Old Town/Chinatown News

[johnliu]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Honestly not in love with the idea of buying this building to demolish it.



...continues at the Oregonian.

Demolish a building housing 70 low income tenants in SRO to build another building housing low income tenants. Hmm. Isn't there a strip mall or parking lot somewhere that can be developed instead?

[maccoinnich]

There are parking lots already owned by the City of Portland within a couple blocks of this site. NW Natural has a lease on the surface parking at the Blanchet House block, but that will expire when they move out of Old Town in 2020.

[maccoinnich]

Ava Gene's owners opening new downtown Portland restaurant



Submarine Hospitality, owners of Ava Gene's and Tusk, are partnering with London-based hotel group The Hoxton to open a new restaurant and two bars in Old Town-Chinatown, the hotel announced Thursday.

The project was the talk of last night's Feast Portland kick-off party: Johnny Leach, last seen running the kitchen at the short-lived modern Mexican restaurant Chalino, will reprise that role at La Neta, an all-day "Mexican-inspired" restaurant anchoring the food and beverage program at The Hoxton.

Leach, who spent time at top New York City restaurants before returning to Oregon in 2014, plans to feature seasonal Northwest produce at La Neta. The restaurant will join other Portland-area restaurants including Xico and Little Conejo with its own in-house masa program for tortillas and more, created through a collaboration with heirloom corn distributor Masienda.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[maccoinnich]

In Portland’s Old Town Chinatown, a $57 million rebirth promise broken



It was supposed to be a new beginning for one of the grittiest neighborhoods in Portland.

The City Council, led by then-Mayor Charlie Hales, adopted an ambitious plan in 2014 to reinvent Old Town Chinatown. The “action plan” called for repairing the neighborhood’s tumbledown buildings and crumbling façades. It promised hundreds of new jobs and affordable apartments.

The plan, backed with a $57 million budget, said crime would be tamped down in the neighborhood, known mostly for its soup kitchens and raucous nightclubs.

Hales promised to deliver. “We will, I believe, look back on this and say, ‘That paid off,’” he said at the time.

But four years later, almost none of that has happened.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[urbanlife]

Well that article really showcases why Mayor Hales was such a bad mayor for the city. It is going to take years reversing his mistakes and unfortunately may of his mistakes will probably last for generations.

[cab]

Historic review is a huge issue for Old town. They killed multiple buildings because of height. Get rid of the height issue and this area would thrive.

[maccoinnich]

Chinatown’s New, Restaurant-Packed Hotel Is as Cozy as It Is Chic



The hip Chinatown hotel packed with restaurants and bars now has an opening date — or three. The Hoxton, a new Portland outpost of a London-based hotel chain, will open its doors to Portlanders November 12, soon to be followed by its restaurant and bars. La Neta, an all-day Mexican restaurant, will deliver churro waffles and tlacoyos on the ground floor the day the hotel opens. Conservatory-style rooftop bar Tope will hawk tacos and mezcal cocktails in a glistening white-and-gold dining room starting November 29. And beneath it all, the unnamed basement bar will start slinging revamped Chinese-American classics in a speakeasy-style cocktail lounge December 4. All three will serve diners in some of Portland’s coolest new interiors this year.

The Hoxton’s opening also serves as the grand return of Johnny Leach, formerly of the N. Williams Mexican restaurant Chalino. Leach will run each of the spaces with big-name restaurateur Joshua McFadden’s restaurant group, Submarine Hospitality. Those who don’t know Leach may recognize his pearly collection of past employers: The Oregon native spent years in big-deal New York kitchens like Momofuku Ko and Del Posto. Leach met McFadden while in New York, and for the four years Leach has been back, he and the Ava Gene’s chef-owner have talked about opening a seasonal Latin American restaurant — Leach’s grandfather is hispanic, and he grew up visiting him in Seattle for bowls of pozole. When The Hoxton reached out to McFadden about his restaurant group running the culinary program, he knew exactly who he wanted in the kitchens. Below, peer inside the team’s three new spots before they slowly open doors.

...continues at Eater Portland.

[downtownpdx]

Very cool. What a great project for this neighborhood. Hopefully it can help spark a revitalized Old Town, in the same way the Jupiter/Doug Fir did for lower Burnside. Although the homeless issues in Old Town are always a big hurdle.

[pdxtraveler]

I think I will love the basement bar. It looks cozy.

[maccoinnich]

First look: Hoxton Hotel to open in Portland's Old Town Chinatown



A onetime eyesore next to Portland's Chinatown Gate reopens this month as the newest location for a trendy European hotel chain.

The Hoxton is the second U.S. location after one opened in the hip Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York.

That says much about this hotel's preferred niche. It's built for the Instagram generation; millennials are a significant and growing force in business and leisure travel.

The Hoxton, at 15 N.W. Fourth Ave., includes the original three-story Grove Hotel, which dates to 1907, but many of the larger guest rooms are in a nine-story addition, which includes a rooftop restaurant and a speakeasy-style basement bar.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[maccoinnich]

Notice of a Pre-Application Conference for the PAE Living Building Concept Design at SW 1st and Pine:

A Pre-Application Conference to discuss construction of a new 5-story building. The buidling will have 57,000 square feet in floor area. (57,000 gsf). The ground level is proposed for retail uses and floors 2-5 for office uses. No parking or loading spaces are proposed.

[downtownpdx]

Currently a parking lot, I hope?

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Currently a parking lot, I hope?

Yep

[maccoinnich]

Posting Notice for the PAE Living Building

[maccoinnich]

New Chinatown Museum Open In Portland



The Portland Chinatown Museum opened this December with the aim of illustrating the seldom-told story of Chinese Americans in the Pacific Northwest.

It’s not a big museum and it’s only open Thursday through Sunday — in the afternoons. But visitors can learn a lot about Portland’s history as they walk through.

The exhibit called ‘Beyond The Gate’ was first displayed by the Oregon Historical Society in 2016. The director there, Kerry Tymchuck, said it uses old Chinese opera costumes, rare artifacts, theatrical sets and texts to tell the story of contact and trade between China and the West — particularly in Portland.

...continues at OPB.

[pdxsg34]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Posting Notice for the PAE Living Building

Noticed this rendering in this Bizjournal arictle released today: Why Portland needs a Living Building

[AdamUrbanist]

I like the direction ZGF is going with this. I'm curious to see how the HRC reacts.

[maccoinnich]

A Hip New Taco Bar Is Open on West Burnside



Tope, the new taco bar from the folks behind Ava Gene’s, is now open in the Hoxton hotel, making it the last restaurant or bar to open within the new Burnside hotspot. Last year, the fine-ish dining spot La Neta opened on the hotel’s ground floor, and a Chinese-American speakeasy began serving chow mein in a basement bar without an opening announcement.

Tope got things started with a big New Year’s Eve party, opening for real on the first day of 2019. The foundation of chef Johnny Leach’s menu is seven tacos, including favorites like al pastor with roasted pineapple and beef tongue (or lengua). Vegetarians may prefer the cauliflower taco with mole or the restaurant’s tlayuda, a Oaxacan dish in which a bed of tortillas gets a dose of refried beans, vegetables, and cheese, almost like a flatbread or pizza. Meat eaters are definitely the ones to benefit, however, with a fried chicken cemita and a Sonoran hot dog rounding out the menu.

...continues at Eater Portland.

[maccoinnich]

PAE Living Building drawings [10 MB]

[BrG]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

PAE Living Building drawings [10 MB]

The project looks like a very nicely funded and executed office building. Kudos for the Living Building approach. A question for the group, if someone attended the hearing or works with ZGF - How did the Landmarks Commission feel about the design expression? It's very well presented and organized, but did it convince the commissioners of the design expression?