Block 216 Tower - Ritz Hotel and Condos | 459'-11 1/2" | 35 floors | Complete

[subterranean]

It's the Ritz Carlton Portland. I'm not sure if this was posted before, but here's a flyby view of the skyline I just found on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/GBDArchitec...44841699402161

[downtownpdx]

Great video, this will be such a nice gap filler.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Great video, this will be such a nice gap filler.

It is worth noting, as each of us curates our own dream Portland skyline plugging in towers where gaps remain, that there are often handsome, historic, worthy-of-preservation buildings on those sites. For that reason, Portland will never have an uninterrupted Midtown Manhattan skyline.

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by DMH

It is worth noting, as each of us curates our own dream Portland skyline plugging in towers where gaps remain, that there are often handsome, historic, worthy-of-preservation buildings on those sites. For that reason, Portland will never have an uninterrupted Midtown Manhattan skyline.

I bet you’re fun at parties

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by subterranean

It's the Ritz Carlton Portland.

It has a website too: rcrportland.com

RCR = Ritz Carlton Residences.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by subterranean

It's the Ritz Carlton Portland. I'm not sure if this was posted before, but here's a flyby view of the skyline I just found on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/GBDArchitec...44841699402161

Great video, I would love to see more buildings this size going up in Portland. I think it is the ideal tall building that isn't too tall or too stubby.

[maccoinnich]

My understanding is that the hotel and residential condo units are being branded as the Ritz Carlton, however that's not the name of the building itself (which also includes retail and considerable amounts of office space).

[DMH]

Originally Posted by subterranean

I bet you’re fun at parties

Realists have lots of fun, too.

[QAtheSky]

Originally Posted by DMH

It is worth noting, as each of us curates our own dream Portland skyline plugging in towers where gaps remain, that there are often handsome, historic, worthy-of-preservation buildings on those sites. For that reason, Portland will never have an uninterrupted Midtown Manhattan skyline.

I agree, but there are still so many surface parking lots and uninspiring short commercial buildings that I can conjure up a pretty vancouver-esque looking skyline without thinking of harming those buildings.

This building helps swing the momentum towards the west end where at least 5 different parking lots are just crying out for a nice tower or mid-rise.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by QAtheSky

I agree, but there are still so many surface parking lots and uninspiring short commercial buildings that I can conjure up a pretty vancouver-esque looking skyline without thinking of harming those buildings.

This building helps swing the momentum towards the west end where at least 5 different parking lots are just crying out for a nice tower or mid-rise.

I agree that the abundance of parking lots in the West End of Downtown offer great opportunities for new towers to fill in the skyline. The rising 11 West building on SW Washington between 11th and 12th Avenues is just one example of that.

[CorbinWarrick]

Originally Posted by DMH

I agree that the abundance of parking lots in the West End of Downtown offer great opportunities for new towers to fill in the skyline. The rising 11 West building on SW Washington between 11th and 12th Avenues is just one example of that.

It still shocks me more mid risers (low to mid 20s stories) towers weren’t built there during the peak housing crisis Portland experienced

[downtownpdx]

Originally Posted by DMH

It is worth noting, as each of us curates our own dream Portland skyline plugging in towers where gaps remain, that there are often handsome, historic, worthy-of-preservation buildings on those sites. For that reason, Portland will never have an uninterrupted Midtown Manhattan skyline.

Totally agree, I'd never want to see that pattern for the sake of a high rise. But like the West End, I'd love to see some of the surface lots around Oak & Stark streets towards the river get some action. From the east side, it just bugs me how the tall buildings all fade away towards the river leaving Big Pink sticking out by itself. I don't mean a wall of glassy towers a la SOWA, but some nice infill that would both energize the Ankeny neighborhood (and one day maybe give Saturday Market the ability to go 5, 6, 7 days/ week?) and give some oomph to that part of the skyline.

[DMH]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Totally agree, I'd never want to see that pattern for the sake of a high rise. But like the West End, I'd love to see some of the surface lots around Oak & Stark streets towards the river get some action. From the east side, it just bugs me how the tall buildings all fade away towards the river leaving Big Pink sticking out by itself. I don't mean a wall of glassy towers a la SOWA, but some nice infill that would both energize the Ankeny neighborhood (and one day maybe give Saturday Market the ability to go 5, 6, 7 days/ week?) and give some oomph to that part of the skyline.

Just a few years ago there was an image or there were images being circulated that showed all of the parking lots owned by the Goodman family built out to their maximum FARs. I wish I knew where those images are on the web. The build-out would come close to filling in the Oak/Stark gaps that you describe.

[downtownpdx]

Yeah I saw that too, looked awesome. I guess they're for lease if I'm not mistaken, so open for development?

[AdamUrbanist]

https://theankenyblocks.com/

This may be what you're thinking of. It's not all of the lots they own but a good chunk of them.

[avatar07]

Originally Posted by DMH

Just a few years ago there was an image or there were images being circulated that showed all of the parking lots owned by the Goodman family built out to their maximum FARs. I wish I knew where those images are on the web. The build-out would come close to filling in the Oak/Stark gaps that you describe.

You mean this?



Image courtesy of nextportland.com
https://www.nextportland.com/2016/02...ankeny-blocks/

[downtownpdx]

Thank you, yes! ^^

[AcmeGreg]

Thanks for posting the GBD "flyover" video, subterranean (my favorite Radiohead song by the way). The long distance fly-by - not fly-over - doesn't really do justice to the claim that this building will "transform Portland's skyline", itself an overly hyperbolic statement to say the least. This will serve to fill a missing tooth between PAW and US Bank, but would have required a bit more height and/or architectural distinction to be transformational. Something on the order of the twin towers proposed for the Post Office site a while back might have achieved that lofty goal.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by AcmeGreg

Thanks for posting the GBD "flyover" video, subterranean (my favorite Radiohead song by the way). The long distance fly-by - not fly-over - doesn't really do justice to the claim that this building will "transform Portland's skyline", itself an overly hyperbolic statement to say the least. This will serve to fill a missing tooth between PAW and US Bank, but would have required a bit more height and/or architectural distinction to be transformational. Something on the order of the twin towers proposed for the Post Office site a while back might have achieved that lofty goal.

Either the twin tower proposal or the Riverplace proposal if they went with the original plan from Kengo Kuma.

[CorbinWarrick]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

Either the twin tower proposal or the Riverplace proposal if they went with the original plan from Kengo Kuma.

Portland would never do that. Way to ambitious