Porter Hotel (Curio by Hilton) | 190' | 16 floors | Complete

[maccoinnich]

Posting Notice [PDF, small]. Project is having its first Design Advice Request hearing on December 4th:

Proposal: A Design Advice Request is a voluntary review process that allows the Commission to provide early feedback on a development proposal, prior to the required land use review.

The development proposed at this half-block site, former home of Pendleton Woolen Mills, is a new 16-story hotel building. With approximately 300 guest rooms, the 181,000 square foot structure would rise as a rectangular mass at the east edge of the site, abutting the SW 2nd Avenue frontage, to approximately 172 feet above the sidewalk. Ground floor uses include a large lobby, restaurant, small market, loading bay along SW Jefferson, and back-of-house functions. Conference and meeting room space is proposed at the second floor, and a rooftop restaurant and lounge are shown at the top/16th floor, both with extensive adjacent outdoor terrace areas.

The building mass is pulled back at the second floor level from SW Jefferson, SW Columbia and the adjacent apartment building on the same block (Essex House). Exterior materials include a glass curtainwall system, aluminum composite panels, textured split limestone veneer, and some form of composite rain screen panel system. No specific Adjustments or Modifications have been requested by the applicant at this time. With a project value of approximately $41.5 million, and a location within the downtown design district, the proposal requires a future Type III Design Review.

[maccoinnich]

Updated Design Advice drawings [PDF, 2.4 MB].

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Updated Design Advice drawings [PDF, 2.4 MB].

This makes the building look better. It should make for good infill for that area, and hopefully add some outside of work hours life to the area. Though I hope they make the restaurant a destination restaurant rather than a generic hotel restaurant if they hope it will get any real business.

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Updated Design Advice drawings [PDF, 2.4 MB].

On the rendering they have The Curio on top of the building, but on an elevation, and the project name, they are calling it The Porter?

[maccoinnich]

Maybe it will be the "The Curio by Hilton Porter Portland."

BTW could you change the thread title to 172' | 16 floors?

[MarkDaMan]

^Ugh, I hope not!

Updated, thanks for the info.

[RED_PDXer]

just a few floors taller and the rooftop bar/restaurant would have a great view. interesting that they couldn't go the distance...

[davehogan]

Originally Posted by RED_PDXer

just a few floors taller and the rooftop bar/restaurant would have a great view. interesting that they couldn't go the distance...

At 300 rooms it's already a large hotel, and at under two dozen floors per room it's tough to justify adding a few more floors just for a really tall restaurant/bar/etc.

And Mark, the Curio brand is a collection, like the Starwood Luxury Collection that the Nines is a part of. The Nines is the hotel's name, but it's part of the Luxury Collection for branding (think rewards, sales, standards, etc).

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by davehogan

And Mark, the Curio brand is a collection, like the Starwood Luxury Collection that the Nines is a part of. The Nines is the hotel's name, but it's part of the Luxury Collection for branding (think rewards, sales, standards, etc).

Totally get that. I don't understand where "The Porter" that shows up on some paperwork comes from.

[2oh1]

Is that maybe what the name is going to be? The Porter? Or have they already announced a name for it?

[twofiftyfive]

After it's cut to eight floors maybe they will rename it "The Stout".

[2oh1]

For what it is, I think it's the perfect height. It fits in with the Essex House without blending into it, and it doesn't block the KOIN. It fills half a block that was previously an abandoned building and a parking lot. This is a win for downtown.

[maccoinnich]

This project had its first Design Advice hearing last week. The Commission seemed to really like the building's massing, the exterior terraces, and the way the ground floor was laid out. They were also enthusiastic about the quality of the materials proposed. There was a lot more debate about the overall composition of the elevation. Some Commissioners seemed to like the split, while others didn't, but all agreed that the elevations needed to become more coherent. The BDS planner pointed out that the signage as shown wouldn't meet Portland's signage codes, and that the Commission would be highly unlikely to grant a modification for signage that large. A big point of discussion was that if the building is going to use individual HVAC units for each room the louvers will have to be incorporated into the facade much more skillfully than they are at the moment.

Oh, and the hotel is going to be called "The Porter".

[PDXDENSITY]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

This project had its first Design Advice hearing last week. The Commission seemed to really like the building's massing, the exterior terraces, and the way the ground floor was laid out. They were also enthusiastic about the quality of the materials proposed. There was a lot more debate about the overall composition of the elevation. Some Commissioners seemed to like the split, while others didn't, but all agreed that the elevations needed to become more coherent. The BDS planner pointed out that the signage as shown wouldn't meet Portland's signage codes, and that the Commission would be highly unlikely to grant a modification for signage that large. A big point of discussion was that if the building is going to use individual HVAC units for each room the louvers will have to be incorporated into the facade much more skillfully than they are at the moment.

Oh, and the hotel is going to be called "The Porter".

Thanks for this account! It really gives me a clear idea of what goes on in those meetings I usually can't attend due to schedule.

[maccoinnich]

They put the audio up on efiles a few days after the hearings. Here's a link to the audio from the Curio hearing. I think it's safe to say that I'm the only person at my gym working out to the sounds of the Portland Design Commission.

[PDXDENSITY]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

They put the audio up on efiles a few days after the hearings. Here's a link to the audio from the Curio hearing. I think it's safe to say that I'm the only person at my gym working out to the sounds of the Portland Design Commission.

Haha, that's awesome. Thanks for the link.

Edit: they need new mics... lol

[maccoinnich]

Project has applied for full Design Review.

[maccoinnich]

Design Review Request for Response [PDF]. Looks like they've significantly increased the area of glass curtain wall and reduced the area of Trespa panels, but otherwise looks pretty similar to how it did at the DAR.

[Derek]

Any updates on this building?

[maccoinnich]

Scheduled for a Design Review hearing April 2nd.