PORTLAND | Project Rundown (U/C, Approved, Proposed, On Hold, Just Completed)

[PuyoPiyo]

Originally Posted by Dougall5505

its taller than many existing buildings in portland

I mean those three existing tallest buildings in Portland. That new building is not the tallest than those three existing buildings in Portland, the KOIN Tower, Wells Fargo Tower, and the big pink building..

[NYC2ATX]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

^it is an early rumor that has been batted around the NW forum for a few months, but Gerding-Edlen is looking at the possibility of building Portland's new tallest on the block next to the Moyer tower. They would have to get city hall approval for any proposal rising above 460', but it isn't just a pipe dream anymore, someone is actually working on it.

really, that makes me feel a little better

this may be a stupid question, but what/where is the Moyer tower?

[MarkDaMan]

^the Moyer tower is Park Avenue West, the 410' tower located behind Nordstrom.



the block next to this soon to be developed block is a city owned parking garage. The PDC has issued an RFP for either an addition to the garage development, or a complete demo and rebuild. Early leaked Gerding-Edlen information said they were looking at building two twin 460' towers. Lately I've been hearing it would be one tower, and test Portland's height limits. I'd expect to hear something within the year as the the downtown urban renewal district expires in '08, I think.

[Dougall5505]

^i hope they build something similar to what they are planning in boston: a tower that is on pillars so there is public space beneath. I don't know how pratical that would be but it would be cool
these pictures are of a building that same develeper that is building park avenue west build a couple years ago
Moyer's last beautey





these are the buildings that are going to be replaced by park avenue west













and i liked this one it has so many different types of architecture plus american spirit!

[MarkDaMan]

New Portland State University Rec Center on the 'edge' of the West End.

[samoen313]

Granted its a wee bit outside the scope of the West End, but how come there don't seem to be many projects for the numerous empty lots between sw 4th, washington, naito, and burnside? its right next to the river, in downtown, etc. am i missing something?

[MarkDaMan]

^that's waiting for the Oak Tower which will be a catalyst project. Mercy Corps is moving their headquarters into the Skidmore building, with an expansion. The Portland Fire Station 1 will undergo an renovation and expansion, and the UofO's architectural school will open in a year. You should probably see more out of that area when the Oak Tower (325') by Trammell Crow get's under construction.

[cab]

Goodmans hold back a lot of development. Basically any place that isn't seeing development count on the Goodmans owning a lot of that areas land. They just don't build.

[NYC2ATX]

I'm seeing the number 325' a lot. Is that making anyone else uncomfortable?

[MarkDaMan]

^not really. Portland is still a mid sized market and building a 750' condo or office tower would be too much of a market saturation, considering we have several local and aggressive developers placing buildings up what seems like every 4 blocks. I guess if each developer limited themseleves to one building at a time, the heights could increase. What I see happening is another decade of up to 500' towers and when downtown land starts becoming more scarce, as it is already beginning too, the height will be taller and less projects will be ongoing. Also, in the early Pearl everything was a 6-10 story building, now everything is starting at 15-20 story but we might have a 325' proposed near the Metropolitan. Since Moyer has proposed a 410' in the West End and some developers have been hoping for an increase of the 325' cap in SoWa, I'm hoping the next wave will be from 325' to the 460' current height limit, but I am curious as to who is lobbying city hall to raise those limits.

Even with a bunch of 325's the streetlife in downtown is absolutely thriving. Each building really adds their own addition to the downtown environment.

[brandonpdx]

^plus a lot of us in Portland don't think bigger is better. we don't have this dogmatic fixation of building taller for the sake of building taller. A lot of us like to protect our views from our parks. we like it when the sun isn't clouded out by a bunch of buildings with their ominous shadows overtaking the streets. So, no I am not uncomfortable with 325' I like low rise cities ala Europe.

[der Reisender]

mark, do you know where along the Oak Tower is in the whole process? when could we realistically expect to see ground broken? and i'm glad to hear that GE is pushing the height limits and working on those blocks around the Galleria

[NYC2ATX]

^^^ This is true, i've been to Portland before. I love the look of it, I mean I really love it there. My only fear, and i think i may have mentioned this before on this thread, is of the skyline plateauing, which would not look good. I always felt that a key factor in a great skyline is a texture when it comes to height. I'd even go for more infill projects that are a little, or much, shorter. Just no Portland plateau please!

Mark, I do agree with one thing tho. I think the height limit in SoWa should increase, only because there are like 5 or 6 proposed projects all at 325'. That might look a little odd, you know?

[colemonkee]

The PSU Rec Center building looks great. When is that supposed to start construction?

[WestCoast]

this city is great. I'm looking at buying a condo downtown and the sales lady was talking about all the new buildings that might block the views.

looks great though, can't wait to see what the future brings

[Dougall5505]

this thread is dead ill try and perform cpr
park avenue west 410' 35 stories

impact on skyline its probably a little taller then this render

first and main redesign



zgf tower redesign

[der Reisender]

while we're trying to revive the thread, here's some proposals we may not have either

we got the Mirabella proposal for SoWa



and theres the Metropolitan for SW 14th/Morrison

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by der Reisender

mark, do you know where along the Oak Tower is in the whole process? when could we realistically expect to see ground broken?

nope, Commissioner Leonard has this project held up in audits and such. As you probably know, the ground is already broken and dug out about 3 or 4 stories of parking from the previous building that was demolished. If Trammell Crow would stop asking for subsidies and pay market rate for the land, the tower could begin immediately, but that isn't going to happen. Although, TC said recently they've plopped too much money on this lot not to see it through, so it's still coming.

Originally Posted by StatenIslander

Mark, I do agree with one thing tho. I think the height limit in SoWa should increase, only because there are like 5 or 6 proposed projects all at 325'. That might look a little odd, you know?

When I was walking through the district on Saturday, I'm not sure a bunch of 325' would look wierd. There is a lot of space between buildings and at least from the street level, the height differences between the Meriwether Towers, Atwater, and John Ross are hardly noticable. As for a skyline shot, the 325' footers allows downtown's towers to peak above the SoWa towers, making the skyline look like there isn't a half mile desert between the two districts.

Originally Posted by colemonkee

The PSU Rec Center building looks great. When is that supposed to start construction?

I've heard as early as this fall. I believe they are still doing some fundraising.

[Mpls Son]

Portland has a mediocre skyline at best right now and I don't see any one project above that really will help redefine it. However, the collection of high rise condo buildings going up along the south waterfront (placement?) will add a much more cosmopolitan feel to the city I'm sure. With your highest skyscraper being around 500 feet, however, it will continue to look squat, kind of like Baltimore's. I hope the city will approve some slender talls that top 750 to add a little bit of shape to the skyline rather than the blocky mid-talls that currently exist. I'm pulling for ya!

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

^that's waiting for the Oak Tower which will be a catalyst project. Mercy Corps is moving their headquarters into the Skidmore building, with an expansion. The Portland Fire Station 1 will undergo an renovation and expansion, and the UofO's architectural school will open in a year. You should probably see more out of that area when the Oak Tower (325') by Trammell Crow get's under construction.

The Fire Station was abandoned, wasn't it? Last I heard that the costs had gone up (duh!).

I'm pretty shocked that there are so many vacant lots along the riverfront as well... perhaps once Naito Parkway construction is finished and it gets more ped friendly we'll see some development. Also, didn't one of the landowners promise several new buildings near Burnside as part of the Burnside/Couch couplet?