Burnside One | 350' | 30 floors | Proposed

[sopdx]

Is this a joke?

https://www.portlandmaps.com/detail/...A/4952846_did/

[maccoinnich]

That's an odd one. Aside from the fact that it would need to go through the Historic Landmarks Commission, the site is zoned for 75' max height. Maybe there's some recent state level override of that, but if there is I can't recall it.

[sopdx]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

That's an odd one. Aside from the fact that it would need to go through the Historic Landmarks Commission, the site is zoned for 75' max height. Maybe there's some recent state level override of that, but if there is I can't recall it.

Plus the footprint is very narrow. It would be like a 30-story billboard.

I'm wondering if the address is a misprint.

[Rob Nob]

The footprint is probably not just that one tax lot. It is just the one they attached it to. The other vacant lots are the same owner, so it is probably all of them combined.

[pdxsg34]

Id love to see a tower this size on these lots, especially affordable housing, but... with this being under historic design review, it being surrounded by historic buildings (some very iconic, eg. New Market Annex/Theater, Bickel Building, etc), and the current zoning, I'd say this is dead on arrival. Prove me wrong Portland!

[2oh1]

Whoa. 30 stories of affordable housing, somewhere near that location? ...presumably on one of the vacant lots? Oh, heck yeah!!! It would be in for a fight, but it would be so good for that neighborhood if they can manage to get it done.

[sopdx]

The owner is Skidmore Fountain Plaza, LLC and they have been organized since 2012 so I assume they have some knowledge of the zoning. The other section of the block is owned by the Salvation Army.

[downtownpdx]

I really hope they do this, we need the height in that area and the housing.

[Rob Nob]

I recall that nothing in the district is supposed to be taller than the "Old Town" water tower on the White Stag building.

[Jakz]

Wonder if it's an opening gambit to test the city's openness to relaxing zoning requirements in the area. Old Town desperately needs investment, but clearly it hasn't been happening with incremental 6-7 story projects. Will be interesting to see what follows.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by sopdx

Plus the footprint is very narrow. It would be like a 30-story billboard.

I'm wondering if the address is a misprint.

It's over half the block, the skinny building lot, the vacant lot to the west, and the parking lot to the south. So in theory a 30 story building could go there.

Personally I would love to see some new residential towers going up in the vacant lots and parking lots in Old Town, the height restrictions in that area make no sense to me. I would get wanting to preserve the low building feel of Old Town if urban renewal and Harbor Drive never mowed down a bunch of historic buildings.

[HillsboroTech]

Rendering: https://djcoregon.com/news/2023/08/0...portland-site/

[maccoinnich]

Net-zero high-rise proposed for downtown Portland site



Downtown Portland could soon see a massive influx of affordable apartments in just one project.

Access Architecture recently initiated the process to discuss with the Portland Bureau of Development Services the possibility of constructing a 30-story (approximately 350 feet tall), net-zero building. “Burnside One” would hold approximately 700 affordable housing units atop ground-floor commercial space.

The proposed location for Burnside One is a half-block at 108 W. Burnside St., adjacent to MAX light-rail tracks.

The project is the second collaboration between Access Architecture and developer Curtis Rystadt. Their previous joint effort, TimberView, an eight-story, mass-timber building with 105 affordable housing units, is under construction in the Gateway neighborhood.

Rystadt’s mission is to add affordable housing downtown but in a way that lowers resident costs through sustainable measures. One for Burnside One would be the inclusion of a heating and cooling system that draws heat from the ground or water in cooler months, distributes it throughout the building, and returns it to those sources in warmer months.

...continues at the DJC.

[sopdx]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

It's over half the block, the skinny building lot, the vacant lot to the west, and the parking lot to the south. So in theory a 30 story building could go there.

Personally I would love to see some new residential towers going up in the vacant lots and parking lots in Old Town, the height restrictions in that area make no sense to me. I would get wanting to preserve the low building feel of Old Town if urban renewal and Harbor Drive never mowed down a bunch of historic buildings.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out with the height limitations and dealing with HLC.

Considering we are in such dire need of affordable housing, hopefully, there will be some give.

[2oh1]

The thing where the balconies shift position looks more like a glitch than actual design, but everything else about it looks like a great starting point. Obviously, it'll go through changes, if we're fortunate enough to see it ever built, but I like the way the podium fits the typical height of the neighborhood, and the glass tower rising above it is mostly very minimal, calling less attention to itself.

There's a lot to like here.

This, and developing the Goodman lots, could be amazing for downtown.

[PhillyPDX]

This will be interesting. I don't think there is a location with more an issue for crime/sidewalk camps in the entire city than that specific block, so I can't image many people looking to move there, at least not at first. But it will effectively need to be gentrified to be cleaned up, so maybe this is a good first step. Unfortunately with all the entrenched different services in the area, literally on every surrounding block, it might never get fully cleaned up. So what will give?

[AdamUrbanist]

I sincerely doubt this proposal will come to anything but I hope it does spur a serioius discussion about height limits in old town. This part of the city is a very expensive place to build. Making development pencil requires an economy of scale that's difficult to reach with 6 or 7 story buildings.

[colossalorder]

I'd be so curious to see how this would sit in the skyline esp. vs. big pink, white stag sign etc. Not sure if anyone has the tools to drop a block like that into an image of the city.

I'm so impressed with the boldness of the concept ... especially dropping it into ground zero of Portland urban blight. I'd like to be hopeful for big move like this to address housing crisis, but this feels like one that is going to get the Honeyman hardware loft treatment by the Debbie Downers that control design review.

[maccoinnich]

It's not even up to design review staff. 33.510.210.B.1 of the zoning code says that "Adjustments to height limits shown on Map 510-3 are prohibited." (emphasis mine). In this case "prohibited" means that there's no way to get it approved.

[Tykendo]

I would love to live there. Just a working 59 yr. old stiff who can't afford to live on my own with current rent cost. This is the kind of development that could spur a cleaning up of that area. You already have the Saturday market in that area. Having affordable , workforce , type of housing would be great to get a quality 24 hour presence in that area. Nice looking building too. I'd be proud to have a studio in that structure. Close to games, and activities. Maybe those old planning rules were perfect for the old times. This is a new day, with larger problems. Time to bend those rules and get development done that puts a major dent in the housing crisis of today.