That might be one of the best renderings I have seen in a while, its as if those are real buildings in the skyline.
I really hope the city sides with Riverplace with this because it would be such a great change for that area. The current Riverplace would be better as a downtown Lake Oswego rather than a prime spot in downtown Portland. Currently that area is still very under utilized and a change like this would help tie downtown to SoWa better.
"Would my walks become more perilous through Pearl District-like traffic, sunless wind tunnels and cold concrete and glass storefronts?"
Talk about a BS quote right there, "sunless wind tunnels?" Its as if the person who said that has never been to Chicago or New York or any other skyscraper big city. The Pearl is far from being a sunless wind tunnel district. As for concrete and glass, that is just common building materials. Might as well have just said they only like things built out of wood and brick.