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  #41  
Old Posted Jan 24, 2008, 8:46 AM
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Cyan construction photo

I took this photo of the Cyan construction site at about 2200 on Thurs 23Jan08.
Notice that they have dug out the old support columns.

1200x900


I have more images, but they are in raw mode, so I will need to do this at home.
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  #42  
Old Posted Jan 29, 2008, 6:36 PM
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From PDXSpaces: Great interview, sexy (new, I think) exterior rendering.



Cyan Is the New Green

Posted By Randy Gragg on 01/28/2008

Today marks the opening of a new market for Portland housing – or so Gerding Edlen Development hopes. Portland’s premier condo developer is unveiling the fancy new sales office at SW Harrison and 4th for The Cyan, the company’s first “workforce housing” development. Aimed at those making 80-150 percent of the region’s median family income, the Cyan’s units will sell for $200,000-400,000 with penthouses running a bit higher. With no governmental subsidies, the way Gerding Edlen is getting there is by making the units small – most less than 600 square feet.

But destined for LEED Gold, designed by Thomas Hacker Architects located a block from the streetcar and light rail, the Cyan mixes environmental idealism, high style and top location. We caught up with Gerding Edlen’s Mark Edlen and Damin Tarlow to find out more.

Spaces Magazine: Who’s the market for the Cyan? And about the advertising campaign: “Kill your car.” “Small is beautiful.” Your branding designers, Ziba, typically has a model consumer. Who is it for the Cyan?

Damin Tarlow: Well blue is the new green. Cyan is the only naturally occurring blue. The concept is that people, given the choice, want to do the right thing. They want to be responsible. The target is the hip, savvy person who’s looking for an emotional connection of living in a building with other people think similarly. You’re making a lifestyle choice to live on great mass transportation and in a cleverly designed unit.

Mark Edlen: I think it’s fair to say we think the demographic younger. But we also think it may not be as much to do with age as it does with values. I think we’ll see some people with an affinity toward PSU: learners and teachers. Like a friend of mine, Bob Huntington, a lawyer with Stole Rives. I ran into him at PSU where he’s studying geography. He’s always wanted to do it. Now he can.

DT: Over 500 people have signed up on our “interest list,” but good or bad, we’re not seeing any one type. The average one-bedroom will sell for 280k $400k; 2-bedroom, between 200-500k. The 14 penthouses range from 600 feet for $341,000 to 1184 feet for $600,000. Then at the top, the numbers go up. But 85 percent of the units are under $400,000.

Spaces: The Civic on West Burnside was similarly inching down in both price and square footage. How did sales there go?

ME: We have about 20 left, out of 265. We hope to be out by end of first quarter. The average age is 33 years old, 60 percent male. We have a couple of floors that are pretty, well, rockin’ – open doors in the evenings. We were worried about the penthouses because we had five of them left, but as soon as the building opened, like, four of them sold.

Spaces: So 600 square feet is small.

DM: We traveled around and looked at other models around the world. Toronto has a lot of these units. There was a grouple of 12 of us standing in one of them and Mark asked, hey does anybody feel like we’re crammed? The idea with the sales center was to let people stand in one of the units and ask, is there anything more that I need? You need to stand there and touch it.

ME: The other challenge we faced is the exterior. If you look at Broadway Housing with all due respect, the design is unit, unit, unit. With small units it’s hard to articulate dthe building very much. The biggest architectural challenge is the exterior. Hacker came up with this weave concept, which we like but it will be interesting to see how it ultimately works.

DT: It’s a fun design challenge inside as well: the smaller appliances and such. All the appliances are 24 inches wide. The cooktop is AEG, a German brand that wasn’t UL approved. There’s Blomberg fridge and dishwasher which is the number-one selling refrigerator in Europe. There’s little things like the cooktop is flat, so if you’re not cooking on it use it as a counter top. It’s a Scandinavian dual-use concept.



Spaces: Are you trying other new things?

ME: If you can figure out how not to have air conditioning, you could save a boatload of money for the consumer. Or if you take out hardwood flooring and leave it exposed concrete – which we didn’t have the guts to do, quite frankly. One thing we’re going to try in a couple of units is old-fashioned ceiling fans, temperature activated. Put them in the master bed and living room and just get the air moving around and see if people will accept it.

Spaces: Well another way would be to just do operable windows high and low and let thermodynamics do the work.

DT: We worked a lot on the windows. There isn’t a door, because if door swings in, it takes space. There are two2 giant windows that tilt so you can get your air high and low. And you get the connectivity with the outside.

Spaces: You also incorporated some novel flexibility in that you can easily change some units from 2- to 3-bedrooms.

ME: Yes, my thought was, that we cold gauge the market. If we see a lot of people wanting 3 bedroom, we’ve got the ability to do more of them. We think the flexibility will serve us well.

Spaces: What about the parking?

DT: We’re uncoupling the parking stall. We’re selling them for $40,000 apiece (and losing about $15,000 on each one). We’re on the streetcar and the new light rail line. There’s Flex Car. If we can get people out of their cars, we can get them to use this infrastructure we’ve built, but also make it more affordable. At The Civic, the units without parking sold just as fast. If someone wants to rent a stall and see if they can get by without a car, we’ll do that. We wanted to sell the right to park in a non-reserved stall, but the banks couldn’t find a comparison, so we had to back off. But, in general, we’re trying to provide a range of options and levels of affordability.

Spaces: You control other land in the area. Where?

ME: Jasmine Tree. The Portland Development Commission owns it, but we have a development right on. It’s 7/8 of a block, but it will have rail line coming through it – which is a challenge and an opportunity.

Spaces: What will go there?

ME: Ideally, more small condos. We’ll see how this one goes? With rail going through it, nothing is going to be easy. But we’re playing around with ideas of automated parking. There’s a new version in NYC: Automotion. It’s the first one I’ve seen that looks like it works really well. With auto parking, nobody has a deeded stall which I think presents a lot of opportunity for cost savings. If you know how many cars are in there all the time, you can be renting them all the time, hourly or daily. We need to move to that to drive down the cost of building parking. That’s another way to make housing more affordable. The shell of these things costs the same as the Henry Condominiums or any luxury condo. The skin can be a little cheaper, but you still have to be responsible. Hard costs on the Cyan were $190/square foot. On The Luisa Apartments (in the Brewery Blocks), we paid about $119. For The Civic, we paid about $155. Now we’re pushing $200.

Spaces: So “affordability” is pretty relative.

ME: We’re trying to enable people at 80 to 150 median family income. Finally, the city is coming around to that conversation. PDC is looking at one right now in South Waterfront. You’ve got people making $35,000 to $65,000 a year, and they can’t afford a lot of the stuff we’re building. The thing the city needs to look at is the property taxes – it’s a huge piece.

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  #43  
Old Posted Jan 29, 2008, 8:29 PM
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Not bad for a slab. Needs balconies. I know I couldn't live in a 600sqfter without a little outside space. Not to be too negative, but do a lot of newer condo's in PDX go skimpy on the balconies? Is this the result of PDX architects obsession with scaling things back for that clean look? Details are out, right??
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  #44  
Old Posted Jan 29, 2008, 9:22 PM
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$200,000 sounds cheap

$200,000 / 600 sq ft = $333.33 per square foot does not sound cheap.
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  #45  
Old Posted Jan 29, 2008, 10:00 PM
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I couldn't do it at any price, not at this point in my life. At the least, I'd need a balcony adjoining my 600 sq ft.
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  #46  
Old Posted Jan 30, 2008, 1:48 AM
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I could do without the balcony given the location. I actually was seriously interested in this building before it got delayed again and again. Glad to see it is going up though!
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  #47  
Old Posted Jan 30, 2008, 5:18 AM
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Adding balconies must add alot to the price. I couldn't do it without one, - juiliette balconies don't count.
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  #48  
Old Posted Jan 30, 2008, 5:46 AM
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the new render posted is from the cyan site, which launched it's full version today (same day as the sales office opened).

http://www.cyanpdx.com/


Sales office looks great, but I haven't been inside yet.
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  #49  
Old Posted Jan 30, 2008, 6:44 AM
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^^^That's a pretty sweet website.
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  #50  
Old Posted Jan 31, 2008, 12:12 AM
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Balconies are expensive, and who needs one when you're two blocks from Pettygrove Park, two blocks from the South Park Blocks and just a few blocks from Waterfront Park. Plus, from what I understand, Cyan has a huge courtyard.
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  #51  
Old Posted Jan 31, 2008, 1:14 AM
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Yeah, balconies do add a lot of expense to the structure, but I personally won't even consider living somewhere without one. I have parks within a block and roof decks in my building, but I still need my private outdoor space. A private area to grow vegetables or flowers, a place just to quickly get some fresh air, or sit and enjoy the weather, eat my dinner on the patio, etc...

I also enjoy the texture and color that is added to the city because of private decks, so in some ways I think it's a disservice to the city to not provide decks. I love a few of the buildings in the pearl, especially in the summer when the decks are covered with greenery and plant life, contrasting with the hard and sleek materials of the building. It also makes the community seem much more "lived in"...we can see that people live there and take pride in their neighborhood.
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  #52  
Old Posted Jan 31, 2008, 1:38 AM
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I'm afraid of heights, I can't go near a balcony.
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  #53  
Old Posted Jan 31, 2008, 1:47 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pdxf
I also enjoy the texture and color that is added to the city because of private decks, so in some ways I think it's a disservice to the city to not provide decks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdxf
Yeah, balconies do add a lot of expense to the structure
I think it is a disservice to the community NOT to have housing for all income levels. I don't think balconies make anything look more lived in. Most office towers don't have balconies and there are vibrant neighborhoods in the central city. In face, seeing people walk through the park, create a community garden, pick up trash on the street, patronize local shops, create vibrant farmers markets, etc. etc. makes...

Quote:
Originally Posted by pdxf
the community seem much more "lived in"...we can see that people live there and take pride in their neighborhood.
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  #54  
Old Posted Feb 4, 2008, 7:44 AM
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Update



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  #55  
Old Posted Feb 4, 2008, 5:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkDaMan View Post
I think it is a disservice to the community NOT to have housing for all income levels.
You're right, and I think it's fine to have some housing without it to facilitate the need, such as the Cyan. I just wouldn't want to see it everywhere. Perhaps I came across a little too strong on my feelings for balconies!

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkDaMan View Post
Most office towers don't have balconies and there are vibrant neighborhoods in the central city
I don't see the area around KOIN or the Wells Fargo, the Lloyd, etc.. as being vibrant neighborhoods. More to do with the fact that their isn't too much residential there, balconied or not! I'm also not saying that residential areas without balconies are lifeless. I just feel as though they add another layer of life.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkDaMan View Post
In fact, seeing people walk through the park, create a community garden, pick up trash...
You're right, but this doesn't mean that seeing people on their balconies, or growing gardens and plants on their balconies doesn't contribute life to the neighborhood as well. I just think it makes it that much better.

I guess with the Cyan, I question the extra expense on the decorative "weave concept", when perhaps this money could be spent on something that could be functional and lively as well. Perhaps I'm just tiring of the sleek and boring facades of modernism and am looking for any opportunity to provide something more to the building. I love the eastern facade of the Eliot, but I couldn't imagine a street lined with Cyans and Eliots. I think that would feel pretty lifeless.
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  #56  
Old Posted Feb 6, 2008, 3:33 AM
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I agree pdxf that too much monotony of any style kills a neighborhood. I think balconies add character to an overall neighborhood, but buildings without balconies add character too...such as you mention the front of the Eliot. I just think there are many people, like myself, who don't necessarily need a balcony to have additional pride in my neighborhood. In fact, not having a balcony caused me in my last apartment to spend many afternoons drinking and BBQing on the roof of a 12 story building with possibly the best view in town. If everyone in that building had their own balcony, that additional feeling of community you get from actually hanging with your neighbors would never have been found.

The area you mention around the KOIN tower is actually right around where I work. You'd be surprised the day time life in the area, however, the surplus of government buildings a full block auditorium and a couple large parking garages have caused the neighborhood to not fully develop. Hopefully First and Main and a new cladding on the federal building will help.
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Last edited by MarkDaMan; Feb 6, 2008 at 4:05 PM.
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  #57  
Old Posted Feb 6, 2008, 3:46 AM
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balconies on high rises = ugly (almost all of the time - there are exceptions)
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  #58  
Old Posted Feb 6, 2008, 5:00 AM
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^I think Park Place, most of SoWa, and the Metropolitan do balconies well, but Henry, Louisa, back side of Eliot, Pinnacle, Elizabeth, and most likely Alexan...baaaad...very baaad! They aren't always an asset, whereas the Cyan's weave pattern WILL bring an interesting building into the district.

Anyone know when they plan to work on the federal building? I was wondering the same thing PacNW.
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  #59  
Old Posted Feb 6, 2008, 6:06 AM
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I was thinking about my comment about needing a balcony and, well, I co-own a house with a yard and garden, so it's hard for me to imagine the reality of living vertically either way. Despite my obvious support of concentrating urban populations as centrally as possible. Living in a small space, sure (see the new issue of Dwell). Stacked between hundreds of other people... not so sure.

Architecturally I agree with rsbear about the ugliness of balconies, and I really, really like the "weave" on the Cyan. I can't wait to see what else Gerding and Edlen have up their sleeves. Seems like they're learning in leaps and bounds.
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  #60  
Old Posted Feb 6, 2008, 7:24 AM
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just checked out the sales office for the Cyan today. Overall I was impressed, granted for the smallest, low end unit, you are looking at about 371 dollars a square foot to buy. The kitchens are very non American, which is nice to see. But the one thing I must say about the building is its target audience, it is men. The units that they have are very male designed and are going to be much more appealing to men than women. Which means there will probably be alot of gay men and straight bachelors moving into this building.

Overall, I liked it, I think it will be a breath of fresh air into that part of the city that I think has been overlooked for far too long.
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