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Neighbors balk at ‘brutal’ project
A 6-story mixed-use development that would dwarf its Northwest Portland surroundings draws flak from La Torre residents
DJC
POSTED: 06:00 AM PST Thursday, January 17, 2008
BY TYLER GRAF
It was once the most brutal neighborhood in Portland – a dangerous and dodgy enclave near Montgomery Park. But with the crime gone, residents now say a proposed development is the “brutal intrusion.”
Located at 2631 N.W. Upshur St., along a block of two- and three-story buildings, is the proposed site of an as-yet-named, mixed-use condominium complex. Developed by George Hale and designed by Works Partnership Architecture, the six-story, aluminum-sheen building recently garnered recognition from the Portland chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
But residents of the La Torre condominiums, located next door, say the development’s scale, scope and design would be an uncharacteristic intrusion on a neighborhood known for small, low-lying buildings.
“This whole thing makes you wonder what (architecture) school they went to,” said Joan Gratz, a Portland-based Academy Award-winning animator originally schooled in architecture. She owns property in the neighborhood and says the development would block views, create street congestion and tower over the sleepy hillside.
She has long ties to the neighborhood, having worked there in the dangerous days when she was an animator at Vinton Studios, which created the California Raisins and made prominent television programs and commercials. Back then, crime was common, and the streets had a gritty flavor.
In the 1980s, for instance, the neighborhood was known as the most crime-ridden in Portland.
The flavor has changed. But whether that flavor’s sour or spicy depends on whom you ask.
“Things that are different, like this building, always change the flavor of a neighborhood,” Hale, the building’s developer, said.
According to Hale, his building’s modern design, with its reflective-steel exterior and what the AIA calls its “ruptured courtyard prototype,” maintains the edgy history of the location.
The development would rise 65 feet, fill 120,000 square feet and contain about 109 condo units and 64 parking spots. Because the zoning allows for the density proposed by Hale’s development, no city-conducted traffic study took place.
This, too, doesn’t sit well with residents.
“Do we think that people won’t own cars? That’s unrealistic,” said La Torre resident Christine Jerko, who relishes her opportunity to continue mediating and negotiating with the building’s developer to make sure condo owners’ property values aren’t diminished by obstructed views.
It’s a textbook example of the contentious aspects of urban development, as neighbors and developers vie for once-maligned, now-valued property.
Matt Wickstrom, a city planner with the Bureau of Development Services, has worked closely with the concerned residents. The main problem, he says, is the site’s zoning. The development would sit on a site split-zoned for both lighter commercial and denser residential. But Hale hopes to up-zone the entire site, allowing for the maximum 65 feet, which would make it the tallest building in the neighborhood.
“At this stage, for the most part, it’s very difficult to touch on the design aspects (debated),” Wickstrom said.
But if there were a good time to voice concerns, he says, now would be it. The ancient art of mediation is still being practiced, but the public comment period ends on Feb. 4.
Still, La Torre resident Zan Tewksbury, who calls the invasion a “brutal intrusion,” says she and her neighbors haven’t ruled out legal action. A civil rights lawyer by profession, Tewksbury says she’s watchful of her and her fellow neighbors’ best interests and is willing to fight by any means necessary.
“We have a duty to act and preserve the value of the building, and we have serious concerns about the devaluation of our property,” Tewksbury said.
But for the time being, Hale isn’t budging.
“To put something in there that is traditional is almost too safe,” he said, adding neighborhoods that are too safe, that lack edgy qualities, are boring.
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