Kessi's Group: How they did it in Portland

Note:  Because of the length of the previous edition, this post has been revised.  All material removed is part of the City of Portland Design Review and can be viewed in the original document. 

Below are excerpts of the City of Portland Design Review for the Cathedral Apartments in St. Johns, developed by both Kessi and Wegner. The actual document is very long and can be viewed HERE.

It is surprising to the average person reading this because there appear to be so many contradictions between the requirements for a small scale Main Street that preserves the historical look and feel of the St. Johns area, and what is being proposed.  When it comes time to address how the project fulfills these requirements, city staff admits that the design, scale and mass of the building do not blend in with the area, but are appropriate to other parts of the city.  That is enough to get over this significant hurdle.  The list goes on - from the requirement for 50' storefronts to setbacks from the street and view corridors.  In the end, the city acknowledges that the applicant revised the plan to accommodate some of the criticisms of the project, but it remains essentially the same as before.

Having been so successful in achieving their goal with Portland building officials, Kessi and crew could be expecting the same in Lake Oswego: revise parts of the building to appease critics, but not address the main objections of mass and scale. You will note at the end that the report contains information supplied by the applicant, so it would be a good idea to carefully read through the Revised Design Narrative on the LORA Project page for descriptions of the Wizer block project.

Excerpts:  (emphasis mine)

NOTICE OF A TYPE II DECISION AND POTENTIAL APPEAL HEARING DATE ON A PROPOSAL IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
The Bureau of Development Services has approved a proposal in your neighborhood.
The reasons for the decision are included in the version located on the BDS website http://www.portlandonline.com/bds/index.cfm?c=46429. 

 CASE FILE NUMBER: LU 12-169740 DZM – ST. JOHNS IVANHOE

GENERAL INFORMATION

Applicant:
Property Owner:

Jennifer Jenkins, Ankron Moisan Architects
6720 SW Macadam Ave., Suite 100 Portland, OR 97219
Cathedral Group LLC Attn.: Geoff Wenker P.O. Box 1105 Scappoose, OR 97056 

REVISIONS: In response to staff concerns, the applicant has made some minor changes to the project since the mailed notice. The majority of the rooftop lounge structure has been changed to an open wood trellis with the same height and footprint, concrete versus cement panel is proposed at the podium level on the Syracuse and Alta elevations, and a decorative trellis screen has been proposed in several locations at the base of the building on Philadelphia and Ivanhoe. Otherwise, the project remains the same as shown in the original mailed notice.

Zoning: The Neighborhood Commercial 2 (CN2) base zone is intended for small commercial sites and areas in or near less dense or developing residential neighborhoods. The emphasis of the zone is on uses which will provide services for the nearby residential areas, and on other uses which are small scale and have little impact. The Design (d) overlay zone is intended to preserve, enhance, and protect areas of the City with special scenic, architectural or cultural qualities. Regulations of the Design overlay zone require either a Design Review or compliance with the Community Design Standards for new buildings and most exterior alterations to a site. The Scenic (s) overlay zone is intended to protect Portland’s scenic resources as identified in the Scenic Resources Protection Plan. At this site, the scenic resource is a Panorama from the center of the St. John’s Bridge span of the surrounding hills and mountains, but there is no specific height restriction within this particular panorama designation.

The St. Johns plan district provides for an urban level of mixed-use development including commercial, employment, office, housing, institutional, and recreation uses. Specific objectives of the plan district include strengthening St. Johns role as the commercial and civic center of the North Portland peninsula. 

Neighborhood Review: A Notice of Proposal in Your Neighborhood was mailed on September 6, 2012. A total of three written responses have been received from either the Neighborhood Association or notified property owners in response to the proposal.

The first letter was received from a representative of the St. Johns Main Street Coalition. This letter includes a cover letter that is generally supportive of the project, but also specific suggestions made by six different coalition members from a meeting on the project. The comments are also generally supportive, but include the following recommendations and concerns:

• There could be more diversity in the façade, greater setbacks from the street, and perhaps visible rooftop gardens;
• The internal courtyard could benefit from having some visibility to the street;
• The design could be more reflective of the existing patterns in St. Johns, with more of a
  main street, small-town character;
• The design could reduce the mass and scale of the building by greater definition at the
  ground floor, and a more distinct and defined top floor given the high visibility of the
  structure;
• Greater and more public spaces should be provided along the street adjacent to the
  sidewalk;
• The building design should break down the facades into 50’-0” or less increments per the supplemental design guidelines for St. Johns; and 
• The building has a Brutalist, office-like feel, and is out of character with the St. Johns Main Street neighborhood.

Another letter, from a nearby resident, asks that the proposal be rejected. This letter objects to the loss of views of the river and Forest Park from downtown St. Johns, and that the high- density building and parking will create traffic and safety problems in the area. The author feels that the building bears no design relationship to other buildings in St. Johns, that it will cast shadows over the main street district, and that the building should be constructed at a different location.

The third letter is submitted on behalf of the Friends of Cathedral Park Neighborhood Association, the St. Johns Neighborhood Association, and the St. Johns Main Street Coalition Design Committee. While the letter expresses overall support for the project, several specific design-related concerns have been raised. In general, the industrial modern design of the building challenges the history of St. Johns and its small town character, and it’s not an immediately obvious fit. However, the architectural diversity of St. Johns allows room for such modern design, and the project includes elements that recognize the surrounding historic architecture. Concerns remain about the scale and massing of the building in relation to the adjacent small town context. Though the design creates a successful pedestrian-scale rhythm of façade materials that break down the horizontal mass of the building, the elevation views don’t fully achieve similar integration to the small town fabric of the community, particularly on the Ivanhoe frontage. The integration of façade material changes and balconies on the Philadelphia frontage much more successfully addresses this challenge, and efforts should be made to better integrate the design with the streetcar-era building facades nearby.

Staff Response: Concerns about the design of the building, including conformance with the ‘desired characteristics and traditions’ sub-guidelines for St. Johns, will be considered in the findings of this decision. The applicant has indicated that follow-up meetings occurred between them and the neighborhood associations, leading to the re-design of the proposal to include vegetated trellis work at the ground floor along both Philadelphia and Ivanhoe, as well as replacement of the enclosed rooftop gathering space with an open wood trellis structure. Views through the site from downtown St. Johns to the bridge and Forest Park are not protected under current zoning, which allows for the proposed four-story building at this site. 

P1. Plan Area Character. Enhance the sense of place and identity by incorporating site and building design features that respond to the area’s desired characteristics and traditions.
Findings: The site is in the Downtown St. Johns urban character area in the Desired Characteristics and Traditions appendix (K) to the Community Design Guidelines. This appendix includes suggestions about how new buildings should support St. Johns role as the heart of the town center, with a strong pedestrian-oriented presence. Strategies to support this include the following:

• Developing small-scale buildings of 50 feet in width or less, one to three stories in height. Mass of taller or wider buildings can be moderated by incorporating architectural details that individualize storefronts or stepping back from the street; 
• The transition between commercial and residential zones is important. New development along boundary streets such as Syracuse on the west edge of the project should include design elements that reflect the scale and character of the residential zone. 

0. The building type is reminiscent of early twentieth century courtyard apartment buildings in Portland, with a central courtyard and exterior building walls at or near the street lot line, often with a narrow row of plants or shrubbery along the sidewalk. The four-storey height of the building, however, was not traditionally found in the St. Johns neighborhood, but is found in Northwest, Downtown, and parts of close-in East Portland. 
   

D7. Blending into the Neighborhood. Reduce the impact of new development on established neighborhoods by incorporating elements of nearby, quality buildings such as building details, massing, proportions, and materials. 

The visual mass of the building is broken down into vertical segments through the use of the repeating, random brick pilasters. The vertical brick banding is a complementary, modern nod to the old city hall across the street, and to the soaring cable stays and towers of the bridge. The cement panel system has an integral color treatment, which ensures a long-lasting, durable finish to the gray-brown primary background walls of the building. The large storefront windows at ground level and custom trellis structures with climbing vines at the ground floor help to distinguish and soften the Philadelphia and Ivanhoe frontages, with entries further detailed by projecting canopies and lighting.

CONCLUSIONS

Some of the information contained in this report was provided by the applicant.
As required by Section 33.800.060 of the Portland Zoning Code, the burden of proof is on the applicant to show that the approval criteria are met. The Bureau of Development Services has independently reviewed the information submitted by the applicant and has included this information only where the Bureau of Development Services has determined the information satisfactorily demonstrates compliance with the applicable approval criteria. This report is the decision of the Bureau of Development Services with input from other City and public agencies.