[maccoinnich]

Net-zero high-rise proposed for downtown Portland site



Downtown Portland could soon see a massive influx of affordable apartments in just one project.

Access Architecture recently initiated the process to discuss with the Portland Bureau of Development Services the possibility of constructing a 30-story (approximately 350 feet tall), net-zero building. “Burnside One” would hold approximately 700 affordable housing units atop ground-floor commercial space.

The proposed location for Burnside One is a half-block at 108 W. Burnside St., adjacent to MAX light-rail tracks.

The project is the second collaboration between Access Architecture and developer Curtis Rystadt. Their previous joint effort, TimberView, an eight-story, mass-timber building with 105 affordable housing units, is under construction in the Gateway neighborhood.

Rystadt’s mission is to add affordable housing downtown but in a way that lowers resident costs through sustainable measures. One for Burnside One would be the inclusion of a heating and cooling system that draws heat from the ground or water in cooler months, distributes it throughout the building, and returns it to those sources in warmer months.

...continues at the DJC.