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LEE PERLMAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
In the last of a series of hearings, the Portland Design Commission unanimously approved plans for developer Gordon Jones' The Rose at Gateway Gardens. The buildings are a pair of four-story, 45-unit structures south of Northeast Glisan Street between 97th and 99th avenues in Prunedale - the area bordered by the I-205 freeway, Northeast Glisan and Southeast Stark streets, and 102nd Avenue.
As part of the project, Jones will construct a new street, Northeast Everett Place, between 97th and 99th. He will demolish several existing residential and commercial structures on the site.
The project has been the subject of several hearings before the commission, the last on June 7. At that time, members called for minor changes, but indicated they were prepared to vote for the project if these were made.
Between hearings, Jones and architect Greg Monaghan abandoned plans for a green trellis screen on some building walls, expanded walkways from a planned four feet to five, reconfigured the waste disposal area, and made other minor changes.
The delay prompted community activist Colleen Gifford, who attended the June 7 hearing, to send an angry letter to the commission. “I am extremely frustrated at how the design commission is looking beyond what Gateway currently is to making it become something the community does not want,” she wrote. “It seems the only people who do not get it are those who do not live in Gateway… It is a waste of government spending, time and Gordon's money to make him come back yet again.”
Commission member David Keltner, who indicated he had read Gifford and others' letters, said, “We need to blind ourselves to whether a development is good or bad, and judge whether it meets design guidelines. For some it's a neighborhood priority just to get development, but the guidelines preclude that. It's important to not just willy-nilly ignore the guidelines.” He said that such development is “making things happen in places where it's hard to make things happen. It needs to meet not just what the neighborhood is, but the vision for the neighborhood. This strikes a really great balance.”
Commission chair Gwen Millius said the changes Jones had made during review had made the project better. “This is particularly challenging in Gateway,” she said. “The market isn't there yet, but we have to start somewhere. This is a precedent, so we have to push a little bit.”
Even at this hearing, Keltner had some reservations about plans for balcony railings that delayed the final vote. He wound up asking Jones to pay “attention to detail” as part of his motion for approval of the project.
Jones later told the Memo that he is still working on securing funding for the project.
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