Just returned from playing a game of bocce down there, via the bridge.
__________________
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." -Mark Twain
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it”. -Albert Einstein
"Knowledge is Good." -Emil Faber
Thank you for that great list of interesting facts! Pretty neat stuff to know and be able to talk about with anyone I happen to be with while there.
Am I right in thinking the steel tube manufacturing mistake is visible in your first picture? It looks to dip down about half way along the photograph. If I were in charge of the bridge, I would have been outraged at such a flaw and demanded a new piece as it makes the bridge look a bit haphazardly built. Unless, of course, it was my fault in providing incorrect dimensions. Did they elaborate any on that point? Seems odd.
__________________ website flickr
Follow me on Instagram @markofphotography
Today I walked around SoWa and it's just so far away from being a real neighborhood. With so many empty plots of land it feels like a dead-zone south of 3720. I know SERA has an 18-story apartment building planned directly south from the Alexan, but their momentum seems like it has slowed to a halt.
^^^ Does anyone know the status of the Prometheus blocks? I'm curious why they wouldn't be in on the mid-rise apartment block wave. Are they gambling that the high-rise market is going to return soon enough to make it worth their patience? Are they going to sell? Have they already?
I would personally love to see a different direction taken for the rest of Sowa -- the uniform heights detract from any possible sense of organic development and the whole area feels impersonal, generic, and generally devoid of culture right now.
I hope they continue with the high-rise development in the future. The two 6-story buildings stick out like a sore thumb IMO. Maybe even raise the restrictions from 325' to 400-ish.
^^^ Does anyone know the status of the Prometheus blocks? I'm curious why they wouldn't be in on the mid-rise apartment block wave. Are they gambling that the high-rise market is going to return soon enough to make it worth their patience? Are they going to sell? Have they already?
I would imagine that lots zones for more than 5 stories are hard to come by and so they will wait it out rather than lock up their property with less lucrative buildings.
I agree with Sioux612... Raise the height limit...in fact, also raise it in the Central Business district....fill in the toothless gap between the Fox Tower and the U.S. Bancorp Tower....and while we are at it...construct the largest Ferris Wheel in the world on the waterfront. If London can have one next to historic building then Portland can jump on this cool tourist attraction....
I personally don't care so much about the heights. Higher or lower, as long as they don't end up in rows of exactly the same height.
I do generally tend to favor mid-rise-style development though. I think it lends itself to more of a human-scale, pedestrian-friendly environment and I question whether Portland has nearly enough development pressure to support all that many high rises anyways (especially in the south end of South Waterfront and with no bubble to stand on). We have a chronically weak economy, tons of vacant and under-utilized land, etc etc etc. Call me a skeptic.
I also agree, though, that the limits downtown should be erased and tough incentives/disincentives put in place to encourage dense development and discourage the maintenance of auto storage facilities.
Lastly, I think the two mid-rise buildings in Sowa are fine. The first one is mediocre, the newest one with the white brick looks pretty damn good for affordable housing and better than a lot of what is going up on the east side right now...
Guys... I have seen unofficial drawings of a very large South Waterfront project. This guy has a strong investor and can make his money back quickly... I can't say details, but it's promising.
Guys... I have seen unofficial drawings of a very large South Waterfront project. This guy has a strong investor and can make his money back quickly... I can't say details, but it's promising.
I always thought Portland should buy the old PBR sign that use to be in downtown Chicago back in the day when their waterfront was railroad tracks. It would be more fitting as an attraction than a ferris wheel....and besides, why would Portland ever want to copy Seattle?
Originally Posted by Shilo Rune 96 View Post
Guys... I have seen unofficial drawings of a very large South Waterfront project. This guy has a strong investor and can make his money back quickly... I can't say details, but it's promising.
Liking the feel of this one. Fingers crossed. It certainly will occupy an important spot midway between those two bridges in what has been blank space for so long...
Prev
I agree with Sioux612... Raise the height limit...in fact, also raise it in the Central Business district....fill in the toothless gap between the Fox Tower and the U.S. Bancorp Tower....and while we are at it...construct the largest Ferris Wheel in the world on the waterfront. If London can have one next to historic building then Portland can jump on this cool tourist attraction....
Linear Mode
