Pearl District News

[philopdx]

Upon first glance at the render, I thought the same thing, since it looked a bit too sterile for retail. But I base my assertion on the following evidence:

http://www.ziba.com/pdfs/press/gbwithrender.pdf

"The new 70,000-square-foot building designed by Portland firm Holst Architecture will unite a rapidly growing Ziba staff, which is currently spread out over two separate buildings on N.W. 11th Avenue. In line with Ziba’s design approach, the company’s new headquarters will reflect a total “design” experience by including ground floor space for retailers and services focusing on design, and an auditorium in which to host design-oriented events that are open to the public. "

[Delaney]

Rick Potestio's version was two floors - if I remember correctly from the previous design review there was limited FAR due to previous agreements. This is definitely three stories with ground floor retail. Better for the surrounding context for sure. With all the great bookstores in Portland, I was thinking a bookstore focused on design is needed - what a great place this would be for it! Too bad I don't know anything about running bookstores.

[Aya Murase]

Maybe we could get Peter Miller to open a bookstore in Portland?

http://petermiller.com/

[Delaney]

http://www.neighborhoodnotes.com/LU_...28Mar25%29.pdf

[Castillonis]

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Is the plumbing below used for rainwater or sewage? The pipe running into it is black and aproximately 3-4 inches in outer diameter.
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NOTE: I took these photos on Sat 05Apr08. I was using a lens cloth, but it was difficult to keep my lens dry.

[Castillonis]

Philo's nice shot was taken from the SE facing NW.

This shot was taken from the NE facing SW.


NOTE: I took this photo on Sat 05Apr08

[Castillonis]

Taken from the NE corner looking SW. I had difficulty keeping my len dry today even though I had a lens cloth in my pocket.



NOTE: I took this photo on Sat 05Apr08

[Castillonis]

There were construction workers in buckets at both buildings this Saturday.

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NOTE: I took these photos on Sat 05Apr08

[zilfondel]

Having first visited this site around 10 years ago, I still can't believe how much the area has changed. Scale... change.

[dkealoha]

From Neighborhood Notes (www.neighborhoodnotes.com)

Pearl District's first hotel one step closer to reality...
And it's not what or where you think.

We've all heard the rumors about the Customs House Hotel and heard rumblings about a hotel planned north of Lovejoy by Hoyt Street Properties, but now we actually have a proposal on the table.

There is a nice little slice of real estate between 14th and 15th Avenues at Irving, nestled between Gann Publishing and The Avenue Lofts. We've seen it used as storage space for the Bridgeport Brewpub's iron trestle (put back in place between the brewpub and Wyatt Apartments last summer) and most recently as a parking lot, but on April 15, discussions will begin on a more permanent use, as the location of the Pearl District's first hotel.

The proposed 6-story, 116 room hotel with ground floor "amenities" will be developed by Opus Northwest and designed by SERA Architects in partnership with a yet undisclosed hotel operator. This project is currently in the pre-application process with a pre-application conference scheduled at 9 a.m., April 15 at 1900 SW 4th Avenue, 4th Floor, Room 4a.

Stay tuned for more details.

[MarkDaMan]

Looks like it will be a business class hotel. This is great for the Pearl.

[westsider]

Originally Posted by Castillonis

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Thats natural gas plumbing and regulators.

[MarkDaMan]

Gerding Edlen transforms Meier & Frank warehouse
LEED criteria, historic designation present challenges
Portland Business Journal - by Rebecca Ragain Contributing writer

Obtaining platinum-level LEED certification for a new building is challenging. Obtaining it for an existing building is even more so.

But that's Gerding Edlen Development Co.'s goal for the former Meier & Frank Delivery Depot in the Pearl District. Gerding Edlen purchased the old warehouse in October for $15 million and is converting it to commercial use.

Renovation could start as early as May. When finished, the 185,000-square-foot building, located at 1417 N.W. Everett St., will offer 120,000 square feet for commercial tenants.

About 12,500 square feet on the ground floor is allocated to retail, and the rest to parking. The second floor will be parking; the third and fourth floors will be devoted to office space. A fifth-floor penthouse will be added as office space.

Earning platinum certification -- the top ranking under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program -- creates one set of stringent criteria. Adhering to restrictions stemming from placement of the 1928 building on the National Register of Historic Places creates a second set.

"The biggest challenge is trying to incorporate all of our features and systems that will allow us to achieve our goal from a sustainability standpoint," says Kelly Saito, a managing principal at Gerding Edlen. "Projections at this point have the building at 50 percent more efficient than code, which is a pretty big step."

Phillip Beyl, a principal at project designer GBD Architects, agrees that meeting aggressive sustainability targets while maintaining the integrity of the historic building is a significant challenge.

Beyl says, "With new buildings, we can shape the building design as needed to support what we need to do with various building systems. With an existing building, the building is already shaped and you work within those constraints."

The addition of a penthouse means that structural upgrades will constitute a substantial construction phase for Skanska USA Building Inc., the project's general contractor.

Because of the Meier & Frank building's historic status, the 25,000-square-foot penthouse will be set back from the exterior of the existing building to minimize its visual impact.

Mechanized sun shades on the penthouse's west side will improve energy efficiency. The area surrounding the penthouse will be used for ecoroofing or terraces, and a large photovoltaic array might cover some of the penthouse's roof.

Gerding Edlen has incorporated photovoltaic modules -- a high-tech type of solar panel -- on a number of other Portland properties, including the OHSU Center for Health & Healing and Pearl District condominium tower The Casey.

"This would be a fairly large (array), and we're hopeful we can make that happen," says Saito.

The complexities of state and federal tax credits will largely determine whether or not the photovoltaic array turns out to be financially viable.

The renovation also includes a rainwater collection system that supplies all the water required for flushing toilets, operable windows on three sides of the building, and automated light systems that dim or brighten to compensate for outside light levels.

In terms of footprint, size and scale, Saito compares this renovation to the developer's conversion of another Pearl District warehouse into the headquarters for advertising agency Wieden & Kennedy.

"It's consistent with our other projects in the Pearl," Saito says. "It has a great location, it's a unique building with a history, and it has features to create a unique space that will be interesting, fun, and incredibly sustainable."

The time is right to develop commercial space in the Pearl District, according to Doug Jones, associate vice president at the Portland office of commercial real estate firm NAI Norris Beggs & Simpson.

"Tenants are paying a premium to have office or retail space in the Pearl over the central city market in general, which indicates how strong the Pearl has been," says Jones, who adds that the Pearl's low vacancy rate of about 5 percent demonstrates the need for more commercial opportunities.

Even taking the current economic climate into account, Jones predicts that the space will be highly sought after: "When your vacancy rates are that low, you're well-positioned to weather any short-term storm."

Gerding Edlen plans to have the building largely pre-leased before its completion in the summer of 2009; negotiations are under way with tenants representing 70 to 80 percent of the building.

To help all those tenants fit into the building's parking areas, Gerding Edlen will for the first time incorporate mechanized parking lifts into one of its projects. The hydraulic lift system will allow two cars to be parked in one spot, one vehicle over the other.

"That will be unique, and we still need to get that in and work out the operational aspects associated with that," says Ross Vroman, Skanska USA Building's general manager for the Portland area.

portland@bizjournals.com | 503-274-8733
http://portland.bizjournals.com/port...ml?t=printable

[zilfondel]

can you see the moon?

[MarkDaMan]

New apartment building proposed in Pearl
Project would be first in Oregon for Arizona-based developer
Portland Business Journal - by Wendy Culverwell Business Journal staff writer
View Larger

An Arizona-based residential developer is buying a Pearl District warehouse and will replace it with a five-story luxury apartment building, with space for retail.

Alliance Residential Co., based in Phoenix, is in escrow to buy the Fulfillment Corporation of America Building, 1035 N.W. 14th, for $6.25 million.

On Feb. 26, the City of Portland approved redevelopment plans for the site, which covers all but a small portion of the block. The city-approved plan calls for a 180,000-square-foot apartment building with 14,000 square feet of retail at ground level, 152 residential units and 163 parking stalls below and at grade.

The deal is scheduled to close on July 1, said Isaac Quintero, principal broker for Magellan Properties LLC, which is representing the seller, David Torres Jr.

Torres paid $515,000 for the 42,000-square-foot warehouse in 1986, according to Multnomah County records. Quintero said Torres plans to move the Fulfillment business, an inventory management company, to Beaverton.

The property includes a one-story warehouse covering most of the block bordered by Northwest 14th and 15th avenues and Northwest Marshall and Lovejoy streets. The 4,838-square-foot Lovejoy Corner building occupies the southeast corner and apparently is not part of the sale.

Torres could not be reached for comment on the proposed transaction or his plans to move Fulfillment.

The Pearl District deal represents Alliance's debut deal in Oregon and just its second in the Northwest. It also operates the Shangri-La Apartments in Seattle.

Gary Winkler, a broker specializing in multifamily properties at Colliers International, is skeptical the market will continue to support new luxury apartments. Vacancy rates are low, but condo sales are slowing and owners are putting units on the market as rentals, flooding the market.

And the kind of people moving to Portland aren't demanding that kind of housing, he said. Young people moving to Portland tend to be attracted by the lifestyle, not jobs, he said.

"If you look at in-migration and demographics, they're not the higher end," he said.

The $6.25 million price Alliance reportedly is paying for the site would suggest a high-end project. But Winkler isn't sure that figure is workable, even in the Pearl District where property costs much more than average.

Alliance couldn't be reached to describe what it plans to construct in the Pearl District.

Assuming Alliance builds the 152-unit project on file with the city, it will pay a little more than $41,000 per unit for the land.

That's far above the $10,000 to $15,000 per unit apartment builders typically pay for land here, even factoring in the Pearl District premium, Winkler said.

"That's a tough one," he said.

There remains, however, a strong incentive to develop luxury apartments in the Pearl.

Last May, Trammell Crow Residential sold 10th@Hoyt, an apartment project that resembles the one slated for the Fulfillment property. Like the Fulfillment project, 10th@Hoyt has five stories of apartments over retail space with below-grade parking in the Pearl District. The selling price of $55 million, or $309,000 per unit, remains the record paid for a Portland apartment project.

wculverwell@bizjournals.com | 503-219-3415

[Leo]

"Last May, Trammell Crow Residential sold 10th@Hoyt, an apartment project that resembles the one slated for the Fulfillment property. Like the Fulfillment project, 10th@Hoyt has five stories of apartments over retail space with below-grade parking in the Pearl District. The selling price of $55 million, or $309,000 per unit, remains the record paid for a Portland apartment project."

Really? I thought the Oregonian reported this weekend that the new owners of the Wyatt paid almost $500,000 per unit.

It sounds like Pearl District is about to be flooded with rental units over the next few years.

[Dougall5505]

from flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/52483798@N00/
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[philopdx]

Update 4-19-08:

[MarkDaMan]

what a difference a couple weeks make!

[MarkDaMan]

Tamarack sinks roots in Portland’s South Waterfront
The Williams & Dame project will bypass LEED certification in favor of Earth Advantage standards
Daily Journal of Commerce
POSTED: 06:00 AM PDT Wednesday, April 23, 2008
BY SAM BENNETT

In a neighborhood where tall, thin towers are clustered to make the most of their urban setting and take in the view of Mount Hood, The Tamarack apartment building will attempt to hold its own ground.

“I’m trying to make the building stand tall and proud down there,” said Marc Nordean, project architect with Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects. “It is a design challenge, by the nature of its size.”

The Tamarack will offer five levels of affordable housing on what is known as Block 49, at the south end of Portland’s South Waterfront neighborhood. The block is bordered by Southwest Bond and Moody avenues and Lowell and Bancroft streets.

Construction on the wood-frame, 209-unit building begins this summer and it will open in the summer of 2009. Walsh Construction is the general contractor, Ankrom Moisan is the architect and Otak is the landscape architect. The developer is Williams & Dame Development.

Mimicking South Waterfront high-end condo tower designs, which mostly use window curtain walls, would have been prohibitively expensive for an affordable housing project. So, the primary materials for the five floors of housing at The Tamarack will be brick and metal.

“We wanted to have simple, modern materials,” said Nordean. Accents of burnt orange are used on window frames and recessed deck areas.

Nordean said the window arrangements are designed to give The Tamarack a “modern vertical expression” by grouping the windows in stacks, like ribbons going up the facades.

The five floors of brick will float on a glass base, which houses retail. On the north side, the brick will be brought to the sidewalk level to “create a sense of welcome” to the project, for those who come from the north on the Portland streetcar or by auto.

The north side will be adjacent to the terminus of the streetcar, and will have an extra-wide sidewalk to accommodate people who gather before getting on the streetcar.

On the south side of the building, pedestrians will find a one-story tall green screen that features burnt-orange panels and a metal screen covered by vines that will boast red blooms in the fall. The green screen is an eco-friendly method of covering fire access to the second level, Nordean said.

Near the base of the green screen will be a runnel that feeds from the second level. The plaza will be a lid over an at-grade parking lot with 50 spaces. Otak’s Kerry Lankford said the second level plaza gardens will feature a boardwalk, benches and native plantings, which conserve water.

The building’s stormwater will be collected and used for irrigation, with excess water being diverted to the runnel that emerges by the green screen. Lankford said the sustainable landscape design “is pretty unique for low income housing.” One-hundred percent of rainwater will be diverted and treated in the courtyard, she said.

The Tamarack is designed to be a certified Earth Advantage building, Nordean said. Earth Advantage is a sustainable rating system similar to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, but Earth Advantage uses on-site inspections to verify green elements, whereas the LEED system is self-reporting.

The building will have no air conditioning; instead it will use high performance tilt-turn windows – opening at the top, to allow warm air to escape in the summer. Units will be individually heated. In addition, The Tamarack will have a high-efficiency natural gas water heating system.

The building will be available to those who qualify for affordable housing, which means people who make between 30 percent and 60 percent of local median income. In addition, some of the units will be set aside for veterans who have been either physically injured or are “experiencing emotional issues,” according to John Warren, senior development manager at Portland Development Commission.

He said the vets would likely be those who have seen active duty in the Iraq War, the Gulf War and combat in Afghanistan, and could make use of support services offered by the Portland VA Medical Center on Marquam Hill.

The Tamarack will also have an office for Veterans Administration support services.

The project, with its blend of affordable housing and housing for vets, could become a “national model for how to do (veterans’ housing) well,” according to Warren

“The building is unique in its innovative characteristics, in terms of its location and mixed-income community,” he said.
http://www.djcoregon.com/articleDeta...ass-LEED-certi