Up Sucker Creek: Wizer Block & Evergreen NA Meeting

Evergreen Neighborhood Association is holding a meeting on:

Evergreen Neighborhood Association Meeting

Monday, September 30

7:00 pm

Parish Hall, Our Lady of the Lake Church

The public is welcome to attend, but voting is restricted to neighborhood association members only. On tap for the evening is a discussion about the Wizer Block development. The developers, now called, Evergreen LLC, will be on hand, presumably to give a presentation and answer questions.

The development on the Wizer block has been controversial for it's height and sheer mass. The buildings will be up to 5 stories high making it taller than Lake View Village. The buildings will extend from curb to curb with some landscaping setbacks. The size and shape of the complex is identical to Transportation Oriented Development (TOD) going on in cities across the nation. Except for the application of the "Lake Oswego Style" facade (Oregon Rustic, Tudor, and Arts and Crafts), you wouldn't know where you were.

For anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to see the drawings and hear the developers and listen to the neighborhood concerns, this is your chance. The preliminary plans have been approved and a development agreement signed with the city, so the next stop is a Public Hearing with the Design Review Commission in the near future.

It is my guess that the business plan for the apartments (and possibly some condos), is flawed. But then I could be very wrong. It doesn't seem likely that young professionals will want to live in the suburbs when all the action -- the mass of other young singles, brew pubs, entertainment, etc. -- is happening in Portland. As for the well-off retiree who wants a luxury apartment - that's a distinct possibility, though there seems to be too many 1-bedroom units to accommodate the demanding needs of that niche. And studies show that young families do move out of the central city for the 'burbs when they have children, but it is for the space offered by single family homes with a yard, not apartment living. This will be an interesting project to watch develop.

For any apartment, large or small, luxury or modest, the most important part of being successful is the lease up. If there are not enough clients due to price or demand, there will have to be adjustments in rent and tenant criteria to get the place filled. That will set the tone of the complex for a long time to come. This is what makes real estate development such a gamble, especially at the high end.

Here are some images of the Evergreen LLC proposed development - taken from photos I took at one of their meetings.