5 MLK | 200' | 17 Floors | Complete

maccoinnich · #1 Posted **Apr 30, 2016, 6:51 PM**

Quote:

Fishels furniture to close after nearly 100 years (photos)

Fishels, a Portland furniture mainstay, is closing after 95 years.

Owner Larry Talbott, 65, said the decision to shutter the business at the east end of the Burnside Bridge was not driven by his age or by financial concerns.

"We had a record 2015, and we're on track for another record year," he said of the company's sales. "I just wanted a new chapter in life. I've been in this business for 40 years, and I'm ready to do something else."

For now, that includes spending time with his first granddaughter and visiting his home in Sunriver, he said.

...continues at the Oregonian.

maccoinnich · #2 Posted **Apr 30, 2016, 6:57 PM**

Interestingly, Fishel's got the western half of their property rezoned in 2014:

Quote:

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Quote:

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Land Use Review filed by Myrhe Group to rezone half of the Fishel's furniture block from IG1 to EXd, to match the rest of the surrounding properties. The application doesn't state the reason, but given that IG1 doesn't allow housing, and EXd does, I think it's fairly obvious.

This was approved:

Quote:

Approval of a Zoning Map Amendment, to change the zone for this site from IG1 to EXd subject to the following conditions: A. As part of the building permit application submittal, the following development-related condition (B) must be noted on each of the 4 required site plans or included as a sheet in the numbered set of plans. The sheet on which this information appears must be labeled "ZONING COMPLIANCE PAGE - Case File LU 14-159917 ZC." All requirements must be graphically represented on the site plan, landscape, or other required plan and must be labeled "REQUIRED." B. No Building Permit for any future development that results in an increase in trip generation as compared with the current uses on the subject site shall be issued until performance guarantees are submitted and Concept (30%) Review has been approved through the Public Works Permitting process for the new traffic signal at the intersection of SE MLK Jr. Boulevard/SE Ankeny. ____________________________________ Kenneth D. Helm, Hearings Officer ____________________________________ Date Application Determined Complete: August 4, 2014 Report to Hearings Officer: September 12, 2014 Decision Mailed: October 10, 2014 Last Date to Appeal: 4:30 p.m., October 24, 2014 Effective Date (if no appeal): October 27, 2014 Decision may be recorded on this date.\

tworivers · #3 Posted **Apr 30, 2016, 11:57 PM**

I really hope that they save the Fishels building on the corner -- great piece of fabric architecture in an area that will appreciate the contrast in the coming years. Be creative and build something new on the adjacent vacant parcel. Please.

urbanlife · #4 Posted **May 1, 2016, 12:07 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by tworivers

I really hope that they save the Fishels building on the corner -- great piece of fabric architecture in an area that will appreciate the contrast in the coming years. Be creative and build something new on the adjacent vacant parcel. Please.

From the outside, it does look like a perfect candidate for creative office space.

maccoinnich · #5 Posted **May 23, 2016, 7:08 PM**

In today's Metro Reports. Gerding Edlen Development is the listed applicant:

Quote:

Pre-Application Conference to discuss a Type III Design Review and possible Type III Central City Parking Review for a new 17-story mixed use building with ground-floor retail and approximately 100,000 square feet of Office floor area and approx. 200,000 square feet of Residential floor area (estimated 220 units). Below-grade parking will be provided, with approx. 180 spaces that will serve both the residential and office uses.

NJD · #6 Posted **May 23, 2016, 8:49 PM**

Looks like only a half block project with retail ground floor, 5 floors office, and 10ish floors residential. Most likely the older buildings fronting Burnside will remain, while the half block parking lot facing Ankeny will be built on. Just like the Burnside-Couch couplet project and subsequent Slate development, this would be another great place to get rid of an obsolete on-ramp style street corner, a remnant of the Banfield Highway (see below), and reintroduce the original square-block urban form...

Vintage Portland (City of Portland Archives)

tworivers · #7 Posted **May 23, 2016, 9:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJD

Looks like only a half block project with retail ground floor, 5 floors office, and 10ish floors residential. Most likely the older buildings fronting Burnside will remain, while the half block parking lot facing Ankeny will be built on. Just like Works Partnership's nearby Slate project, this would be another great place to get rid of an obsolete on-ramp style street corner, a remnant of the Banfield Highway (see below), and reintroduce the original square-block urban form...

That would be great news if true. I was just down there yesterday and was thinking the same thing about squaring off that corner and wrapping a new building around the existing one. The Fishels building is exactly the kind of fabric structure that I think deserves to be preserved to provide historic context and contrast, especially right there with all the new buildings going up. Not to mention the embodied energy that it holds.

maccoinnich · #8 Posted **May 24, 2016, 12:55 AM**

Fascinating, NJD. I had no idea that's why those curves exist. Squaring off the corner would require City Council approval to vacate the street, which is a tough process. I hope they pursue it though.

maccoinnich · #9 Posted **May 26, 2016, 10:56 PM**

Notice of a Pre-Application Conference [PDF].

eric cantona · #10 Posted **May 27, 2016, 1:07 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Notice of a Pre-Application Conference [PDF].

any notion of why GREC Architects, and what they bring to the table from Chicago?

tworivers · #11 Posted **May 27, 2016, 2:00 AM**

Sigh. The bottom line wins again.

maccoinnich · #12 Posted **May 27, 2016, 4:47 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric cantona

any notion of why GREC Architects, and what they bring to the table from Chicago?

I have never heard of them before. A quick look at their website shows that they have an existing relationship with Gerding Edlen, but nothing in their portfolio strikes me as beyond the ability of Portland based firms to deliver.

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Originally Posted by tworivers

Sigh. The bottom line wins again.

Unlike the Eurocar building or Fire Station #3 in the Pearl, this isn't one I'll mourn the loss of. When it was surveyed in 1988 it was described in not exactly effusive wording as "typical of others of its type".

pdxtraveler · #13 Posted **May 27, 2016, 5:19 PM**

One thing I am sure of is that, if the design isn't half bad, you all will be relieved that Yard will not be standing so visibly alone on the skyline... lol!

NJD · #14 Posted **May 27, 2016, 5:36 PM**

Well, looks like I was wrong on all accounts. I based my estimate on FAR/floor count and GE's track record... too bad...

babs · #15 Posted **May 27, 2016, 5:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdxtraveler

One thing I am sure of is that, if the design isn't half bad, you all will be relieved that Yard will not be standing so visibly alone on the skyline... lol!

Well said! I'm not a fan of the Yard but it sticks out so much because of it's isolation.

tworivers · #16 Posted **May 27, 2016, 7:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Unlike the Eurocar building or Fire Station #3 in the Pearl, this isn't one I'll mourn the loss of. When it was surveyed in 1988 it was described in not exactly effusive wording as "typical of others of its type".

I'm not so concerned with whether the building has any special historic merit or not. I appreciate its position in the urban fabric of the city in that particular location -- kind of a gateway to the Central Eastside. It's also a perfectly nice building built with old growth wood that I'd bet is fully preservable. With classic retail frontage on the ground floor. In a part of town with a great many vacant lots and eminently demolish-able structures. It would look great restored and it would provide some needed historic heft across the street from the Dumbbell and the other new buildings.

Oh well. Good to see the skyline crossing the river, now let's demolish the Eastbank I-5.

maccoinnich · #17 Posted **Jun 2, 2016, 3:09 AM**

Quote:

Another tower proposed for Burnside Bridgehead

The east end of the Burnside Bridgehead could be home to yet another tower, if preliminary plans for a 17-story mixed-use building at the former Fishels site are ultimately approved.

In plans submitted to the city's land-use department, Portland developer Gerding Edlen proposed a new tower with an estimated 220 residential units and 100,000 square feet of office space, as well as ground-floor retail and underground parking for cars and bikes.

The tower would join several projects under construction in the area, including the 21-story Yard residential building, scheduled to open this summer, along with the "Fair-Haired Dumbbell" and Block 75, to open later.

...continues at the Oregonian.

Photogeric · #18 Posted **Jun 2, 2016, 3:29 PM**

As long as the Schleifer building doesn't get torn down. I know it's not part of this project, but still....

maccoinnich · #19 Posted **Jun 21, 2016, 3:39 AM**

Design Advice Request for this project has been submitted.

maccoinnich · #20 Posted **Jun 27, 2016, 7:53 PM**

Project is now on the Design Commission agenda for July 21st.