Portland Infill | Northwest Portland

[cityscapes]

I forgot what this one is called but here's an update. I drove by the other day and it's nearly complete street trees are in etc.

[urbanlife]

This one kind of disappoints me, I was expecting the design to be a little bit more bold. I don't know if I am thinking of another building but I feel like the original design for this building looked much better than what was built.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

This one kind of disappoints me, I was expecting the design to be a little bit more bold. I don't know if I am thinking of another building but I feel like the original design for this building looked much better than what was built.

I believe that this is developer Parker McNulty's development on NW 23rd between Thurman and Vaughn.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by DMH

I believe that this is developer Parker McNulty's development on NW 23rd between Thurman and Vaughn.

Was this building still being designed from WorksPA? Because I feel like I remember it being a design from them that looked much sleeker than this.

[Rob Nob]

It is WPA: https://www.nextportland.com/2017/03/02/1825-nw-23rd/

In design it is a relatively bulky building trying to look smaller, but it's successful and feels very urban with how that area is moving forward. Feels European.

I live around the corner and it was a tight and messy site but with few people working. It may have some construction quality issues. Especially where the trades come together (and seal up the building), steel to concrete to masonry to sheathing to waterproofing to cladding and flashing. I don't know who the GC is but it was really drawn out where I never felt like construction was going full steam or smooth.

[bvpcvm]

I live nearby too and that building has taken FOREVER. I like the design though, glad to see it come to fruition. I worry a bit that that part of 23rd is busy and not very ped friendly. OTOH, I saw a NWDA planning document that mentioned they expect Aramark to move out of the property across the street in the next 5 years, so maybe there will be more development that helps change the character of that block a bit.

[eric cantona]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Was this building still being designed from WorksPA? Because I feel like I remember it being a design from them that looked much sleeker than this.

Worked on this. It looks very similar to the intent and renderings.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by eric cantona

Worked on this. It looks very similar to the intent and renderings.

I must have been thinking of a different building. I will have to see this one in person now that it's done.

[pdxsg34]

Originally Posted by eric cantona

Worked on this. It looks very similar to the intent and renderings.

Why do projects like these take so long to construct? Cost, yes, but why exactly? I was excited to see the Solace Apartments on N Vancouver and Shaver rise, and they had started construction in Jan 2017. I moved to NYC in late 2018 and moved back in late 2020, and it STILL wasn't completed. It's still not technically complete, over 4 years later. Why can the Broadway Tower take half the time to complete than a 5-story infill?

[Rob Nob]

Originally Posted by pdxsg34

Why do projects like these take so long to construct? Cost, yes, but why exactly? I was excited to see the Solace Apartments on N Vancouver and Shaver rise, and they had started construction in Jan 2017. I moved to NYC in late 2018 and moved back in late 2020, and it STILL wasn't completed. It's still not technically complete, over 4 years later. Why can the Broadway Tower take half the time to complete than a 5-story infill?

I can't say definitively that this is the case, but I have worked on similar zero lot line buildings and some contractors just don't have the experience to work efficiently without staging and storage and elbow room on the site. The trades can end up all on top of each other, or spread out too much. It takes pretty complicated material scheduling, construction sequencing, and you have to have the right experienced team.

[eric cantona]

Originally Posted by Rob Nob

I can't say definitively that this is the case, but I have worked on similar zero lot line buildings and some contractors just don't have the experience to work efficiently without staging and storage and elbow room on the site. The trades can end up all on top of each other, or spread out too much. It takes pretty complicated material scheduling, construction sequencing, and you have to have the right experienced team.

I'm not entirely sure. I left for another job shortly after submitting final plans. Construction did seem to take forever. If memory serves the developer was not terribly experienced so that have contributed.

[QAtheSky]

This slabtown adjacent project has turned out well, no retail yet for obvious reasons but its a nice street level experience.

It manages to be one of the more imposing buildings in the new neighborhood on account of all its lower lying neighbors.

[urbanlife]

Yeah, that was quite a big apartment building to watch go up. My father-in-law did all his cancer treatments over there, so I ended up walking around this area a lot while waiting. (just for the record, he is doing good, he beat cancer and has mostly recovered.)

[pdxsg34]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

(just for the record, he is doing good, he beat cancer and has mostly recovered.)

Here, here

[maccoinnich]

NW 23rd & Marshall Drawings (19 MB) and Overview, including renderings (8MB)

[2oh1]

Wow, that only took 20 years. I've never understood how such a great spot could sit vacant for sooooooo loooooong.

I wonder how long before the buildings a block to the south come down too (23rd, between Lovejoy & Marshall).

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by 2oh1

Wow, that only took 20 years. I've never understood how such a great spot could sit vacant for sooooooo loooooong.

I wonder how long before the buildings a block to the south come down too (23rd, between Lovejoy & Marshall).

I am going off of memory, so I could be wrong, but I remember reading an article in the WWeek probably a decade ago talking about this site. The person who owned the building owned a bunch of buildings and died which left it to a family member or something that lived out of state and had zero interest in dealing with the building and had no interest in selling it. Eventually the site has finally sold and something is finally gonna get built on such a prime location.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

I am going off of memory, so I could be wrong, but I remember reading an article in the WWeek probably a decade ago talking about this site. The person who owned the building owned a bunch of buildings and died which left it to a family member or something that lived out of state and had zero interest in dealing with the building and had no interest in selling it. Eventually the site has finally sold and something is finally gonna get built on such a prime location.

Your recall is pretty close to what I have heard about the "Quality Pie" site on NW 23rd. It was the indifference or inaction of family heirs that kept the building from being maintained or developed.

Something similar happened at the one-story building on the SE corner of NW 21st and Northrup. For years, it too stood empty and poorly maintained for similar reasons. More recently it was mostly restored though I do not think there is a tenant.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by DMH

Your recall is pretty close to what I have heard about the "Quality Pie" site on NW 23rd. It was the indifference or inaction of family heirs that kept the building from being maintained or developed.

Something similar happened at the one-story building on the SE corner of NW 21st and Northrup. For years, it too stood empty and poorly maintained for similar reasons. More recently it was mostly restored though I do not think there is a tenant.

It is always weird when you come across buildings like that in hot spots that are just sitting under used because the owner just doesn't care. I remember a boarded up brownstone in Brooklyn's Park Slope that made no sense why the building was the way it was when surrounding buildings were selling for $4 million.

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

NW 23rd & Marshall Drawings (19 MB) and Overview, including renderings (8MB)

Final Finding and Decision by the Design Commission.

The project has now been appealed to City Council.