What a disappointment. I know this is affordable housing and it comes with it's own set of challenges, but this just shouldn't be an acceptable standard of construction. This is an all Hardie building with surface parking and does very little to activate the streetscape. Really feels like a bait and switch when you compare it to the renderings used to secure the funding from the city.
What made this particular stretch of road so attractive to developers in the first place? Was the land just super cheap ~10 years ago and the projects have been rolling in ever since of what?
What made this particular stretch of road so attractive to developers in the first place? Was the land just super cheap ~10 years ago and the projects have been rolling in ever since of what?
Honestly in the beginning it was just a prime route worth developing with very little to resist it. I remember thinking 15-17 years ago how I wished I could buy land on that route for this reason because I saw this coming back then. Personally I think the fact that it is a major cyclist route helped a lot because that is a prime clientele for these types of building because who wouldn't want an expensive urban apartment along the route they ride their $2K bike along when the commute. From there it snowballed into a place to be because it now exists.
Honestly in the beginning it was just a prime route worth developing with very little to resist it. I remember thinking 15-17 years ago how I wished I could buy land on that route for this reason because I saw this coming back then. Personally I think the fact that it is a major cyclist route helped a lot because that is a prime clientele for these types of building because who wouldn't want an expensive urban apartment along the route they ride their $2K bike along when the commute. From there it snowballed into a place to be because it now exists.
Ahhh that makes sense. I forgot about it being a major cycling corridor.
Approval of a new development including a new five-story mixed-use building, the renovation of the two-story Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) building, the creation of a gated new courtyard along N. Williams, two new one-story accessory structures - a new one-story garage and a new trash enclosure, and new surface parking for 5 residential spaces to the east of the buildings.
121 N Beech St - EARLY ASSISTANCE
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Proposal is for a new 5-story building with retail at ground level and 4 stories of office above. Drywell stormwater system.
24 NE Going (Lightbox Going) - UNDER CONSTRUCTION
3240 N Williams - LAND USE REVIEW PENDING
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New mixed-use, 4 story building. 12 residential units over ground floor retail and parking.
25 N Fargo St - LAND USE REVIEW PENDING
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New construction of seven story mixed use building with 101 dwelling units. Incentive zone with affordable units and parking provided though none is required.
These pics are about a week old. The Holst project is now topped out (an additional story higher than pictured). These projects are a transformative gateway to Mississippi from the south.
Can I just say how much I love WPA?
The ho-hum Studio 3 building on the SE corner, which is still moving along at a snail's pace.
Micro-apartments, with micro-restaurants, coming to North Williams corridor
A Seattle developer is planning two big micro-apartment developments along the North Williams Avenue corridor.
Vibrant Cities says its two buildings -- Brio Lofts at 177 N. Failing St. and Zeal Lofts at 3139 N. Williams Ave. -- will feature apartments that start at 212 square feet and $1,099 a month, including utilities and internet access.
On a per-square-foot basis, it among of the priciest rental housing in the city. But Vibrant Cities chief executive James Wong says it's a new floor for a neighborhood where recently-built studio apartments usually go for hundreds more.
As housing gets more expensive I wonder if such developments may become more common. Co-housing has been around for a very long time. It has not caught on in the US as I would hope. As people become older, having a sort of extended family that are there for small things can keep people independent/safe for a longer period. I really wish my parents and the geriatric population would consider this/be exposed to these ideas more. Mixing students (young) with elderly to me is has the same effect as having a range of abilities in the same classroom at school: it's not simply better for the "disabled," it becomes a learning environment for everyone.
This is a nicely designed set of buildings with a very anti-urban site plan. I hope the city pushes them into a more pedestrian oriented, sidewalk facing scheme. I like the design language they are using but I think it would set an unfortunate precedent.
Does anyone have information about the two micro projects that have been operating in Portland for a few years now, in NW and NE? What sort of results have they seen?
A pair of apartment projects completed recently mark the first forays into new development in the Portland-metro market by The ConAm Group, a San Diego-based multifamily development, acquisition and management firm. Pavilion Construction and Shapiro Didway served as the respective general contractor and landscape architect for both projects: Cadence Apartments, a 166-unit mid-rise structure on North Williams Avenue in Portland’s Eliot neighborhood, and Haven Apartments at Orenco Station, a 150-unit garden-style development on five acres in Hillsboro.
SERA Architects designed the Cadence Apartments, which last week was granted a temporary certificate of occupancy and will be turned over in August. The building features five stories of wood-framed apartments, ranging in size from studios to two-bedrooms, over a below-grade parking garage with 85 vehicle parking spaces, bicycle storage and repair space, and a dog wash. The U-shaped building also features a courtyard with a projection screen and amphitheater seating as well as outdoor grilling space. Also, a top-floor “Rhythm Lounge” includes a kitchen and “kegerator,” plus a deck with panoramic views of downtown Portland.
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