MEMO BLOG Memo Calendar Memo Pad Business Memos Loaves & Fishes Letters Home
FEATURE ARTICLES
Homeless Family Winter Shelter full
Mayoral candidate Hales: 'I can and will get it done.'
P.A.C.E. brings holiday cheer to recently homeless
Glisan Commons undergoes design review
Spirit awards spotlight east Portland
Flamingos flock to Beech Street
L.E.A.P. students create winter bash for friends, families
Community grows inside a garden fence

About the MEMO
MEMO Archives
MEMO Advertising
MEMO Country (Map)
MEMO Web Neighbors
MEMO Staff
MEMO BLOG

© 2012 Mid-county MEMO
Terms & Conditions
Glisan Commons undergoes design review

LEE PERLMAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO

The Glisan Commons is a new building slated for development at Northeast Glisan Street at 99th Avenue.
COURTESY HOLST ARCHITECTURE
Glisan Commons, a collaborative development by three non-profits planned for Northeast Glisan Street at 99th Avenue, had a Design Advisory - an informal discussion prior to a formal application - with the Portland Design Commission last month. The Commission called for some changes, but generally gave both the project and its design high marks.

The project is a joint venture by Human Solutions, which provides affordable housing and social services primarily in east Portland; Ride Connection, a transit services provider for the elderly and disabled throughout the city; and REACH Community Development, the city's largest non-profit, low-income housing provider.

Plans call for a five-story building with 67 units of affordable housing managed by Human Solutions, storage for part of Ride Connection's fleet of passenger vans and mini-buses, and a smaller building with office and kitchen facilities for the transit service. Phase II of the project calls for 60 units of senior housing (managed by REACH) in a multi-story building above the vehicles.

A significant change from earlier plans is that for financial reasons, Ride Connection will use a surface parking lot rather than a garage for vehicle storage. Architect Dave Otte said one benefit is that, until Phase II, the lot can be cleared of vehicles and used as a plaza for large public events.

Planner Chris Caruso said the partners would seek a master plan for the site through a separate process. They will also need a code adjustment, since their total compliment of housing does not meet the site's minimum density requirement of 130 units for its high-density residential (RX) zoning.

Otte said that two houses, a barn and a commercial building currently occupy the site, but will be demolished and removed before construction begins.

The Commission has received one letter from a neighbor, Amanda Rice. She is opposed not merely to the design but to the project as a whole: objecting to its scale and use of tax subsidies, and expressing fear that it will put pressure on other property owners to redevelop or sell out. The project received warmer responses from the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association and the Opportunity Gateway Urban Renewal Advisory Committee.

The Design Commission expressed some additional minor criticisms. Members said they would like to see larger windows, and several had reservations that HardiePlank® lap siding, a fiber cement product instead of wood, would be used as an exterior material. Commission member Andrew Jansky said it was “not the highest rated and best.” They called for more detailed information about the materials and the project in general.

However, for the most part the group was supportive. David Wark said, “Overall, this will be exponentially better than anything that's out there now.” Commission chair Gwen Millius told the development team, “It hasn't happened for me yet, but this is a very strong first pass.”
Memo Calendar | Memo Pad | Business Memos | Loaves & Fishes | Letters | About the MEMO
MEMO Advertising | MEMO Archives | MEMO Web Neighbors | MEMO Staff | Home