Portland Infill | Southeast Portland

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by PDXDENSITY

"but said there will not likely be any retail component."

Why not? SE 6th and Morrison is really close to the streetcar! Such a lack of imagination from these developers. Couldn't ground retail be necessary in that location?

It's kind of surprising to me too. Between Grand Central Bowling, Cascade Brewing, Dig A Pony, Bunk Sandwiches and the Goat Blocks, there is an emerging retail/dining/entertainment corridor there.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by PDXDENSITY

"but said there will not likely be any retail component."

Why not? SE 6th and Morrison is really close to the streetcar! Such a lack of imagination from these developers. Couldn't ground retail be necessary in that location?

I hope that gets changed, the location of that block makes sense to put in retail along the first floor. Not sure why any developer would be against making more money.

[maccoinnich]

Despite what I just said above, retail isn't the guaranteed money-maker that residential is. It could be that they think they would have a hard time leasing units on that street.

[PDXDENSITY]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Despite what I just said above, retail isn't the guaranteed money-maker that residential is. It could be that they think they would have a hard time leasing units on that street.

Which is exactly why I think it should be zoned to require retail. It would add to the vitality of the central city to have a retail zone on the east side, centrally located.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Despite what I just said above, retail isn't the guaranteed money-maker that residential is. It could be that they think they would have a hard time leasing units on that street.

Just looking at the block, one would think that running retail along Morrison would make sense and go along with all the other retail that is along that street. I would understand if they didn't want to risk running it down Belmont.

[pdxtraveler]

I have to agree. I am not an advocate for retail in EVERY building, just think that would leave to many spaces not attractive for retail. But this location screams out for retail. IMHO... lol!

[NESteve]

I know its been said many times before, but Mill Creek builds crap and the Central Eastside is now the latest victim. Disagree? Go check out Saiver Flats. What a s**t box. The Benevento right next door really makes it clear what suburban crap Mill Creek is bringing to the core. Sure, it serves a purpose (housing). That's about it.

Mill Creek is a merchant builder and will sell this project to a REIT or pension fund buyer just like all the others, so they build them as cheaply and quickly as possible. The minimize ground floor retail because institutional buyers hate ground floor retail because of the management headaches and unpredictability...

Sad.

[pdxtraveler]

Originally Posted by NESteve

I know its been said many times before, but Mill Creek builds crap and the Central Eastside is now the latest victim. Disagree? Go check out Saiver Flats. What a s**t box. The Benevento right next door really makes it clear what suburban crap Mill Creek is bringing to the core. Sure, it serves a purpose (housing). That's about it.

Mill Creek is a merchant builder and will sell this project to a REIT or pension fund buyer just like all the others, so they build them as cheaply and quickly as possible. The minimize ground floor retail because institutional buyers hate ground floor retail because of the management headaches and unpredictability...

Sad.

Savier Flats has retail along 23rd where it makes sense. Not sure what the problem is with that project.

[NESteve]

Originally Posted by pdxtraveler

Savier Flats has retail along 23rd where it makes sense. Not sure what the problem is with that project.

No offense, but have you seen Savier Flats? Sure it has ground floor retail along 23rd, but otherwise the building is a monument to fiber cement siding and vinyl windows...done up in full faux historic grandeur! No imagination whatsoever on that one...

[crow]

Originally Posted by NESteve

No offense, but have you seen Savier Flats? Sure it has ground floor retail along 23rd, but otherwise the building is a monument to fiber cement siding and vinyl windows...done up in full faux historic grandeur! No imagination whatsoever on that one...

Agree 100%.

[philopdx]

Lompoc sure isn't the same in the new building.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by philopdx

Lompoc sure isn't the same in the new building.

You're talking about their NW 23rd location, right? Yeah, it's kind of heartbreaking. The New Old Lompoc was one of my favorite pubs. It had the perfect sort of lived-in charm. It was dumpy on first glance, but after hanging out there once or twice, it felt like home away from home. I used to love going there during less busy hours - mid afternoon - for beer & board games with friends.

The new pub feels so corporate. It's tiny and, unless something has drastically changed since the last time I was there, it's OMFG LOUD even when there aren't many people there. It's a frigging echo chamber, and it's not a comfortable place to hang out anymore. And I haven't even mentioned the loss of their great patio space. The new Lompoc is such a bummer. I love their beer, but I hate the new pub.

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

It's kind of surprising to me too. Between Grand Central Bowling, Cascade Brewing, Dig A Pony, Bunk Sandwiches and the Goat Blocks, there is an emerging retail/dining/entertainment corridor there.

A lot more than that, as well:

You forgot the annual Oregon Cheese Festival, Robo Taco, Star Bar, Holocene, Sassy's, several Cafes, River City Bicycles (and their outlet store), Distillery Row, Green Dragon, Cascade Ale Brewing, and not last, but certainly not least: the Multnomah County Elections office.

[maccoinnich]

Permit issued for a new apartment building at SE 20th & Morrison, currently a vacant lot.

NEW 51 UNIT-4 STORY APARTMENT BUILDING WITH PARKING IN BASEMENT*future mechanical permit - unit in basement requires mechanical ventilation.

Sadly the applicant is Urban Development Group, who don't do great work.

[maccoinnich]

Some photos of Washington High School, from their Facebook page, where you can also find erudite comments like this:

You think freshly painted lockers look " ... great .."? What's ... what's wrong with you? Do you not have a life? Are perhaps you some sort of weird perv? Would I want my children, had I any, to attend a school where the management rhapsodizes about how "great" lockers look? I think not. They're just lockers, for God's sake. You calling these lockers "great" indicates a level of strange, bizarre values, of infected groupthink, that just boggles the mind.

How about "OK." As in, "The lockers look OK, I guess, if one gives the matter the very small amount of thought it deserves." For a principal to stand in the hall, rubbing his hands with glee over how "great" the lockers look, sounds like something from one of those adults-are-idiots high school life films.

[RED_PDXer]

those lockers do look great!

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by RED_PDXer

those lockers do look great!

The lockers look OK, I guess.

...lol

[maccoinnich]

What is it with the Portland's city government not getting on with Greeks?

Saki’s Big Bet

The city says Saki Tzantarmas is holding his East Portland neighborhood hostage.




Saki Tzantarmas turns on the lights in the kingdom he built, leans against a table, and starts to cry.
The ultraviolet fluorescent beams illuminate an expansive banquet hall he’s named the Parthenon, a room filled with two dozen tables, Doric columns, wall-to-wall mirrors, a disco ball and a white gazebo for weddings.

It’s just one room in the New Copper Penny Bar & Grill, Tzantarmas’ drinking campus that takes up 29,767 square feet—and a full city block—at the corner of Southeast 92nd Avenue and Foster Road in the East Portland neighborhood of Lents.

At 78, Tzantarmas might be expected to bask in his triumphs as a Greek immigrant who made good.

But he says he’s in agony. He can’t sleep. He lies awake wondering what he’s done wrong.

All this pain started when he asked the city of Portland for $5.5 million.

...continues at the Willamette Week.

[maccoinnich]

Details of New Music Venue at Washington High School Released

True West and Mississippi Studios partner on state-of-the-art 850-seat theater called Revolution Hall, scheduled to open in 2015.



Back in July, rumors circulated that the redevelopment of George Washington High School in Southeast Portland would include converting the school's auditorium into a live music venue. That has now been confirmed: An 850-seat event space, dubbed Revolution Hall, is tentatively slated to open on the site of the long-shuttered Buckman neighborhood campus in February 2015.

In essence, the Rev (that's how we're all eventually going to refer to the place, right?) will be something of an expanded Aladdin Theater—or, if you prefer, a more intimate Schnitz. In fact, the project is a partnership between concert promoter True West (which books the Aladdin) and Mississippi Studios owner Jim Brunberg. The room has been entirely rebuilt but, in a McMenamins-like touch, will retain "all of the historic charm of the original 1922 theater, as well as many touches from its most recent high school iteration," according to the official press release. There will be two full-service bars inside the building, Martha's and Great Meadows—the latter doubling as a cafe and market with daytime hours—in addition to a 200-capacity roof deck, available for private events.

...continues at the Willamette Week.

[zilfondel]

Wow, I am totally blown away with the Washington High School renovation. I honestly never thought the project would ever happen. I remember attending some PICA events a few years ago, and thought the space and old structure was an amazing opportunity.

Such an iconic building worth preserving, unlike the maternity ward in NW Portland.