Hyatt at the Oregon Convention Center | 180'-6" | 14 floors | Complete

[PDX City-State]

HQ Hotel Approved by Metro! Hurdles still exist, but this is another one cleared.

PORTLAND, Ore. (PORTLAND TRIBUNE) — The Metro Council approved the financing and development plans for a Headquarters Hotel near the Oregon Convention Center on Thursday.

Opposing local hotel owners pledged to keep fighting the project.

Full article to follow at KOIN.com

http://koin.com/2014/06/26/metro-approves-convention-center-hotel-plan/

[Derek]

I wish they'd start construction this summer instead of next summer!

[Photogeric]

Yeah they will need to if they hope to grab the next available NBA All Star Game!

[maccoinnich]

This is starting to look real. I wonder when we'll see Design Review documents?

Portland Development Commission prepares to sell parcel for convention hotel site

http://imgick.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/width620/img/front-porch/photo/13363482-mmmain.jpg

By Elliot Njus

The Portland Development Commission is preparing to sell a parcel of land for a planned, taxpayer-backed hotel near the Oregon Convention Center.

The PDC board is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to sell the 0.31-acre parcel just north of the convention center for $1.3 million. That's $320,000 short of the $1.62 million the agency's appraiser said it was worth earlier this year.

An appraisal paid for by the developer, Mortenson Construction, put the land's value at $1 million. After negotiations and a discussion between the two appraisers, they agreed to split the difference.



...continues at the Oregonian (http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/08/portland_development_commissio_5.html#incart_river).

[Derek]

Yay Olive commenters!!

[bvpcvm]

Early assistance intake scheduled (http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/499538). 19-20 stories, above-grade parking.

[maccoinnich]

Block 49 is the vacant lot bound by NE Holladay / Multnomah / 1st / 2nd. 385 parking spaces @ 3-400 sq per space (including circulation) is at least a 3/4 story building. I can barely contain my excitement at the idea of a parking garage fronting onto the MAX, on the only two streets that link the Lloyd District to the Rose Garden.

[Derek]

Block 49 is the vacant lot bound by NE Holladay / Multnomah / 1st / 2nd. 385 parking spaces @ 3-400 sq per space (including circulation) is at least a 3/4 story building. I can barely contain my excitement at the idea of a parking garage fronting onto the MAX, on the only two streets that link the Lloyd District to the Rose Garden.


I'm more concerned about the McDonald's going in right across from PAW...:shrug:

[maccoinnich]

I'm more concerned about the McDonald's going in right across from PAW...:shrug:

Good catch. Maybe they'll make it look like one of those European McDonald's (http://style-files.com/2007/10/11/mcdonalds/) with Arne Jacobsen furniture? Maybe?

http://style-files.com/images/mcdonalds500x303

[philopdx]

I'm more concerned about the McDonald's going in right across from PAW...:shrug:

Oh no. I can only imagine enjoying a lovely afternoon sitting outside at the Montmarte Brasserie whilst being spit on and yelled at by street kids next door.

P.S. - That street is entirely in shade now in the afternoon with PAW going up.

[maccoinnich]

PDC board votes 4-0 to sell the small parcel of land (https://twitter.com/pdxdevelopment/status/499581812041994241) needed to build the convention center hotel.

[Photogeric]

So what does that mean exactly? Does this thing have the green light to move forward, at least into the permitting process?

[maccoinnich]

Just a step in the process really. Looks like they're moving into the first stages of the Design Review process. Once that's completed, they can submit for a building permit. Although there's some overlap, Design Review is mostly concerned with external appearance and the impact on the neighborhood / city, while a building permit is more about the safety of the occupants of the building. According to this document (http://www.oregonmetro.gov/sites/default/files/Hotel%20fact%20sheet.pdf), they're not expecting to start construction until summer 2015.

[2oh1]

I'm more concerned about the McDonald's going in right across from PAW...:shrug:

Wait. Whut? ...? What space are they moving into?

[bvpcvm]

The empty space where the jewelry store used to be.

[cab]

Even Venice has McDonald's. As long as it doesn't have a drive through, its fine. You need a diverse mix of stores.

[cityscapes]

In terms of the McDonald's most new ones I've seen have very nice interiors and exteriors so I wouldn't be too concerned.

Back to the convention center, do you all think that rendering of the hotel is set in stone or is it liable to change?

[zilfondel]

Even Venice has McDonald's. As long as it doesn't have a drive through, its fine. You need a diverse mix of stores.

Yeah, but this is Portland, not Venice. We don't dump sewage into our waterways anymore! ;)

/jk

[maccoinnich]

Design Advice Request (http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/6931290/) moving forward. Nothing available for the public to see yet except this text:

APPLICANT: Carolyn Forsyth, Ankrom Moisan Architects ADDRESS: Southern portion of Blocks 47 and 48 bounded by NE MLK, Holladay, 2nd and Multnomah, and Block 49 in its entirety A Design Advice Request for a potential headquarters hotel for the Oregon Convention Center, including a related public parking garage. Hotel will be 19-21 stories tall, with 600 guest rooms, plus conference areas and related back-of-house spaces totaling around 450,000 SF. The garage will be above grade with approximately 385 spaces. The location of the required Superblock plaza will be the focus of this initial Design Advice.

[robocop]

Any speculation on how tall this tower may be in terms of feet? At 19-21 stories I would have to assume no less than 150'

[65MAX]

Any speculation on how tall this tower may be in terms of feet? At 19-21 stories I would have to assume no less than 150'

150'? That would be less than 8 feet floor-to-floor. Are you sure you didn't mean 250'?

[maccoinnich]

Posting Notice (http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/6931295/view/EA%2014-194555%20DA%20-%20Oregon%20Convention%20Center%20Hotel%20-%20Posting%20Notice.PDF) [PDF] for Design Advice Request. No drawings yet.

[maccoinnich]

Metro asks court to shut down HQ hotel opponents' legal challenge

Alli Pyrah

Metro has filed a motion for summary judgement, asking to shut down a legal challenge by opponents of plans for a publicly subsidized hotel just north of the Oregon Convention Center.

The motion, filed Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, argues that it has the authority to authorize the issuance of $60 million in bonds for the project without putting the matter to the ballot. It says Metro's charter explicitly authorizes it to issue revenue bonds without a public vote. Other sources of funding for the project include $10 million in Oregon Lottery bond revenues, a $4 million loan from the Portland Development Commission and a $4 million grant from Metro.



...continues at Portland Business Journal (http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2014/08/metro-asks-court-to-shut-down-hq-hotel-opponents.html).

[AcmeGreg]

Well, this is the SKYSCRAPER forum after all so our primary interest is in seeing more sky (er, stump) scrapers rise in Stumptown, am I right? Let's brush aside these naysayers and get on with it!

There are no doubt many valid reasons for the hospitality industry here to be concerned/upset/jealous whatever of the financing arrangement for this hotel. It would no doubt be preferable if a major player such as Hyatt, currently without a presence in the central city, would realize the opportunity at hand and do this deal on their own, but apparently that's not in the cards. That being the case, I think that the city has an obligation to the taxpayers who paid the bill for the original convention center – and its subsequent expansion – to make sure the facility is as successful as possible at realizing its full potential. I mean, I love going to the local arts & crafts show there every year, but seriously is that the type of event we built (and expanded!) this thing for?

That being said I'm not sure how a 600-room hotel is going to help bring major conventions to Portland, but even if it lures more modest-sized gatherings of 2.5 to 5k seems like it would be a plus for everyone including the hotels that are griping about the deal. There just aren't that many total rooms in this city.

Seems to me that perhaps ZGF should have been in on the design of this thing. Like to see it resonate/harmonize better with the architecture of the convention center.

[NJD]

I just noticed that the 385 stall above-ground parking garage for this project is located on that block that was proposed to be an office tower (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=138883) a few years back... guess that one is officially dead, along with any energy that double MAX station accessible corner could ever have...

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e214/couvttocs/100multnomah.jpg
ankrom moisan

[MarkDaMan]

^The hotel parking garage is at the western edge of the hotel's 'superblock' (where the two small building are to the left of the building in that rendering) not the block of the proposed office building. If you look at the Hyatt rendering, it actually shows the building.

[maccoinnich]

The design advice request states that they'll be using the entirety of block 49, for a 385 space parking structure. The render is ancient. I wouldn't put any faith in it.

[NJD]

Exactly, the new DAR shows it

[MarkDaMan]

The design advice request states that they'll be using the entirety of block 49, for a 385 space parking structure. The render is ancient. I wouldn't put any faith in it.

Well that sucks. Last thing we need in the Lloyd is a full block, above ground, parking garage.

[2oh1]

It especially sucks because it separates Lloyd from the terribly designed Rose Quarter, which is basically a dead zone when there isn't something going on at the Ro... er... Moda Center.

[maccoinnich]

Design Advice Request drawings (http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/6931300/view/Sept.%202,%202014%20EA%2014-194555%20DA%20-%20Oregon%20Convention%20Center%20Hotel%20-%20Drawings.PDF). [PDF - 95MB]. At present, these are mostly site analysis, adjacency diagrams, massing studies etc (ie not even schematic designs). I'll try to post some images tonight. Some good news: the parking structure is going to have ground floor active uses along NE Multnomah and NE Holladay.

[bvpcvm]

I know these are just massing studies, but, wow, I thought it would be a little more prominent on the skyline over there.

[maccoinnich]

Unfortunately, I'm not encouraged by what I'm seeing so far. I realize that superblock plazas are a requirement of the zoning code. I also realize what the intention behind the code requirement is: the addition of plaza at Hassalo on 8th will make it a much better project that it would be without it. In this case however, I think the city would be better served by the architects requesting an adjustment as part of the Design Review process, to reduce the requirement to zero. This area is swimming in leftover space, and the last thing it needs is more. The Convention Center is stepped back from the street by a considerable amount, and Metro just built a nice new full block park a couple blocks away. What the area needs are better defined street edges, to make Martin Luther King Blvd into a great urban street. Instead we have the hotel stepping back from the street. It reminds of the leftover space in front of the US Bancorp Tower at SW 6th & Oak, which GBD & Walker Macy are going to great efforts to fix.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/ScreenShot2014-09-03at94358PM_zps9c1c205c.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/ScreenShot2014-09-03at94358PM_zps9c1c205c.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/ScreenShot2014-09-03at94437PM_zps6dd4bc55.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/ScreenShot2014-09-03at94437PM_zps6dd4bc55.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/ScreenShot2014-09-03at94518PM_zpsaf43d684.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/ScreenShot2014-09-03at94518PM_zpsaf43d684.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/ScreenShot2014-09-03at94456PM_zpsa0dd4688.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/ScreenShot2014-09-03at94456PM_zpsa0dd4688.jpg.html)

[Sioux612]

120'? This is weak considering the size of the city. Is this Portland or Omaha?

[innovativethinking]

120'? This is weak considering the size of the city. Is this Portland or Omaha?



This area isn't downtown anyways. It has it's own style it doesn't need a downtown type tower..

We'll have some major towers being proposed in the next few years downtown. Portland has no office space right now. It'll meet those demands somehow

[Sioux612]

Well, maybe the Curio will impress.

[maccoinnich]

120'? This is weak considering the size of the city. Is this Portland or Omaha?

Where did you see a 120' height? Unless they're expecting all the guests to be LesterCorp employees, a 19-21 story hotel will need to make more use of the 250' height limit.

[davehogan]

Design Advice Request drawings (http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/6931300/view/Sept.%202,%202014%20EA%2014-194555%20DA%20-%20Oregon%20Convention%20Center%20Hotel%20-%20Drawings.PDF). [PDF - 95MB]. At present, these are mostly site analysis, adjacency diagrams, massing studies etc (ie not even schematic designs). I'll try to post some images tonight. Some good news: the parking structure is going to have ground floor active uses along NE Multnomah and NE Holladay.

I know I heard somewhere that there was going to be ground flood retail built into the parking garage. Hopefully that actually happens, but it would seem like being in an event heavy area, with great transit access, right next to a new large hotel, right across the street from a fairly large convention center, and being right across the river from Downtown could sustain a few fast service restaurants. Not necessarily fast food, maybe a burgers and beers or pizza or something place, but it seems like a pretty solid location for a place that could quickly turn lots of people at lunch/in the evening.

Another benefit of a parking garage there is it will help deflect some of the noise from I-5 the hotel would otherwise have to deal with. That won't matter in rooms with great window seals, but at the street level if the hotel builds in any patios to connect to the public spaces (technically allowed with the right permits) and the hotel might help to active the street level as well.

The way the application looks I'd think a smart hotel developer would want to design the lobby bar and restaurant into something that could expand onto the public space outside in good weather. For the right price I doubt the city would say no.

[davehogan]

Where did you see a 120' height? Unless they're expecting all the guests to be LesterCorp employees, a 19-21 story hotel will need to make more use of the 250' height limit.

For perspective: the DoubleTree across from Lloyd Center is 15 floors (190 feet) with two towers and ~450 rooms. This is going to have more rooms on a smaller footprint.

I love the LesterCorp reference, also.

[philopdx]

Where did you see a 120' height? Unless they're expecting all the guests to be LesterCorp employees, a 19-21 story hotel will need to make more use of the 250' height limit.

He must have been looking at the elevation number on page 7.

[cab]

Low ceilings, Nice selling point for NBA allstar game.

[maccoinnich]

He must have been looking at the elevation number on page 7.

Got it. That's the height of the ground above sea level. Not the building height.

[Sioux612]

You gents are right. The render looked so stubby I didn't give it much thought. It certainly looked like a 120' building.

[maccoinnich]

I listened to 3 hours (http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/6931301/) of Design Commission audio so that you don't have to. In summary, all the Commissioner had the same concerns about the superblock plaza that I do.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/ScreenShot2014-09-03at94437PM_zps6dd4bc55.jpg

Their concerns were that one of the biggest problems with MLK Blvd—and the Lloyd District is general—is a lack of defined building edges, and pulling the hotel back from that edge will do nothing to improve that. Given the speed of the traffic on MLK, it's unlikely to be a very welcoming space, no matter how good the landscaping is. Phrases like "windswept plaza" were mentioned.

The applicants were encouraged to look at other ways of meeting the intent of the zoning code, which is to create permeability through large blocks, and avoid oppressively large 400' long facades. They were basically told that if they were able to come up with a better solution to the problem, the Commission would be happy to modify or even waive the superblock plaza requirements.

Potential solutions suggested including making a wider than standard sidewalk along Holladay, with smaller pockets of public space at key points. Another was an atrium open to the public. It wasn't mentioned, but I couldn't help thinking of San Francisco's Privately-Owned Public Open Spaces (POPOS) (http://www.spur.org/sites/default/files/migrated/anchors/popos-guide.pdf) [PDF]. Given how miserable the weather can be in Portland during the winter, wouldn't it lovely to have an indoor winter garden? Some images of how this has been achieved in San Francisco:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/mission_zpscf888251.png (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/mission_zpscf888251.png.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/38_101-and-55-Second-Street_01_zpscfcf9d48.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/38_101-and-55-Second-Street_01_zpscfcf9d48.jpg.html)

101 Second St

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/DSC_1794_zps9df164a1.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/DSC_1794_zps9df164a1.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/IMG_3998_zps2e8d299e.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/IMG_3998_zps2e8d299e.jpg.html)

Citigroup Center

I don't think it's open to the public, but one of my favorite atriums in the world is the Ford Foundation in New York, by my heroes Roche-Dinkeloo:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/FordFoundation1-CopyrightDavidLeventi2013_zpscc2d9d54.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/FordFoundation1-CopyrightDavidLeventi2013_zpscc2d9d54.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/4381379157_3972184953_zps0553c494.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/4381379157_3972184953_zps0553c494.jpg.html)

[maccoinnich]

So does noone other than me have an opinion on the plaza issue? Anyway, the project is having another appearance before the Design Commission (http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/4963598/view/Design%20Commission%20-%20Agenda.PDF) on January 15th. Hopefully they're taking their time to rethink the plaza strategy.

[eric cantona]

So does noone other than me have an opinion at the plaza issue? Anyway, the project is having another appearance before the Design Commission (http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/4963598/view/Design%20Commission%20-%20Agenda.PDF) on January 15th. Hopefully they're taking their time to rethink the plaza strategy.

I remember reading your post and thinking you had it spot on. here's another image to add to your collection above:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Kogod_Courtyard_-_Old_Patent_Office_Building.JPG/800px-Kogod_Courtyard_-_Old_Patent_Office_Building.JPG

[maccoinnich]

Where is that? At first I thought it was the British museum courtyard by Foster.

[eric cantona]

Where is that? At first I thought it was the British museum courtyard by Foster.

in DC at the national portrait gallery:

http://www.npg.si.edu/inform/courtyard.html

by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol

[Delaney]

in DC at the national portrait gallery:

http://www.npg.si.edu/inform/courtyard.html

by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol

... and probably more importantly Sir Norman Foster:

http://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/smithsonian-institution/

[bvpcvm]

So does noone other than me have an opinion on the plaza issue? Anyway, the project is having another appearance before the Design Commission (http://efiles.portlandoregon.gov/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/4963598/view/Design%20Commission%20-%20Agenda.PDF) on January 15th. Hopefully they're taking their time to rethink the plaza strategy.

I agree fully with what you said; I just didn't comment, because "hey I think so too" doesn't add much to the conversation. Let's hope whatever gets built is better than this.

[65MAX]

Plazas need well-defined edges to be successful with active uses all around. Putting a plaza on the NW corner of MLK and Holladay is a huge mistake, because it not only breaks both the MLK and Holladay street walls, but it detracts from the much larger OCC plaza across the street. The hotel needs to be the northern edge of THAT plaza, not trying to provide its own. It would be as if Director Park was built right next to Pioneer Square.... both plazas would suffer from a lack of clearly defined space.

I think because the MAX station is right there, wider sidewalks would be appropriate. But the hotel structure needs to reach all the way to the corner of MLK and Holladay.

[2oh1]

Plazas need well-defined edges to be successful with active uses all around.

I agree completely. A plaza without a well defined edge becomes a vacant space that separates people from whatever is on the other side rather than being a welcoming public space.

[ORNative]

Alright, perhaps someone wiser than I can explain to me why the city and Metro are allowing a parking tower to occupy a lot adjacent to the new HQ Hotel instead of requiring that the parking is incorporated into the hotel tower.
The height limit on the OCC hotel lot is currently 325' and according to Places Over Time blog, article "A Change of Height" from March 2014, the NE Quadrant Plan proposes to increase the height of the hotel lot to 460' with the adoption of the 2035 plan. So, currently the hotel height limit is 325 feet and within the next 12-24 months it is proposed to rise another 135 feet. The hotel is posturing for 19-21 stories and I assume, emphasize assume, that the height would fall between 200 and 230 feet. Next door a parking tower is proposed on a lot that will also increase from a 250 foot height limit to a 325 foot height limit under the 2035 plan. It appears that the parking tower will be located on the lot which was previously identified for the 100 Multnomah office building. This building, I believe, appears in the background of all the Hyatt renderings for the new hotel.
The parking tower will, I assume, be in the range of four to eight stories and take up a block of prime development land. If the city plan is to increase density and height in this area and create an urban center, per the NE Quadrant Plan, then why isn't the city or Metro working toward this right now? Including the parking element within the hotel itself would add height but not exceed the current maximum height limit and it would preserve the neighboring lot for future mixed use, dynamic and dense development centrally located between the Convention Center, Rose Quarter, HQ Hotel and the new east side core.
Other than being potentially more expense for the developer, what am I missing? Shouldn't we plan ahead, using the considerable time and investment in the NE Quadrant Plan to maximize our resources and meet the density goals which were established? Especially when Metro is the agency partnering here, why is a stand alone parking tower even on the table???

[pdxtraveler]

Alright, perhaps someone wiser than I can explain to me why the city and Metro are allowing a parking tower to occupy a lot adjacent to the new HQ Hotel instead of requiring that the parking is incorporated into the hotel tower.
The height limit on the OCC hotel lot is currently 325' and according to Places Over Time blog, article "A Change of Height" from March 2014, the NE Quadrant Plan proposes to increase the height of the hotel lot to 460' with the adoption of the 2035 plan. So, currently the hotel height limit is 325 feet and within the next 12-24 months it is proposed to rise another 135 feet. The hotel is posturing for 19-21 stories and I assume, emphasize assume, that the height would fall between 200 and 230 feet. Next door a parking tower is proposed on a lot that will also increase from a 250 foot height limit to a 325 foot height limit under the 2035 plan. It appears that the parking tower will be located on the lot which was previously identified for the 100 Multnomah office building. This building, I believe, appears in the background of all the Hyatt renderings for the new hotel.
The parking tower will, I assume, be in the range of four to eight stories and take up a block of prime development land. If the city plan is to increase density and height in this area and create an urban center, per the NE Quadrant Plan, then why isn't the city or Metro working toward this right now? Including the parking element within the hotel itself would add height but not exceed the current maximum height limit and it would preserve the neighboring lot for future mixed use, dynamic and dense development centrally located between the Convention Center, Rose Quarter, HQ Hotel and the new east side core.
Other than being potentially more expense for the developer, what am I missing? Shouldn't we plan ahead, using the considerable time and investment in the NE Quadrant Plan to maximize our resources and meet the density goals which were established? Especially when Metro is the agency partnering here, why is a stand alone parking tower even on the table???

I would LOVE to agree. But I think the issue is, this is perilously close to not happening at all. The public is very easily swayed thinking they are picking up the tab, or developers are getting to big a 'handout'. To add millions of extra dollars for underground parking would probably just kill the project right there.

[65MAX]

^^^^
This, plus not every lot, in fact most lots, do not build up to their full height allowance. It would be nice if they would, but not realisitic to expect that to happen on every lot. And I believe the entire ground floor of the parking garage is going to be active pedestrian-oriented spaces.

[Tykendo]

Portland, FLATOUT, is void of movers and shakers in leadership roles to meet the potential of what could, and should be, one of the greatest cities in America. It's ridiculous to think that the "leadership", and i say that laughing, of Portland can't even get this Motel 6 version of a convention center hotel, built. Where are the dreamers and do'ers that want to see Portland succeed. How do these civic fools get voted in. Right now it seems their hopes are to see the Rose City "fail". This thing should be built with an eye on the future. It should be no less than a 1000 rooms, with all the bells and whistles that say, "Portland is a player", come and see. It should be no less than 400 ft., with a rooftop garden, and lounge to open unprecidented views of this beautiful place. There should be an extra effort to design this to make people of all sizes comfortable, and lure every type of convention possible. Some design features that make it an extention of the center would be nice, i.e. Green glass, spire, atrium to bring the beauty of Portland into the hotel. Stop thinking small Portland. The time is NOW! to reach your full potential.

[bvpcvm]

What, are we Seattle now?

[innovativethinking]

What, are we Seattle now?


They have a very beautiful and breathtaking skyline and the above poster has a damn good point. We need to change that "stumptown" persona.

We might not be Seattle but I can tell you we can follow some of their bold thinking..

[soleri]

Just who are the movers and shakers in Portland? Usually, you'd find a local banker, an industrialist, a sports mogul, and possibly a philanthropist. Somehow, it seems different today, the Schnitzers, Naitos, and a Phil Knight notwithstanding. Power appears more diffuse with Portland's agenda being guided more by urban policy than major projects underwritten by Big Money. Count yourself lucky to get Park Avenue West, courtesy of Stoel Rives.

Seattle's major players are legendary as are its economic assets. Portland can't leverage that kind of power but it can make itself attractive to start-ups and refugees from the Bay area. A traditional stewardship class no longer guides Portland because it doesn't exist today like it once did. That's why you have to ask yourself who can write the checks and knock heads. The uninspired convention hotel is a symptom of this relative power vacuum. Political and government leaders do what they can but they can't force the issue like the titans of the past.

[Pdxnative]

Just who are the movers and shakers in Portland? Usually, you'd find a local banker, an industrialist, a sports mogul, and possibly a philanthropist. Somehow, it seems different today, the Schnitzers, Naitos, and a Phil Knight notwithstanding. Power appears more diffuse with Portland's agenda being guided more by urban policy than major projects underwritten by Big Money. Count yourself lucky to get Park Avenue West, courtesy of Stoel Rives.

Seattle's major players are legendary as are its economic assets. Portland can't leverage that kind of power but it can make itself attractive to start-ups and refugees from the Bay area. A traditional stewardship class no longer guides Portland because it doesn't exist today like it once did. That's why you have to ask yourself who can write the checks and knock heads. The uninspired convention hotel is a symptom of this relative power vacuum. Political and government leaders do what they can but they can't force the issue like the titans of the past.

Well said. Let's hope someday we can have enough Hotel space to host a major attraction of some sort.

[zilfondel]

Mark Edlen, for one. Then there was Vera Katz, but she's kind of retired now.

[cab]

Phil Knight likes suburban Campuses so he is not really a city player. He doesnt invest in Portland. A huge miss. We just got stuck with our richest potential investor as a non-city guy. The biggest sports team has one of the richest men alive, but he doesnt play in portland. He could fund this entire hotel to grab the allstar game, but all his investment goes to his home 3 hours north. Again, something of an unlucky break. The rest of the states money are old logging barons. They dont like the city. We end up organically growing the city. Not a bad thing as we dont get stuck with Phallic symbols for rich old white guys where the humans wander around it like unwanted crabs as nothing was designed for them. In a way long term we might be better off with out these big bombastic options. We seem to have done pretty well so far.

[PDXDENSITY]

Cab, I agree there is something of a boon in the fact that Portland always seems to be just shy of big fame or greatness. It allows us to focus on realistic goals; I think this is part of what makes the comprehensive planning of the region work well. On the other hand, downtown really needs a few stand out towers-- this would do nothing to destroy the streetscape here. A few 800-1000' towers in downtown would be breathtaking in our green setting... An observation deck would be something to die for, honestly, in terms of a desirable amenity here.

[PDX City-State]

Phil Knight likes suburban Campuses so he is not really a city player. He doesnt invest in Portland. A huge miss. We just got stuck with our richest potential investor as a non-city guy.

Sorry, but this is so, so wrong.

Phil Knight just pledged $500 million to cancer research at OHSU. This is the biggest investment anyone has ever made to Portland, and will likely spark up to $700 million in matching donations. That's 1.2 billion in development and research at OHSU, the city's largest employers. This is the biggest thing anyone has ever done in Portland.

Plus--think of all of the industries here because of Nike--the advertising firms, the creatives, the photographers, the 7,000 people who work for Nike and pay property taxes, the dozens of freelancers employed by Nike (photographers, producers, other creatives), the hotel rooms filled by all of the big wigs of global design that do business with Nike--the fact that Wieden, now one of the global top five advertising agencies, might not exist without Nike. What about all of the spin-off companies and advertising agencies created by Nike? Immeasurable.

What about that direct flight to Amsterdam? Currently Portland's only direct Euro flight that exists solely because Nike's European office is in Holland.

I can't defend everything Phil Knight has ever done, but he is the greatest visionary this state has ever produced.

[maccoinnich]

A few 800-1000' towers in downtown would be breathtaking in our green setting...

Portland has a 460' height limit in downtown, and there doesn't appear to be anyone advocating for increasing this.

[PDXDENSITY]

Portland has a 460' height limit in downtown, and there doesn't appear to be anyone advocating for increasing this.

I know this is straying from the theme of this thread, but do you think there would be a benefit to increasing the height limit? I mean, beyond aesthetics of the skyline.

[maccoinnich]

Although I'm not the biggest skyscraper fanboy there is, I do think Portland's skyline would be improved with a couple buildings that really pierce the sky. That said, even if the city council changed the height limit, I don't see anyone taking advantage of it. Park Avenue West is the first building in decades to reach 460'; possibly the only building to max out the height limits since they were created. Furthermore the economics of going beyond 420' are tougher than they used to be, now that the codes require of additional life safety considerations above this height.

[cab]

pdx city scape. i agree. But Just think if he had been a little more comfortable with cities. If Nike had developed in the heart of DT. My god, the possibilities. At heart he is a campus guy. That ok, he did a lot and Portland benefits indirectly. Im just commented on what could have been.

[Sioux612]

Mark Edlen, for one. Then there was Vera Katz, but she's kind of retired now.

Not a player like Edlen but Derek Hanna thought outside the box more than anyone has in this city in a long time. The smart tower and the orig. plans for his storage towers next to Omsi - when has this city ever had ideas/proposals like these?

[davehogan]

Sorry, but this is so, so wrong.

Phil Knight just pledged $500 million to cancer research at OHSU. This is the biggest investment anyone has ever made to Portland, and will likely spark up to $700 million in matching donations.

This can't be said enough. I was in SF last week an saw an ad for the Knight Cancer Challenge in California.

I went to a concert that raised millions for a hospital. I'd be embarrassed if Portland can't do this, especially with Gert's donation of $100 million.

[maccoinnich]

Excerpt from a Places over Time article (http://placesovertime.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/room-service/) about all the hotels that are proposed. I couldn't agree with the author more.

After years of controversy, it appears that Metro’s dream of a Convention Center Hotel will come in the form of a 19-21 story Hyatt Regency that is being financed primarily by private investment accompanied by publicly-subsidized bonds that will be paid for by a lodging tax on the very beds being built. The controversy is hardly over however, as the proposal has come under fire for sprawling out onto the equivalent of three city blocks including a 400-stall parking garage and an undesirably redundant hardscaped plaza. The proposal for the full-block parking garage comes as a particular disappointment as the site was previously set to become the 100 Multnomah Office Tower, a 500,000 sq. ft office building reaching 19 stories, a demonstration of just how valuable this site is. Instead, the area between MAX stops will be pushed even further into placelessness, promoting it as the space between places, abandoning yet another part of the city to the automobile. The hotel is already poised to take up a double-sized superblock, shouldn’t a 400-stall garage be easy to incorporate above or below ground in just two stories? Why waste a perfectly developable, high-density city block?

https://placesovertime.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/cch0.jpg?w=470&h=403
Early conceptual rendering of the proposed Hyatt Regency, the 100 Multnomah Office Tower rendered in the background is no longer being built, the hotel’s multistory parking garage is now proposed to take its place (Metro)


On the opposite side of the development, a large public plaza is proposed directly across the street from an existing plaza that is generally regarded as a dead zone for the vast majority of the year. This absurd detail comes from zoning language that requires public amenities when developing superblocks, but the reason for its absurdity comes from the plazas placement, as a continuation of the existing inactive plaza that rejects MLK and NE Holladay’s urban edge. The last thing the Lloyd District needs is more street setbacks disguised as hardscaped open space, especially when there is a problematic case study directly adjacent to it. The plans are all preliminary at this point, but the direction the development team is heading is worthy of the current criticism regarding it. I doubt anyone is expecting a great piece of architecture to come out of this, even though we definitely should, but any public-private endeavor of this scale needs to, at the very least, have a net positive effect on its surroundings instead of a regressive one.

[maccoinnich]

This week's list of land use intakes (http://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/507521) has two separate Pre-Application Conferences related to the Convention Center Hotel & Garage. This might mean we'll see more drawings shortly.

[MarkDaMan]

Metro threatened to end convention center hotel talks over foreclosure concerns, emails show
By Elliot Njus | enjus@oregonian.com
on October 28, 2014 at 9:00 AM, updated October 28, 2014 at 9:16 AM

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/10/metro_threatened_to_abandon_co.html#incart_m-rpt-1


Metro officials in June threatened to end talks with the developer of a proposed convention center hotel, citing concerns over what might happen to the hotel if it were foreclosed upon.

The regional government never did get the protection it was seeking, according to emails made public during a court review of the deal. Its council unanimously approved an agreement with the developer a few weeks after the email exchange, including a hefty subsidy for the hotel.

In exchange for the subsidy, the hotel will reserve a block of rooms that will be available for events at the Oregon Convention Center. But if the hotel were to default on its mortgage and go into foreclosure, that agreement would be wiped away.

Publicly, Metro has said — and still says — the deep pockets and reputation of Hyatt Corp., which would own and operate the hotel, are protection against the hotel's failure.

continues...

[Pdxnative]

Sadly, even if this gets built, I doubt it will be enough to bring in a big venue like the NBA allstar game, and so forth. At leasts its a start :)

[PDXDENSITY]

I agree with that Places Over Time blogger... I wish they weren't doing a stand alone car structure-- it's so absurd!

[maccoinnich]

Judge approves Metro's convention center hotel plan

By Elliot Njus | enjus@oregonian.com

A Multnomah County judge has ruled that Metro's plan to partially finance a hotel near the Oregon Convention Center is legally sound.

The order, issued by Judge Eric Bloch on Wednesday, gives Metro a path toward issuing $60 million in revenue bonds for the $212 million project. The regional government sought the validation hearing to give would-be buyers of the bonds that the project won't be upended by legal challenges.

Opponents of the project — a coalition of hoteliers including Provenance Hotels and the owners of the downtown Portland Hilton — argued that Metro doesn't have the authority to finance the project, even if it would be built and mostly financed by the private sector.

...continues at the Oregonian (http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/11/judge_clears_metros_convention.html#incart_river).

[urbanlife]

Good news, this sounds like a move in the right direction....funny thing about this project, it has been going on for so long that I forgot where this hotel would even go.

[PDXDENSITY]

I still wish/hope that damn car garage is either made a functional building or left alone for future development. Seems to me, they should be able to integrate that parking into the hotel...

[maccoinnich]

Get ready to be disappointed: Notice of a Pre-Application Conference (https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/510155) [PDF, small] for the Convention Center Hotel.

[PDXDENSITY]

Get ready to be disappointed: Notice of a Pre-Application Conference (https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/510155) [PDF, small] for the Convention Center Hotel.

The building itself looks potentially interesting in form if they don't make a mistake with facade or minutiae; The parking garage will be a blind spot to me. It's dead to me.

[bvpcvm]

Get ready to be disappointed

Ugh. What a mistake.

[pdxtraveler]

Wait, this is new, did you notice there is office space on top of the garage, though it looks like potentially a 2nd phase.

[maccoinnich]

pdxtraveler - I will buy you a beer if that office space is ever built. There is a long list of buildings that have been designed with future expansion above in mind; there is a very short list of buildings where that has happened. It's a way of placating the Design Commission, and I don't think it will work. They seem to have taken none of the advice from the first Design Advice Hearing, so I'm very curious to hear how the next one goes.

[maccoinnich]

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-1_zps55a2aaa1.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-1_zps55a2aaa1.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-2_zps63947796.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-2_zps63947796.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-3_zpse8ba8f37.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-3_zpse8ba8f37.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-4_zpsc271ad92.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-4_zpsc271ad92.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-5_zpsb557d754.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-5_zpsb557d754.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b112/maccoinnich/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-6_zpscc87963d.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/maccoinnich/media/skyscraperpage/convention%20center%20hotel/EA_14_229589_noticeNOV20-6_zpscc87963d.jpg.html)

[PacificNW]

Too me the renderings gave me the impression that the hotel was kind of short, squatty, or stubby but, in reality, it looks to be 325' tall....not bad. It's too bad they couldn't design a skywalk system patterned after the Convention Center glass towers...or a tunnel, connecting the two complexes.

In addition, if the hotel does well, maybe they will consider incorporating the garage into an adjoining hotel tower...

[bvpcvm]

That's 325 ft above sea level. 210 feet from the street.

[PacificNW]

That's 325 ft above sea level. 210 feet from the street.

That sucks....then my impressions were correct... I read in the Seattle forum discussions that a much more dynamic convention center hotel complex appears to be destined for Tacoma! Tacoma? Tacoma!!

[zilfondel]

Wait, the garage will be 155' tall?! Thats at least a 15 story garage...

new tallest parking garage in Oregon?

[bvpcvm]

No - all those heights are *above sea level*. The garage will be about 50 ft tall.

[maccoinnich]

Convention Center Hotel Lawsuits Could Block Portland Trail Blazers' Bid to Host NBA All-Star Game, Metro Warns
"We are in danger of missing that window" for 2018 game, says Metro President Tom Hughes


http://www.wweek.com/portland/imgs/media.images/21772/culture_blazers.widea.nar.jpg

The Portland Trail Blazers want to host the NBA All-Star Game in 2017 or 2018. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told the media Feb. 14 that Portland’s bid hinges on the city gaining more hotel rooms.

That could be a problem.

As WW reported in this morning's Murmurs, Silver's statement means the Blazers need the proposed $212 million, 600-room Hyatt hotel next to the Oregon Convention Center. The 16-month construction job would need to be finished by no later than February 2018.

Two lawsuits by the project’s opponents, led by downtown hotelier Gordon Sondland, are holding things up. Both cases—which seek to halt public funding of the hotel—are pending in the Oregon Court of Appeals.

...continues at the Willamette Week (http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-32849-convention_center_hotel_lawsuits_could_block_portland_trail_blazers_bid_to_host_nba_all_star_game_me.html).

[urbanlife]

I love the disappointed look from the Blazers in that picture. I can't believe we are still talking about this hotel....it should have been built by now.

[davehogan]

I love the disappointed look from the Blazers in that picture. I can't believe we are still talking about this hotel....it should have been built by now.

Even if it isn't, isn't there a lot more than 600 rooms that have been built either near the streetcar or MAX over the past year or so, or are on their way?

There's the Curio Collection one downtown, the Pearl Residence Inn, the Riverplace Hyatt Place, and at least one more that I'm forgetting at the moment. Oh, and the Red Lion will have been freshly renovated by then.

I know it's nice to be able to offer a large luxury hotel a block from the stadium, but I can't see how an All Star Game can hinge on that? This just sounds like posturing by Metro, and I'm in favor of a Convention Center Hotel.

[pdxtraveler]

No, not posturing at all. Large conventions and in this case the NBA require a headquarters hotel connected to or adjacent (as with this one) for the VIPs and speakers etc. Then the rank and file attendees can spread out through the city. I am sure the NBA will not choose PDX without a headquarters hotel.

[urbanlife]

Even if it isn't, isn't there a lot more than 600 rooms that have been built either near the streetcar or MAX over the past year or so, or are on their way?

There's the Curio Collection one downtown, the Pearl Residence Inn, the Riverplace Hyatt Place, and at least one more that I'm forgetting at the moment. Oh, and the Red Lion will have been freshly renovated by then.

I know it's nice to be able to offer a large luxury hotel a block from the stadium, but I can't see how an All Star Game can hinge on that? This just sounds like posturing by Metro, and I'm in favor of a Convention Center Hotel.

The amount of rooms Portland has isn't the issue, it is the fact that we don't have them within one hotel. When a group is booking a large convention or an event at the Moda Center, they want to call one hotel and book everything through them. Without a convention center hotel, we will continue to lose out on these things that could easily come to Portland.

[robocop]

This Oregonlive article from last March sums it up pretty well -- at least from the NBA's stand point:

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/03/convention_center_hotel_all-st.html

The aforementioned article was then referenced by Mike Tokito in another OLive article from August of 2014:

"The NBA typically needs about 6,000 hotel rooms for the All-Star Game, but it isn't just the number of rooms, but the location of them, as well. The league needs centralized blocks for rooms in several hotels to house groups such as league executives, VIPs and media. Portland is getting closer to being able to fulfill that need." - Mike Tokito, Oregonlive.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2014/08/when_will_trail_blazers_portland_get_chance_to_hos.html

[Tykendo]

Everytime I hear someone in Portland cry about how "we" shouldn't have to pay for something, I want to throw up. Each person's tax burden on this will be miniscule. Denver built two State of the Art stadiums, a 1500 room Convention Center Hotel, Additions to the Zoo, An Art Museum designed by a "Starchitect", and countless other places that have added to the quality of life since I moved here 2 decades ago, and my portion of the cost wasn't missed in my budget a single time, and I'm not a professional who makes tons of loot. Denver is only a little larger that Portland. But I have enjoyed the progress, and beauty, and entertainment value, these places have provided my family. It's time to stop acting like Portland is some little Podunk town in Kansas, and wakeup to the facts that these kind of facilities can bring dollars and value back in the form of tourism, new companies relocating, and monies spent at businesses around the metro area, that wouldn't be spent there otherwise. This Hotel is way past due, and should be built to a 1000 rooms whether an AllStar Game comes there or not. Portland is missing out on major conventions, and that means dollars, and potential jobs lost. It's a shame that people seem to be stuck in Mayberry RFD-Ville vision-wise.

[downtownpdx]

Agreed! ^^^

[davehogan]

I guess I'm biased from working in the hotel industry in San Diego. At least when the Super Bowl came to town each team had a different hotel to stay in, but both stayed downtown which was a few miles from the stadium in Mission Valley.

San Diego obviously had more hotel rooms, but major conventions were the reason people pushed for subsidies for the hotels there.

I'm not opposed, I just thought the NBA All Star Game was a weird reason to chase a major convention center hotel. I'm disappointed that Metro hasn't lined up ten major conventions to commit to hosting an event here if we build the hotel.

[pdxtraveler]

The All Star game isn't the reason to chase the hotel, it is a sample of the lack of a hotel.

I do like your idea of lining up the major conventions IF the hotel is built! :)

[maccoinnich]

2nd Design Advice Request hearing scheduled for March 19th (https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/article/520460) [PDF].