hollywoodHUB | 120' | 12 floors | Proposed

[CorbinWarrick]

Originally Posted by aquaticko

Looks good (enough)! 12 stories should be the standard for any block-sized development this close to downtown.

Looking at the area, and knowing that this level of development--blocks of SFH, a small handful of 2-6 story apartment buildings, an office building of <5 stories--is what's around most MAX stations throughout the region, it's no wonder ridership's been stuck for a bit over a decade.

You would think so but look at gateway transit center it’s been grassy for years

[aquaticko]

Yeah, I had this discussion with someone on BikePortland about why MAX stations aren't big development draws, and their answer was because the MAX "doesn't go anywhere". It's like...no duh. All of Metro Portland is too low density to work with rail transit; there is "nowhere" to go. The fact that this is still so decades after the MAX first started is particularly egregious. That's why you do whatever you can to spur development around the stations. Billions have already been sunk into the system, to build and maintain and operate it. There's every reason to try to get these areas developed much more densely, and contrarily, every reason to stop the sprawl that's still happening everywhere else.

But I'm getting O/T--this isn't the Portland Transit thread--so I'll stop. I just really hope this gets built to at least its 12 stories.

[AdamUrbanist]

The 5 minute walk shed around Hollywood station is largely freeway, land unattractive for development because of the freeway, and single family historic district. That's just never going to be a recipe for the kind of development that drives ridership. I hope this project helps but realizing the planning aspirations for Hollywood would probably require tunneling and building an underground station more central to the district. (and probably lots of other improvements elsewhere in the system)

[aquaticko]

Originally Posted by AdamUrbanist

The 5 minute walk shed around Hollywood station is largely freeway, land unattractive for development because of the freeway, and single family historic district. That's just never going to be a recipe for the kind of development that drives ridership. I hope this project helps but realizing the planning aspirations for Hollywood would probably require tunneling and building an underground station more central to the district. (and probably lots of other improvements elsewhere in the system)

From how it looks in the air, a lot of it is surface-level parking lots. The highway adjacency is an issue; the SFHs are not.

I know it's a difficult thing for a lot of Portlanders to stomach, but SFHs do not belong so close to the center of a metro area of ~2 million people. It's not exclusively a Portland problem: most American cities--even the older ones on the east coast--devolve too quickly into low-density development patterns. Redevelopment is what needs to happen in these areas, into higher-density uses. Current residents can be housed-in-place in condos they own, but reaping the wealth benefits of being on land which has become so valuable due to proximity to a city center is an injustice (and major economic-geographic efficiency), itself.

[maccoinnich]

Memorial to 2017 MAX stabbings dismantled as construction begins on affordable housing, transit center revamp



TriMet has begun demolishing a temporary mural painted at the Hollywood Transit Center in tribute to the victims of a deadly 2017 stabbing attack aboard a MAX train approaching the station.

The transit agency and local nonprofits plan to redevelop the space, update the transit center and build more than 200 units of new affordable housing on the property.

The revamped Northeast Portland transit center will be known as “Hollywood Hub,” with apartments within walking distance of public transit, shopping and community spaces. It is expected to open in 2026.

The TriMet-funded mural, which cost about $70,000, was titled “We Choose Love” and designed by artist Sarah Farahat. It was unveiled about a year after a horrific attack at the MAX station that shook Portland. Officials said at the time the memorial would be temporary — a transit center redesign was already in early planning — but elements of Farahat’s design will be incorporated into the updated transit center, including the bright colors and messages of peace.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[maccoinnich]

Portland City Council approves $33M for affordable housing project



Portland City Council Wednesday morning approved $33 million from the Portland Housing Bond and American Rescue Plan funds to finance a 12-story, 224-unit affordable housing project in Northeast Portland.

Nonprofit affordable housing developer Bridge Housing is behind the project at 4160 N.E. Halsey St., along with Hacienda Community Development Corp. and equity investor KeyBank. Together, the three entered into a ground lease with TriMet for the site dubbed Hollywood Hub that will offer 43 studios, 53 one-bedroom units, 95 two-bedroom units and 33 three-bedroom units.

More than 70 of the units will be affordable for families at 30% of the area median income (AMI), more than 150 will be affordable for families at 60% AMI while 55 units will be supported by project-based Section 8 vouchers. The project will also include two manager's units.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal ($).

[UofOalum]

Didn’t they already break ground on this almost a year ago?

[uncommon.name]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

...continues at the Portland Business Journal ($).

This is going to look really nice from both the freeway perspective and the side shown in this rendering!

[pdxsg34]

Originally Posted by uncommon.name

This is going to look really nice from both the freeway perspective and the side shown in this rendering!

Renderings of the view from the freeway and skybridge..

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by UofOalum

Didn’t they already break ground on this almost a year ago?

I was wondering the same thing. Definitely lots of construction there currently. Is this a second building?

[ShadowNeedsHelp]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

I was wondering the same thing. Definitely lots of construction there currently. Is this a second building?

They're working on the plaza, stairs, and ramp for the MAX stop/pedestrian bridge first, then the building after that's finished.

[DBenson]

I see no reason why affordable housing cannot be better looking than this. The only color I'd rather see banned from all future buildings in Portland than beige: dark gray. Here, they are combined. The insipid marries the depressing, neither of which is needed in Portland. And the composition does nothing imaginative. We can do better.

[FiveOverPun]

Originally Posted by DBenson

I see no reason why affordable housing cannot be better looking than this. The only color I'd rather see banned from all future buildings in Portland than beige: dark gray. Here, they are combined. The insipid marries the depressing, neither of which is needed in Portland. And the composition does nothing imaginative. We can do better.

Aww, I think all housing is beautiful. Although I am partial to fun projects like Tree Farm, I'm totally okay with some housing that's more focused on function than form.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by DBenson

I see no reason why affordable housing cannot be better looking than this. The only color I'd rather see banned from all future buildings in Portland than beige: dark gray. Here, they are combined. The insipid marries the depressing, neither of which is needed in Portland. And the composition does nothing imaginative. We can do better.

I absolutely agree that there has been overuse of dark gray on Portland exteriors for more than a decade. I have written elsewhere on this site about this.depressing trend. Specifying metal or composite panels with actual colors does not cost more.