Sky3 (SW 11th/12th & Jefferson) | x feet | 15 floors | Complete

[2oh1]

I'm going to bump this thread back up to see if anyone knows anything about the fate of this building. Any updates? Anything?

Curiosity kills this cat every time.

[2oh1]

It appears that something is in the works for this site, and since the only info I could find is part of a thread for The Jeffrey (here), which has been completed, I thought I'd create a new thread for this one.

I live in this neighborhood and have been closely following any news related to the now empty Jefferson West apartment building, on Jefferson stretching from 11th to 12th. Originally, the plan had been to replace a nearby parking lot with affordable housing ("The Jeffrey") and then tear down the Jefferson West, replacing it with a condo tower.

The parking lot went away (red in the image below).
The Jeffrey was built.
The Jefferson West was closed (black in the image below).

At that point, everyone was so committed to tearing the Jefferson West down that the fire department was using it as a test facility. I believe the building was literally being set on fire (and then put out) as part of their training exercises. But then the economy tanked and everything stopped.

(Source for the image below):

Originally Posted by zilfondel

Finally, something seems to be happening (?) at the Jefferson West site. I received an email about a Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting tomorrow evening:

"The main topic on the agenda is plans/timeline for the Jefferson West site. John Warner from Bureau of Housing will attend to present the information. We may also get a representative from E&F to describe what is being planned."

There's no mention of the meeting being public... Is anyone here going?

[Flaneur]

So far as I know, there aren't any dramatic new developments on the Jefferson West. The Downtown Neighborhood Association's Land Use Committee has asked John Warner from PDC to present an update on the project tonight and to sketch out the timeline for upcoming decisions on how to proceed. E&F Properties has a development agreement with PDC but it remains to be seen whether, in the current economic climate, they will be able to follow through. A number of neighborhood association members want to be sure that––should E&F find itself unable to develop the property––PDC will aggressively pursue other options and will fully explore ways to mitigate the presence of a block-long dead zone at the heart of the West End.

Tonight's meeting will take place at 5:30 PM at the Eliot Tower, 1221 SW 10th. (Tell the Eliot concierge you need to go to the Land Use Committee meeting on the 3rd Floor.) All Downtown Neighborhood Association meetings are free and open to the public.

[2oh1]

Awe, drat. I was hoping that this was the beginning of something. To be honest, I actually like the building that stands there now. I wish it could be gutted and rehabbed. It has character. I'm not against a high rise either. I just hate seeing dead zones, and that's what the building is now.

Here's a neat piece about the building during better times. Better, for the building, I mean.

[snipeman]

I was thinking of buying a condo in the Eliot facing west. The view looks over the Jefferson West.

I was wondering if anyone has any updates on what might happen.

I had the concern that if the Jefferson West is torn down and a 16 story tower replaces it, that it would impact the view. The WYCA, Art Museum and Safeway buildings all seem pretty anchored, but when I started checking into the SW flank of the Eliot I found lots of PDC PDFs on the Jeffery / Jefferson West deal.

Does anyone know any updates on the Jefferson West?

Does anyone have any helpful advice on how I could estimate while standing in the condo what my view impact would be? I'm not a "skyscraper expert"!

Thanks!

[bvpcvm]

I would be very surprised if anything happened there in the near future. To see if anything concrete has been proposed, check the city's design review documents, or, for historical data, look up the block on portlandmaps.com.

[2oh1]

Keep in mind that somebody has a lot of money already invested in tearing down the Jefferson West building. I don't remember who the developer was, though I'm sure someone here does, but the deal more or less went like this: If the developer built a new low income apartment building on his nearby lot to replace housing lost by tearing down the Jefferson West, the city would let him tear down the Jefferson West and build a residential tower there. I believe the plans called for something around 18 stories.

The developer did the first half of the job by replacing a small old building and parking lot with a new apartment building called The Jeffrey which was completed in 2008 (or was it 2009?) They put in a lot of money and planning in order to be able to tear down the Jefferson West and build a tower there. One has to assume that they still plan to do so as soon as the market bounces back, etc.

So, it comes down to timing, really. I live in the neighborhood and have been watching that building for years. I really hope they get around to building there soon, but 5 years is probably a better bet.

I have to assume it's going to happen. There's too much money tied up in it.

[MarkDaMan]

The YWCA sold their building to Northwest Academy. They plan on renovating the structure and consolidating it's locations around town into that building. So that view should be fine for years.

I'd hope the abandoned building gets turned into an apartment tower. I can't imagine it will sit empty for years and years, especially if it gets included in the proposed Educational District URA.

[Mr. Walch]

There is a proposal for a 368 unit student housing project at 1139 SW Jefferson in Portland's metro permit report. I believe I saw elsewhere that it will be 11 stories, but not entirely sure. It would be one of the biggest projects yet and a real boost to that corner of the city... especially if those units each hold a couple of students.

[bvpcvm]

That's certainly an interesting report. I'll have to add that to my must-read list.

It seems like, at 368 units, 11 stories is a little low. Univserity Pointe (formerly College Station), at 16 stories, is only 283 units.

[urbanlife]

A little confused, there currently sits a 6 story building on that site already and it isn't that old of a building. Is the site that one or is it where the Plaid Pantry is or is it that open lot next to the Plaid? Will be interesting to see what happens because things aren't adding up properly with this one.

But if it is that building, which is does say demolition that might mean tearing down that building, which would be roughly a 100x100ft site, which would be about 24 stories, when basing it on just the sq ft numbers.

[PacificNW]

Notice the 1134 above the doorway? This new development must be across Jefferson where the saloon, etc. were located.

[bvpcvm]

1139 sw jefferson is the other side of the street

[65MAX]

The lot size is 200' x 84.3', or 16,860sf, a little narrower than a half block. They're proposing a 239,000sf building and asking for an increase of 2.1 over the allowable FAR of 12. Since 239,000/16,860 = 14.175 FAR, that means they're proposing at least 15 stories, maybe 16 or 17 if there are any setbacks from the property line. That's about as tall as the the Eliot across the street, but still 10 stories less than the Benson a couple blocks away. Perfectly reasonable for that neighborhood.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by PacificNW

Notice the 1134 above the doorway? This new development must be across Jefferson where the saloon, etc. were located.

Are we finally going to see something happen to the Jefferson West building? Is it finally coming down?

This particular block cracks me up. See the convenience store in that shot? There's also a Plaid Pantry only a few steps away, not just on the same block but on the same side of the street! And there's obviously the Safeway on the next block. I've never been in that convenience store, but I've always wondered how it manages to stay in business.

[MilwaukeeMark]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

I've never been in that convenience store, but I've always wondered how it manages to stay in business.

Convenience!

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by MilwaukeeMark

Convenience!

...but it's literally steps from another convenience store that's across the street from a grocery store. 2 convenience stores on the same side of the same block seems nuts to me. But, hey, it must be working out for them, so...

[2oh1]

Speaking of groceries, not to mention the following news...

Originally Posted by Mr. Walch

There is a proposal for a 368 unit student housing project at 1139 SW Jefferson in Portland's metro permit report. I believe I saw elsewhere that it will be 11 stories, but not entirely sure. It would be one of the biggest projects yet and a real boost to that corner of the city... especially if those units each hold a couple of students.

...I wonder how long it'll be before downtown needs yet another grocery store. Whole Foods is around a decade old, right? The new Pearl Safeway is maybe 3 years old. The downtown Safeway on Jefferson isn't even 9 years old yet after having replaced the old Psycho Safeway, but it's always packed. When the Pearl Safeway opened, I hoped it might take away 1/4 to 1/3 of the business from the downtown Safeway, but it didn't even seem to make a dent.

Granted, if the PSU housing project happens at the old Jefferson West site at 11th & Jefferson, it'll probably be, what, 5 years away? Still, I can't help thinking another grocery store can't be far behind, especially within the PSU expansion.

[maccoinnich]

Something that I think is much missing from the US is something along the lines of the urban format supermarket which are so common in the UK, such as the Tesco "Metro" brand. These are typically found in city centres, and are, at a guess, maybe 5,000 - 10,000 sq ft. It seems like in the US nothing exists between the corner bodega / 7-11 and the 40,000 sq ft minimum supermarket.

People in the UK complain that it seems like every second shop in a city centre now seems to be a Tesco or a Sainsbury's. Prices tend to be a bit higher than at their larger stores, and the selection obviously smaller, but they really are useful. There's nowhere that I can think of near Pioneer Courthourse Square, for example, where you can grab a pre-made sandwich, some fresh fruit, a soda, and a magazine at lunchtime. Or that one ingredient you know that you're missing for dinner, just before you get on the MAX.

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Something that I think is much missing from the US is something along the lines of the urban format supermarket which are so common in the UK, such as the Tesco "Metro" brand. These are typically found in city centres, and are, at a guess, maybe 5,000 - 10,000 sq ft. It seems like in the US nothing exists between the corner bodega / 7-11 and the 40,000 sq ft minimum supermarket.

People in the UK complain that it seems like every second shop in a city centre now seems to be a Tesco or a Sainsbury's. Prices tend to be a bit higher than at their larger stores, and the selection obviously smaller, but they really are useful. There's nowhere that I can think of near Pioneer Courthourse Square, for example, where you can grab a pre-made sandwich, some fresh fruit, a soda, and a magazine at lunchtime. Or that one ingredient you know that you're missing for dinner, just before you get on the MAX.

THIS. I remember visiting London in 2006, and relied heavily on the tiny grocery stores. Hell, even their 7-11s (or whatever they were) carried actual sandwiches. Although being in the UK, liver and whatever doesn't really strike my fancy...