Portland Architecture has photos and details on a new 12,000 square foot Muslim community center and mosque planned for the N Vancouver just south of Killingsworth. The plans for the building look gorgeous, but break with traditional mosque design. Rather than being centered around a dome, the building is an series of horizontal masonry layers […]
Build Out
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Rose Quarter Makeover Looking for Ideas
Today is the first day you can formally pitch your ideas for how the city should repurpose Memorial Coliseum over at the city Rose Quarter redevelopment website. This is a slightly more legitimate process than our Blogtown poll last month that revealed the public’s surprisingly strong support for turning the icon of modern architecture into […]
Posted inBuild Out
Millions of New Residents, Not Nearly as Many New Jobs Projected for Portland in 2050
As expected, the Metro meeting on the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) last Thursday was packed to the gills with people who wanted to talk about the plan for how Portland and its suburbs can accommodate millions of new residents without sprawling. Over 70 people signed up to talk and there honestly wasn’t a seat left […]
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Sprawl Vs. Open Space
For the first time in 30 years, Metro last month chose recommended to not expand the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), finally standing up to pressure to push further outward the area where developers can build new homes around Portland. The UGB is important stuff, it’s not just land use nerds wonking off. Check out this […]
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Reviving Portland’s 24-Hour Pleasure Spot
The city’s citizen Rose Quarter redevelopment team essentially needs to turn the clock back 60 years on the area around lower NE Broadway. The Rose Quarter redevelopment stakeholder group this month launched a year-long process looking at ways to turn the Quarter into a vibrant, high-density, mixed-use 24-hour entertainment district. But what stood out at […]
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Michael Jordan Says No to Sprawl.
Not that Michael Jordan. This Michael Jordan: Just as exciting, right? Michael Jordan is the chief operating officer over at Metro and just released the agency’s big report (pdf) detailing its recommendations for the future of Portland’s urban growth. Jordan’s plan? Not to expand the urban growth boundary, the border that limits Portland’s outward development. […]
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Council Okays Tax Break for N. Williams Project
The controversial $1.12 million tax abatement for the Albert Apartments project got four thumbs up from city council this morning, as all the commissioners except Amanda Fritz decided that the 72-unit project’s benefits are worth public investment. The design and character of the building planned for the former House of Sound lot on N. Williams […]
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PDC Ponders Property Swap to Lure Asian Grocery
Condos and cupcake bistros aren’t the only victims of the economic downtown. As the Waterfront Urban Renewal Area’s budget has shrunk, so have plans for the Uwajimaya downtown. The massive, fantastic Asian grocery chain was hoping to turn the parking lot at the corner of NW 4th and Couch into a new food outlet plus […]
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Some LEED Buildings Fail to Remain “Green”
Very interesting article in the New York Times today about LEED buildings falling short of green goals. One of the problems with LEED (though Slate spells out a few more) is that it just relates to how a new building is constructed and does not follow up with how the building actually functions day-to-day after […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council Questions $1.12 Million Tax Break for North Williams Apartments
Neighborhood opponents of the Albert Apartment project finally got their say in front of City Council this morning. And it sounded like Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Nick Fish might have been swayed by their concerns about the 72 apartments planned for the former House of Sound lot on North Williams. The Design Commission recommended the […]
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Portland Now Has the Nation’s Largest Robotic Parking Structure
The new 51-unit Hawthorne apartment complex “The 20” has 29 parking spaces packed into an area that could usually only fit 10, thanks to a high tech robotic car-stacking system. Check out the O‘s video: Robo parking at The 20 The steel puzzle parking machine is made in Detroit, which is great, but the manufacturer […]
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Will Portland Welcome a “One-of-a-Kind Nike Interactive Experience”?
A line from the handout the Blazers passed out at City Council yesterday to describe their vision of “Jumptown” just caught my eye. This is their general redevelopment idea for all of the Rose Quarter, including Memorial Coliseum: “Jumptown: Portland’s Rec Room will be a world-class mixed-use sports and entertainment district in one of Portland’s […]