Old Town/Chinatown News

[alexjon]

Welcome to Old Town-- enjoy our historic parking lots?

[tworivers]

We could probably spend 20 or 30 years "studying" and "planning" in Old Town. How exciting.

[rsbear]

Today's parking lots are tomorrow's new construction. Lot's of opportunity to infill old town/china town.

[joeplayer1989]

i hope that area houses a lot of game companys in the new towers obviously coming, lol I want video game companys in portland!

[360Rich]

Waterfront Park project approved

Old Town - A suspended roof for Saturday Market and a new fountain are included in the $7.15 million project

Wednesday, December 19, 2007
FRED LEESON
The Oregonian

A splashy new public fountain and a suspended roof of steel and glass over the Portland Saturday Market should greet visitors at the north end of Tom McCall Waterfront Park next spring.

The Portland Parks Bureau won approval this week for a $7.15 million project that will revamp a key portion of the downtown park and dress up the nearby MAX stop under the west end of the Burnside Bridge.

"The purpose is to revitalize this part of Old Town," said Sandra Burtzos, a Parks Bureau project manager who led the sometimes-excruciating planning process that began last spring.

Planners and designers wrestled with issues ranging from homeless loiterers and pigeons to reflecting a historic context while trying to make the north end of the park attractive to families and more functional for public events.

A major purpose was to provide a new home for Saturday Market, which after three decades will be pushed out of its home under the Burnside Bridge by major new neighbors that need the under-bridge parking on weekends.

The new market configuration will put up to 69 market booths in Ankeny Plaza west of Naito Parkway and 204 under the new park canopy across the street in the park. The roof, 64 feet wide, 150 feet long and 16.5 feet off the ground, will be suspended from cables strung from a central row of steel columns. It will be just south of the Burnside Bridge.

Paul Verhoeven, the market's executive director, called the final plan "a simple but elegant solution" for the market's needs. The canopy will be available for other public events when the market is not using it. An in-ground sprinkler system will prevent people from using the roofed plaza as a campground.

Most of the $7.15 million budget comes from urban renewal money generated by property taxes in the Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Area. However, $1 million is being raised by Ann Naito-Campbell for a "legacy fountain" that will honor the complex ethnic history of the city's oldest neighborhood.

Naito-Campbell is the daughter of Bill Naito and niece of Sam Naito, two entrepreneurs whose real estate investments helped stimulate a rebirth of Old Town dating back to the 1970s.

The fountain is intended to be a major attraction for families and children, much like the popular Salmon Street Springs in the southern portion of Waterfront Park. It will sit in a small amphitheater at the foot of Ankeny Street.

Underground fountain jets can be turned off and the water quickly drained when the amphitheater is needed for public gatherings.

The amphitheater will be paved with light and dark pavers in a herringbone pattern. Eventually, the same pavers and pattern will be extended to a crosswalk across Naito Parkway and into Ankeny Plaza.

"We are trying to make the identity of this place very distinct from other parks and plazas in the city," said Douglas Macy, a landscape architect on the design team.

At the Skidmore Fountain MAX stop, plans call for removing a brick wall under the bridge on the west side of Southwest First Avenue that now hides a storage space and replacing it with a curving glass facade for 2,100 square feet of retail space.

On the east side of the street, a translucent glass "art wall," likely to be etched with neighborhood historical information, will screen the view of a parking lot under the bridge. New lighting and paint also are intended to brighten the transit stop.

The Portland Historic Landmarks Commission approved plans for both sites, which sit in the Skidmore-Old Town Historic District. However, Chairman Art DeMuro voiced misgivings about the modern glass storefront under the bridge.

"It's a direction I'm not comfortable with in a national historic district," he said. DeMuro fears it would stimulate proposals for additional contemporary designs that would dilute the historic feel of Old Town. Despite his concern, DeMuro joined a unanimous approval vote.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/orego...850.xml&coll=7

[Okstate]

That Skidmore Max stop definately needed some tlc. Any recent renderings?

[MarkDaMan]

There was one in the Oregonian this morning of the pavillion. It was rather disappointing.

However, Chairman Art DeMuro voiced misgivings about the modern glass storefront under the bridge.

"It's a direction I'm not comfortable with in a national historic district," he said. DeMuro fears it would stimulate proposals for additional contemporary designs that would dilute the historic feel of Old Town. Despite his concern, DeMuro joined a unanimous approval vote.

I'm really disturbed by this comment. I don't want the goals of the district to be to create a faux old town. I understand preservation, and to a certain extent, making sure new architecture doesn't diminish the character of existing architecture...but DeMuro is getting downright ridiculous with his stringent interpretation of what should be allowed in Old Town.

[PDX City-State]

De Muro is also the head of Venerable Properties, the company that owns and/or leases numerous properties in the area. He developed the White Stag Block. I applaud his integrity, but I question his vision for the area. Buildings--even in historic areas--ought to be of their time. It's going to be a battle as the Naitos and Malsin are attempting to raise the height limits for their forthcoming redevelopment.

[tworivers]

I'm really disturbed by this comment. I don't want the goals of the district to be to create a faux old town. I understand preservation, and to a certain extent, making sure new architecture doesn't diminish the character of existing architecture...but DeMuro is getting downright ridiculous with his stringent interpretation of what should be allowed in Old Town.

Well said. My thoughts exactly.

[MarkDaMan]

Skidmore Historic District Code Design
Posted by Larry Norton December 14, 2007 09:00AM
Oregonian
Categories: Development

There is yet another stakeholder advisory (SAG) committee: Skidmore/Old Town Historic District Code and Design Guidelines: An Implementation Project of the Ankeny/Burnside Development Framework.

Their purpose is make recommendations for the implementation of Design Guidelines Recommendations from the Ankeny Burnside Development Framework (Final Report). See Appendix F.

The meeting - the 1st (?) was held at PDC - but for whatever reason the public announcement was missing. I learned of it only by someone in the Planning Bureau remembering me. I will post the next meeting time when I become aware of it.

I am putting some of links up front before my commentary - not my usual practice. It seems more important at this stage that the reader look at the material. The referenced information is the best available at the moment.

PDC has split the Final Report into three parts so downloads are manageable. I would recommend reading the entire Appendices. Not too large and a wealth of information.

The historical significance of the Skidmore Historic District in Old Town Chinatown is immense, and, for the most part, the Planning website has much information. But, mining the Planning website is difficult at best.

But difficult or not, it is the Planning website that has the historical information. Look here for link to all (13) historic districts. General information about Historic Resources and Preservation can be found here.

Far and away the best historical information I have found anywhere for the Skidmore Old Town Chinatown Historic District is the material contained in the nomination application. This is a copy of that material without the initial 4 pages of the application.

The full file with the first four pages can be found here. It is an automatic download of a 'Word' document.

Planning has an excellent 'district' map with links to property information. That information now includes ownership.

This committee seems up to their task. This is not a bobblehead committee. What task? See this excerpt from PDC Report 06-131 - Adoption of the Ankeny Burnside Development Framework:

"It is anticipated that strengthening the historic district through use of design guidelines, strategic public investments, and reuse of the historic cast iron building facade collection purchased by PDC in 2002, would leverage significant private investment in the area."

What is the main issue? Preservation of historic character of the Skidmore /Old Town Historic District versus development. This translates into the question of building height. Maximum building height in the District is 75 feet.

Notice I said District and not a building designated as having historic value. And, notice this height restriction is applicable to new development on vacant land (infill). The fear is that tall buildings will destroy the historic character.

This certainly has merit, but developers argue that 75 is too restrictive for them to take the investment risk. This too has merit. Recommendations from the Final Report have already been posited - develop only infill lots on the perimeter of the district to height no more than 90 ft.

Of course there is much more to it. But even these considerations were absent at the recent meeting. It seems to me that it would have made a great starting point.

See the following article from perservationonline for a decent understanding of the problem: "Growing Pains As Portland Plans To Revitalize a Historic District, Some Say There's Such a Thing as Standing Too Tall."

Despite the 'talk' of the entire District, the focus is and will continue to be only on the Ankeny Burnside portion where for 30 years or so the Saturday Market could be found. This is but a small area of the District.

The focus is there, if for no other reason, because that is the new location of the University of Oregon and Mercy Corp. This should be a good thing, but Saturday Market is still in peril. That is another story.

But - I got this twinge though that the wheel was about to be reinvented. It seemed - and I may be too early for this view - that the prior work - extensive as it was - that went into the Final Report will be ignored.

I have some first hand knowledge of the Ankeny Burnside projects not only because of my blog but because I was a member of the stakeholder advisory committees for the permanent home for Saturday Market and the Ankeny Burnside Development Framework and was on the vendor selection committee for the implementation of the Phase 1 recommendations.

An issue missed although not within this committee's purview - is the need for public dollars. Isn't it a waste of time to redesign the code to permit development/redevelopment in the District? Why? Without the influx of public investment dollars - the District, and Old Town, will remain undeveloped.

There seems little chance of private investment whether the code is redesigned to permit increased height or not. Arguably, redesigned code would attract private investment, but public assistance will still be needed even if less.

One reason is because many of the buildings in the District need seismic upgrade which has been estimated to add at least $100 per square foot to any building rehabilitation.

An interesting discussion was had about the use of the Ladd Cast Iron Collection owned by PDC. Basically these are storefront elements saved from the demolition of many historic (before the protective classification) buildings. This collection has immense historical value.

For a feel of the collection see "Cast from the past: Historic iron vs. modern-day design in Portland," Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland).

But, it seems to me that there is no serious intent to use this collection. There is this attitude that it is important to maintain the history of an area - but not this part of the history. There is a lot of lip service, but no action. It is an observation folks. I have sat in these meetings.

Another issue for me - true for virtually all consultants' work - is that they continually search outside of Portland, in fact Oregon, for examples of what could be done. This is pure nonsense especially when the cities used in the comparison have little to no similarities.

Portland is not similar to Denver, Miami or San Francisco. Portland has a rich and unique historical presence. Do we really need to look elsewhere?

Isn't the real issue modifying, or not, the code sections to encourage development in the historic district without loss of character? The Final Report on Ankeny Burnside addressed possibilities more than enough - now it is time for action.

With all my reservations - I have great expectations that this committee will produce usable recommendations - but the question remains - will they be adopted?


http://blog.oregonlive.com/oldtown/2...trict_cod.html

[MarkDaMan]

White Stag Block leaves UO architecture students in lurch
Program administrators once talked about being there in December 2007; a move won’t happen until summer ’08 at best
Daily Journal of Commerce
POSTED: 06:00 AM PST Monday, January 14, 2008
BY TYLER GRAF

To walk through the White Stag Block, one still needs a hard hat. But if all goes according to plan, in less than a month the last construction phase will pass, and tenants, including the University of Oregon, will start their move-in process in earnest.

The building’s redeveloper, Venerable Properties, has until Feb. 8 to meet the University of Oregon’s deadline, and despite past delays, Venerable president Art DeMuro sees no more splintered promises, no more hopes bent like a poorly hammered nail.

But it wasn’t long ago that DeMuro and his team optimistically forecasted a December move-in for tenants, including the architecture program. Then construction and design delays hampered progress.

“We lost that (date) several months ago,” DeMuro said.

The building’s delays were a protracted annoyance to Jon Vann, an architecture graduate student in his final year and an intern for Portland architect Barry Smith. He expected to spend his final months in the relative comfort of one of Portland’s most historic and architecturally significant buildings, but delays kept moving the date back.

And although most of the university’s Portland-campus students will start class this spring, architecture graduate students will not move into the building until over the summer, when many students, including Vann, will have graduated.

“It’s a disappointment,” Vann said. “At first I heard rumors that we might move during the summer of 2007, and then that got firmed up into summer ’07-slash-January ’08.”

The main problem initially, says Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Terri Warpinski, was the communication between department heads and architects. The time required for faculty to explain their design needs to architects took longer than expected – and with more help from consultants.

“We weren’t ahead of the curve in terms of knowing what our needs were,” Warpinski said.

Their needs, in fact, were ambitious.

The new building will include a new library for architecture and journalism students, many additional program-specific classrooms, additional hang-out space and video conferencing that will allow students in Eugene and Portland to listen and watch the same lecture.

And there was another problem with making the building work: Retrofitting a historic building to meet LEED standards “takes an extraordinarily long time,” Warpinski said.

By moving the architecture program over the summer, the university says it’s protecting students from undue hardship. But by doing so, it might disappoint the students who anticipated the move the most.

Forcing students to move to a new location while they’re working on their final projects could, the university says, create a disruptive learning environment. Architecture graduate students start their final projects this month.

“If they cannot finish their projects, then it is much more of a problem,” said Hajo Neis, an assistant architecture professor.

Vann, the student, sees it differently.

“That’s stupid. The thing is, you have to move in and out of studio every term anyway,” said Vann, who’s working on his master’s thesis.

And although the university may be the site’s largest tenant, it isn’t the only tenant. Others are making their staggered entrance into the renovated building.

Some of these spaces are also running behind schedule, due primarily to leasing agreements signed later in the construction process. Everpower Renewables, a small wind power company, doesn’t expect it will move into the White Stag Block until April because the company only recently signed a lease, said the project’s job manager Erica Ceder, of architectural firm Fletcher Farr Ayotte. Other university departments signed up later in the process as well and will be moving into the building later than expected.

“There is still area for lease within the building,” Ceder said.

The building’s eventual completion will give the architecture school a renewed lease on the future.

Not only will the University of Oregon’s Portland campus expand, the university says, but so will the prominence of Portland’s architecture program. That’s welcome news to Vann, even if he won’t be able to take advantage of the new space or the proposed allied arts research center that Neis envisions.

Nonetheless, having the Portland program be recognized as a legitimate extension of the Eugene campus is important to Vann, who believes it will better serve the program and fill a disconnect among students.

The sentiment is shared among the university’s administrators, Warpinski says. The entire construction process is part of a unifying experience, blueprinting a future that has more prominence and permanence in Portland.

“It’s kind of weird, because in Eugene you have more of a ‘community’ at school – people who do their work there and it’s a social hub – and here it feels a lot more like an office,” Vann said. “Even within the architecture department in Eugene, you might as well be telling people, ‘Yeah, I go to school on the moon.’ Nobody knows about us.”
http://www.djcoregon.com/articleDeta...talked-about-b

[sopdx]

Vann is ready to enter the world of architecture with the expressive ability of a third grader.

[zilfondel]

^ which is good, because the average US citizen has the artistic education of a 3rd-grader.

[bvpcvm]

anyone else heard of this? (scroll down)

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/...35133885183300

Sten to Old Town: Let’s deal

Urban renewal cash offered in exchange for homeless center

By Chris Lydgate
The Portland Tribune, Jan 15, 2008 (11 Reader comments)

As the clock ticks on the remaining months of his tenure at City Hall, Commissioner Erik Sten is taking off the kid gloves.

At a heated neighborhood meeting last week, Commissioner Sten proposed the raw elements of a deal that could reshape the face of Old Town for years to come.

Stripped to its essentials, it went like this: Landowners and business interests should swallow their reservations and let the city build a new homeless center in Old Town – in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars of development subsidies in a new urban renewal district.
Homeless advocates cheered Sten’s horse-trading; reaction among developers in the audience ranged from discomfort to outrage. “It was thinly disguised extortion,” developer John Beardsley fumed.

“So many people were upset,” said Carol McCreary, president of the Old Town Chinatown Neighborhood Association.

Sten is pushing for a new “homeless access center” to replace the dilapidated shelter run by Transition Projects Inc. at 475 N.W. Glisan St.

The proposal calls for a shelter, day room, dining hall, enclosed courtyard, retail and underground parking, topped by at least four floors of affordable housing.

Although several sites are under consideration, the most likely location for the center is Block 25, also known as the “Dirty Duck block,” a grimy chunk of Old Town real estate bordered by Northwest Flanders and Glisan streets and Third and Fourth avenues.

The Blanchet House, which provides meals to the homeless, occupies a building in the block, and also would upgrade its facilities under the plan.
Predictably, the plan has sparked opposition from neighbors, who argue that Old Town already shoulders more than its fair share of homeless services.

Chinatown leaders fear the center will tarnish the area’s image.

“This neighborhood is ready to tip over,” said Grace Lee, executive director of the Portland Classical Chinese Garden, which sits cater-cornered from Block 25. Other neighbors complain that the location took them by surprise and claim the city hasn’t followed its own procedures.

Sten started off by arguing for the access center on its own merits, arguing that the phenomenon of homeless people thronging on sidewalks outside Transition Projects’ existing shelter was a direct result of its outdated facility – and a shortage of affordable housing to help move people off the streets.

For those members of the audience who remained skeptical, Sten dangled a monumental consolation prize.

‘The moment is now’

Sten chairs a committee that is in the process of redrawing two urban renewal districts that are set to expire.

If Old Town is drawn into the boundary of the prosperous River District, Sten said, somewhere on the order of $300 million to $400 million of urban renewal money would flow to Old Town developers – but only if the neighborhood access center gets built.

“The moment is now,” Sten told the overflow crowd at the meeting of the Old Town Chinatown Visions Committee. “I implore you not to let your dislike of aspects of this process kill this opportunity.”

While some opponents resented what they considered brass-knuckle tactics, others accentuated the positive.

“He was pretty blunt,” said Lee of the Chinese garden. “But I think that ‘threat’ is too strong a word. I look at it as an opportunity to fight for dollars to balance the equation.”

Along with the tantalizing prospect of urban renewal funds, Sten lobbed a grenade at one particular project. The city, which bought the decrepit Grove Hotel at 421 W. Burnside St. last year for $1.8 million, ultimately plans to bulldoze the building to make way for a two-block grocery project envisioned by developer David Gold on the so-called Goldsmith Blocks.

But, Sten said, the council might change its mind and maintain the Grove Hotel and its 70 units of low-income housing unless the access center proceeds.

“If this thing implodes, the likelihood of the Grove going away is very small,” he said. “I’m willing to be the scapegoat.” Sten, Portland’s longest-serving city commissioner, recently announced that he will resign his seat by April 1.

Boundaries will move soon

With Sten’s departure around the corner, opponents may try to stall the plan until he is safely bundled off into retirement.

Unfortunately for them, Sten has inoculated himself against delaying tactics because the boundaries of the urban renewal districts will be redrawn before he leaves office – by a committee that he chairs.

Sten’s ability to direct urban renewal money is a direct result of the City Council’s move to wrest control of the Portland Development Commission’s budget, which was approved by voters in May.

During that debate, City Hall watchers voiced concern that the PDC was originally designed to be independent from the City Council so as to insulate it from politics.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” says former Mayor Vera Katz, who says she watched the council’s colonization of the PDC “with some degree of horror.”
Sten aide Margaret Bax denied the suggestion that the commissioner was using the urban renewal money for political ends.

“I don’t know if you’d call it horse-trading,” she said. “We can’t do the access center if we don’t expand the River District.”

She also said that her boss remains flexible about the final location of the homeless center, so long as it stays in Old Town, and pointed out that the purpose of urban renewal money is to fix up the run-down parts of the city and combat squalor – exactly, she said, what the project is intended to do.

chrislydgate@portlandtribune.com

[pdxman]

Might this be the Uwajimaya we had talked about a few weeks back?

[MarkDaMan]

Developing dilemma
Project sparks debate over future of 'gritty' Old Town neighborhood
Portland Business Journal - by Andy Giegerich Business Journal staff writer
Cathy Cheney | Portland Business Journal

Ryan Buchanan can't imagine a better place to do business in Portland.

Buchanan, CEO of interactive marketing company Eroi Inc., and several investors acquired four contiguous buildings in Portland's Chinatown neighborhood last year. He loves the neighborhood for its ample eatery options, its proximity to downtown and its grit.

"We know there's a lot of transitional stuff the area's working on, but from a creative standpoint, it's great," said Buchanan, who has moved his fast-growing company there.

Yet as fledgling businesses like Eroi enter the hard scrabble Chinatown and Old Town areas, worlds have collided, leading some to wonder whether the area can enhance Portland's commercial climate.

As a proposed $15 million-plus homeless services center espoused by Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten gains more attention, some say the neighborhood's emerging issues smack of gentrification that pits developers against the homeless.

They also believe the impending City Council decision over the center's proposed Northwest Glisan Street site will indicate whether the area will remain an epicenter for human and social services or become, like the abutting Pearl District, an economic powerhouse.

The access center would try to help homeless persons attain housing. It would also provide health-related services and job-training programs. The 18,000-square-foot facility could include three floors of low-income and work force housing, including one floor dedicated to housing homeless women.

Neighborhood business owners are haltingly backing the notion partly because they fear that Sten could politically thwart more development in the area. Sten heads a committee that's considering whether to annex Old Town and Chinatown into the River District urban renewal area.

Nonetheless, opponents say the center could actually deter growth because it would sit on the so-called Block 25, considered a prime real estate location. David Gold, one of Buchanan's co-investors and a developer who owns several neighborhood properties, said he'll back the plan if neighbors eventually do so, but he sees better options for what's effectively Chinatown's north entrance.

"I just think that other locations that aren't on the tipping point of development would be more appropriate," said Gold.

Sten doesn't buy the argument because the center would look like a glossy condominium building designed to contain the sprawl of people now on the streets.

"For decades, this gateway has been this decrepit block, and the idea is to build something nice and architecturally significant," he said. "I think people are confusing form and function."

Does it fit?

Old Town and Chinatown have long provided a haven for social services. Transition Projects Inc., which would provide services in the new center, is there, as are Sisters of the Road and Central City Concern.

Yet it's also home to such splashy new developments that will house the University of Oregon and Mercy Corps International. As a result, some say the access center may not be a perfect fit with the changing neighborhood.

"We were blindsided by this," said Carol McCreary, a neighborhood activist. "This is a neighborhood that meets all the time and does extensive research on complex issues."

While Sten's Jan. 9 appearance before the neighborhood's top planning group mollified matters a bit, opponents say he failed to consult the neighborhood's long-term planning edicts before siting the project there. It could tilt the balance of services and affordable housing allowed under their "Visions" plan.

Some neighbors preferred several other neighborhood blocks for the proposal. Others argue that the center's services menu would attract too much foot traffic. The center would include a cyber cafe, a Laundromat and pet day care spaces.

Buchanan said many business owners support the area's social services cadre but believe the city could spread some programs more evenly across downtown.

"There's a lot of great high-paying jobs" moving into the area, he said. "It would be a shame to slow that momentum down with something that kind of takes it in the opposite direction."

Yet supporters say businesses will benefit simply because the center, which would offer services from the homeless advocacy group Transition Projects Inc., would eliminate groups from forming on the sidewalks. The move would ostensibly make the area more palatable for retailers.

Howard Weiner, owner of Cal Skate Skateboards, said the center will help the neighborhood retain its current balance.

"I want to see a neighborhood that is supportive of business but at the same time supports social services," he said. "We have that, plus we have a thriving nightlife district."
Different sites

The area also has several empty sites that, detractors say, might be better for a new homeless center. Along with Block 25, Sten had considered siting the center on the A & N Block at Northwest Third Avenue and Glisan and the Block P site, the northeast corner of Northwest Fourth and Glisan.

But the A & N site was judged too difficult for residents to reach. The city also couldn't reach a deal to purchase the Block P site, owned by the Goodman family.

"I think [opponents] believed it would go on one of the other blocks, but they were going on a wish and a prayer," said Doreen Binder, executive director for Transition Projects Inc. "There are so many variables here that we have to be more open-minded and more conscious about what this means."

Binder is keeping a close eye on the possible urban renewal designation.

The Old Town/Chinatown area would benefit from an urban renewal annexation because it would fold into the River District area. The River District includes the Pearl District, which, because of its myriad projects, could generate a steady stream of tax-increment revenue that could help better develop Old Town/Chinatown.

However some feel Sten "horse-traded" the center's construction for the potential urban renewal bounty. Sten disputes the characterization, saying that the City Council would never approve expanding the boundaries without providing improved homeless services.

In the meantime, neighbors are making one last push to promote other potential access center sites, including one next to Portland's Union Station.

Plus, Commissioner Randy Leonard wants to relocate a women's center to Northwest Fifth Avenue.

agiegerich@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3419
http://portland.bizjournals.com/port...ml?t=printable

[mcbaby]

Originally Posted by pdxman

Might this be the Uwajimaya we had talked about a few weeks back?

Uwajimaya would be awesome! An Asian supermarket in China Town. Wouldn't that be great.

[MarkDaMan]

Mercy Corps likes platinum for new HQ

The new Old Town-Chinatown headquarters for Mercy Corps will aim for the highest rating in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

The Portland-based international relief agency received a $650,000 grant from the Lemelson Foundation to pack its $25 million project with green features that save water and energy and prevent storm water runoff.

Mercy Corps said it wants its new building to qualify for a LEED platinum rating, the highest available.

The new facility will be Mercy Corps' global headquarters. It will have a living roof to contain storm water, high-efficiency energy systems and its own solar power generator, which will provide about 8 percent of the building's energy needs.

Mercy Corps said it has a large interest in sustainable development. Through its climate change initiative, the organization supports efforts to mitigate environmental impacts that contribute to the severity and frequency of the floods, droughts, hurricanes and other natural disasters that necessitate its work.
http://portland.bizjournals.com/port...ml?t=printable

[PDX City-State]

http://www.portlandspaces.net/blog/t...meless-taj-mah

[pdxman]

Looks like Uwajimaya is a go Maybe