with no on-site spaces could again present a challenge for his customers, who often tote heavy bags out to their cars, Mallar said.
However, the storefront commercial zoning does not require off-street parking, and its inclusion could bump up rent prices. Remmers said most tenants would likely reach destinations by walking, bicycling or taking transit, although he acknowledged that bus service to the area is spotty.
After participating in an initial meeting with three neighborhood representatives last week, the developers agreed to change the project’s design, which is being completed by Myhre Group Architects. Previously, the plan was to provide 68 one-bedroom apartments, but Remmers said that now some two-bedroom units are planned.
Dan Johnson, president of the Beaumont Business Association, hopes the developers will continue to compromise. He would like to see the community influence plans for retail space and parking.
“We’re not opposed; we’re just not OK with it yet,” he said.
Johnson is expecting a large turnout June 7 for the first public meeting about the project. It’s set to start at 6:30 p.m., at Bethany Lutheran Church.
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