South Waterfront News

[2oh1]

Hhhmmmm... I don't know.

I don't mind the fact that they're all stubby, though towers would of course be better... but I feel like this section of the neighborhood lacks a sense of place.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

Very sad. Just a bunch of short stubby buildings now

I don't think it is sad at all, they are a cluster of 6-7 story buildings which is a great height for creating an urban environment. Plus I like that we are seeing buildings that aren't towers in SoWa, I was originally expecting the area to be an entire district of towers with little activity on the streetfront. Adding in these shorter buildings gives the whole district some characteristics that make it feel more grounded and usable.

[downtownpdx]

I can forgive the lack of more skinny talls if they really create quality, inviting public spaces, which looks to be the case with the plaza by the 'barn' buildings.

I'm excited to see what they do with the waterfront, aren't there plans for a pier of sorts? Sorry a bit off topic but I just really wanna see Portland do more with its waterfront areas.

[innovativethinking]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

I don't think it is sad at all, they are a cluster of 6-7 story buildings which is a great height for creating an urban environment. Plus I like that we are seeing buildings that aren't towers in SoWa, I was originally expecting the area to be an entire district of towers with little activity on the streetfront. Adding in these shorter buildings gives the whole district some characteristics that make it feel more grounded and usable.

That's the problem. All they do is add these "shorter buildings". Atleast switch it up every now and then. Also tall towers can give a neighborhood a sense of place as well. You just gotta design the ground floor to be more inviting that connects to the surrounding streets.

IMO SoWa is an underwhelming wasted area

[soleri]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

That's the problem. All they do is add these "shorter buildings". Atleast switch it up every now and then. Also tall towers can give a neighborhood a sense of place as well. You just gotta design the ground floor to be more inviting that connects to the surrounding streets.

IMO SoWa is an underwhelming wasted area

The problem is that developers don't build to satisfy our priapic obsessions. While we should encourage - and maybe even demand - better design, it's the underlying economic facts that determine what gets built. There's no solution here to untenable demands. Love the world as it is, not as you think it should be.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

That's the problem. All they do is add these "shorter buildings". Atleast switch it up every now and then.

You worry too much about how Portland looks in postcards and not enough about livability. There's nothing innovative about that.

Originally Posted by soleri

Love the world as it is, not as you think it should be.

YES.

And take steps to make the world a better place rather than dedicating your existence to bemoaning the ways it isn't good enough for you. Go to college. Study architecture and urban planning, and perhaps sociology too. Take a few classes on economics as well.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

That's the problem. All they do is add these "shorter buildings". Atleast switch it up every now and then. Also tall towers can give a neighborhood a sense of place as well. You just gotta design the ground floor to be more inviting that connects to the surrounding streets.

IMO SoWa is an underwhelming wasted area

Barcelona is an entire city full of these shorter buildings and life there is amazing as a city. Towers do not add to a neighborhood, they are just tall towers. Have you ever hung around the SoWa towers and thought to yourself "wow, this is such an active neighborhood thanks to these towers." The parts that make a neighborhood active are how the building interacts with the street, not with how tall it is. I would rather have a bunch of shorter buildings full of retail space along the streets than towers with plazas and lobbies interacting with the streets.

I completely disagree with you that SoWa is an underwhelming wasted area because it is still a young, growing neighborhood. That would be like saying that about the Pearl District in 2002 when it was only a small portion of the Pearl is today, and they were mostly building these shorter buildings. Today the Pearl is one of our most active neighborhoods.

I don't care how Portland looks from a distance for those that just want a tall skyline, I care about how Portland functions at the street level where those that live in Portland interact with it daily.

[innovativethinking]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Barcelona is an entire city full of these shorter buildings and life there is amazing as a city. Towers do not add to a neighborhood, they are just tall towers. Have you ever hung around the SoWa towers and thought to yourself "wow, this is such an active neighborhood thanks to these towers." The parts that make a neighborhood active are how the building interacts with the street, not with how tall it is. I would rather have a bunch of shorter buildings full of retail space along the streets than towers with plazas and lobbies interacting with the streets.

I completely disagree with you that SoWa is an underwhelming wasted area because it is still a young, growing neighborhood. That would be like saying that about the Pearl District in 2002 when it was only a small portion of the Pearl is today, and they were mostly building these shorter buildings. Today the Pearl is one of our most active neighborhoods.

I don't care how Portland looks from a distance for those that just want a tall skyline, I care about how Portland functions at the street level where those that live in Portland interact with it daily.

That's what you don't get. You can do both..

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

That's what you don't get. You can do both..

You don't understand any of what leads to shorter buildings instead of towers despite people trying to explain it to you many times. As you build taller, costs increase significantly, which means prices increase significantly for whatever the building will house. Apartments? They'll get significantly more expensive to rent, and the top of the market isn't where the housing need is. Condos? They'll get significantly more expensive to buy, and the top of the market isn't where the housing need is. It makes absolutely no sense for developers to build something they can't fill. Portland already has more than enough housing for the rich.

This isn't Lego, man. This is real life.

No amount of complaining is going to make developers build what they cannot get financed because the projects don't pencil out. No amount of complaining will help you understand why Portland isn't the kind of city you want it to be, and no amount of complaining is going to bring down the cost of construction which has risen considerably even just since the towers in SOWA were built.

You do realize developing is a for profit business, right? If towers were where the profits are, they'd be building 'em on every lot they could get their hands on.

[tworivers]

Iphone pics from last Thursday. The parking garage is looking like the unfortunate blight upon an otherwise potentially-exceptional environment that I expected it to be. Kitty-corner from the central park of the neighborhood, too. SMH.

The Ross Island Bridge would appear to be getting a nice coat of blue paint.











Looking out across the Zidell property.





Knight cancer building:







Ross Island Bridge:

[Derek]

SOUTH WATERFRONT BLOCKS 41 AND 44 APPROVED (IMAGES)

The Design Commission has approved two seven story mixed use buildings proposed by developer Cairn Pacific on South Waterfront Blocks 41 and 44. The buildings, designed in partnership by Jones Architecture and GBD Architects, will together include 524 residential units. Landscape design for the development is being done by PLACE.

(continues below...)

http://www.nextportland.com/2017/10/...cks-41-and-44/

[maccoinnich]

Notice of a Public Hearing for Block 40

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Notice of a Public Hearing for Block 40

They're holding on to a lot of developable FAR. Proposed 3.55:1 and 3.94:1 with allowable 6:1 throughout the development. I haven't really paid attention, have the other 1 or 2 over 5s proposed and built been leaving this much FAR on the table in the South Waterfront?

[maccoinnich]

Staff Report and Drawings [66 MB] for Block 40.

[QAtheSky]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Staff Report and Drawings [66 MB] for Block 40.

If I had to describe the style with one word it would be "Seattle". I also imagine those courtyards are going to feel a bit bleak.

But, I like the pedestrian walkway between the buildings with retail spots flanking the entry on Moody.

[cityscapes]

These are really bad especially for a highly visible site. I’m glad the staff report shows that city staff aren’t going to let this one get by as easily as The Ella. You’d think the developer would use a Portland based architecture firm that knows how to sail through the design review process for a project this large. Having to go through so many different iterations probably increases their costs.

[cab]

Do the Architects for these terrible designs believe they do a good job? I'm serious. Do they really think this is a well done building or do they just crap out this garbage to make a buck? I just can't pin point the issue with why so much crap is being built. Shitty Architects or just sell outs building what a developer wants. I'm leaning toward bad architects because even on the cheap you can do better then this. Your basic cart village has more welcoming, place making design that costs basically nothing then some of these highly paid architecture firms are spitting out.

[subterranean]

I don't see the problem, save for a bit of blandness on the white one. Why is this objectively "bad" in your eyes?

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by cab

Do the Architects for these terrible designs believe they do a good job? I'm serious. Do they really think this is a well done building or do they just crap out this garbage to make a buck? I just can't pin point the issue with why so much crap is being built. Shitty Architects or just sell outs building what a developer wants. I'm leaning toward bad architects because even on the cheap you can do better then this. Your basic cart village has more welcoming, place making design that costs basically nothing then some of these highly paid architecture firms are spitting out.

I'm not defending these designs at all, but comparing 7 story residential buildings to single story structures that are exempt from building and zoning code regulation is a little ridiculous.

Also, lol @ "highly paid".

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by subterranean

I don't see the problem, save for a bit of blandness on the white one. Why is this objectively "bad" in your eyes?

I'm with you here. These look like perfectly adequate infill buildings.