Broadway Corridor (Post Office Redevelopment) | Proposed

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Looking at the Zoning Code, the site has a 75' base height and a 4:1 FAR, and isn't eligible for housing or general height bonuses. Most likely any development proposal will go through a masterplan process similar to the one Conway went through, which will see the heights and FAR bumped up significantly.

The "innovation" name came from the fact that the scheme shows large floorplates, which are apparently attractive to tech and/or research companies.

Currently, yes, the height limit is 75', but I thought it was shown as 250' on the new 2035 plan. Before that plan is finalized, they should really get rid of the height limit altogether on this site as they're proposing for the North Pearl. If ANY site in the city should have very tall buildings, it's the USPS site. Also, the Park Blocks should continue all the way to Lovejoy in ALL of the concepts. That should have been non-negotiable and I'm shocked that they even entertained concepts that didn't include that.

As far as the "Innovation" concept goes, I understand the desire for large floorplates, but that can be accomplished without sacrificing the Park Blocks and without eliminating high rises on the site. You can very easily create 4 superblocks with a central N-S axis for the Park Blocks and an E-W cross axis at Johnson Street. This seems like the simplest, most obvious configuration for the site and it wasn't even proposed. The "Cascade" option came close, but they got too fussy with the zig-zag path and the "market" building blocking the progression of the Park Blocks.

[maccoinnich]

Yeah, you're right, I forgot about the 2035. It hasn't come into effect yet, but it will before there's any serious movement on the post office site. Still, I'm sure there'll be a masterplanning exercise where the potential will exist to increase the heights further.

[maccoinnich]

A Broadway Bridge-to-Park-Blocks flyover path? Site designer says it could happen



As redevelopment proposals for Northwest Portland’s big post office have moved forward, some insiders have been talking about an exciting concept for the site: a flyover ramp that could directly connect the bridge’s 30-foot-high Y-shaped west landing with a new north-south bikeway through the Park Blocks.

Envisioned as a key link in a proposed Green Loop biking path around the central city, a well-designed route through what’s supposed to become a major mixed-use employment and residential development would certainly be costly if it took the form of a floating path — but would also seem likely to become one of Portland’s most iconic pieces of bike infrastructure, reminiscent of Copenhagen’s new Bicycle Snake.

...continues at BikePortland.

[maccoinnich]

Broadway Corridor Framework Plan
Open House 3

Tuesday, September 8
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Presentation at 5:30 p.m.
University of Oregon, Room 142/144
70 NW Couch

Presenting the Preferred Development Concept for the US Postal Service Site!

Thank you for your participation to date. We’ve received input from several hundred stakeholders via public open houses and online surveys since we began our work in June 2015. Your valuable input has informed the vision for redevelopment in the Broadway Corridor and the refinement of development concepts for the US Postal Service site.

Please join us for our final Framework Plan open house:
September 8, 2015 from 5-7 pm (presentation at 5:30)
University of Oregon, Room 142/144
70 NW Couch, Portland OR

We will be presenting the preferred development concept for the US Postal Service site and recommended metrics for implementation. This will be our last public event prior to presenting the Framework Plan to decision makers, including the PDC Board of Commissioners and City Council.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Learn more about this project >

RSVP here.

[urbanlife]

Come on low rise campus plan!

[maccoinnich]

Reminder that the Open House is tonight. The project is also going before the PDC Board tomorrow for information (no vote) and the City Council on September 17th for a work session. This report [PDF] has some interesting information, including that acquisition of the USPS site is going to cost up to $80 million, to cover the cost of building a new location at the airport. If that sounds like a lot of money, bear in mind that Security Properties paid $11.75 million for the PNCA site.

[urbanlife]

$80 million is a good deal for how much that site is worth to the city if it is done right.

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Reminder that the Open House is tonight. The project is also going before the PDC Board tomorrow for information (no vote) and the City Council on September 17th for a work session. This report [PDF] has some interesting information, including that acquisition of the USPS site is going to cost up to $80 million, to cover the cost of building a new location at the airport. If that sounds like a lot of money, bear in mind that Security Properties paid $11.75 million for the PNCA site.

80 million to cover the cost of building a new USPS facility AND buy the land at the Broadway site? That's a hell of a deal. I think the new postal building at the airport is going to cost at least half of that. Which means 40 million left to buy the entire 12 block site. That's cheap, cheap, cheap.

[maccoinnich]

Sort of. It's up to $80 million to buy the land at the airport and build USPS a new facility. In return for paying for the new USPS facility, the PDC gets the land in the Pearl.

[maccoinnich]

What's in store for Portland's coveted Pearl District Post Office site?



After months of public input and years of long-range planning, the city is nearly ready to move forward with a massive redevelopment project that would include the Pearl District site of the U.S. Postal Service.

At an open house planned for 5 p.m. this evening, staff from the Portland Development Commission will present the preferred development concept for the 14- acre U.S. Postal Service site at 715 N.W. Hoyt. Five development concepts for the area, which is part of the larger Broadway Corridor Framework Plan, were presented at an open house back in July.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal.

[58rhodes]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Sort of. It's up to $80 million to buy the land at the airport and build USPS a new facility. In return for paying for the new USPS facility, the PDC gets the land in the Pearl.

where did they get the 80 mil?

I thought they had 35 mil?

[BlazerBeav]

Originally Posted by 58rhodes

where did they get the 80 mil?

I thought they had 35 mil?

Sounds like they are going to ask the city to bond it. It's not an opportunity to pass up on, so it will get done.

[maccoinnich]

If you click through to the report it explains the financing.

[maccoinnich]

[urbanlife]

I like that layout the most, it has a Rockefeller feel to it. I would like to see the tower on the park blocks be taller. But overall, that is what I hope to see get built there.

[Derek]

Yep, right now it looks like just another 300 footer. Which is fine, but it'd be nice to have something that really stands out on this end of town.

[2oh1]

Nice! I wish they weren't building on that far north park block, but if they do, I hope they can do it in a creative way that makes the base of the tower part of the park. I'm glad it looks like the plan is to extend the north park blocks straight into this site. I could never understand why previous designs kept showing buildings cutting off the current north park blocks, preventing them from extending further north. For the most part, I really like what I see here. I assume it's a starting point for where the design will evolve, and if that's the case... I like it.

[innovativethinking]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Is this the design their leaning towards?

[maccoinnich]

It is the preferred option for the framework plan. Bear in mind that the framework plan was mostly done for the purpose of establishing the financial viability of buying and redeveloping the property. Assuming they do buy it there will likely be a masterplanning process (there are zoning changes needed to build anything like shown in the images), and only then will design work on actual buildings start.

[65MAX]

Originally Posted by Derek

Yep, right now it looks like just another 300 footer. Which is fine, but it'd be nice to have something that really stands out on this end of town.

I count roughly 30 floors on the (conceptual) tower building, which would make it a little taller than the Cosmo (if all residential) or about the same as PAW (if it's mostly commercial). Either way, it would be in the 350'+ to 460' range. Not a new "tallest", but perfectly reasonable for that location.

This is exactly what should have been proposed from the beginning.... a continuation of the Park Blocks, a strong Johnson St axis between Union Station and the rest of the Pearl, a signature tower at the end of the Park Blocks near the Broadway Bridge, and mid-high rises lining both sides of the Park. I guess they had to put forth a variety of scenarios for people to sort through, but this is (and always was) the most obvious solution to developing the site.