Comming soon in Lents

A new food cart pod, pub and a market-rate apartment building are likely on the menu for the Lents neighborhood after the Portland Development Commission approved the sale of a slice of property at the corner of Southeast Woodstock Boulevard and Southeast 93rd Avenue.

The PDC Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 Wednesday night to approve the sale of two parcels oflents land to Clackamas construction company Lisac Brothers Construction. The latter is planning two phases of development, the first of which would be a commercial building and a pavilion for a small food cart pod. According to information from PDC, an “affiliated entity” will occupy the commercial building and operate a restaurant and pub.

The second phase will be a multi-unit, market-rate apartment building.

PDC bought the two properties, which sit at the southeast corner of Southeast 93rd Avenue and Woodstock Boulevard in 2000 for $122,000 and $143,000. The agency is selling them to Lisac for $500,000. In April, the properties were appraised at a total of $469,000.

PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman said the process now shifts to due diligence for the developer.

The project, according to PDC, falls in line with the agency’s five-year plan for the Lents Town Center.

“The proposed housing element of the project would help achieve community desires for a broad spectrum of housing choices within the Lents Town Center including new market rate housing,” PDC staff wrote in a report. “In addition, the project brings new private investment to the Lents Town Center providing new market comparables for other private investment opportunities in Lents … (It will also) provide much needed active uses along Southeast Woodstock Boulevard, and the food cart pod and proposed restaurant are uses identified by the community as highly desirable for the Lents Town Center.”

The proposed development is just one of a handful that PDC has been working to kickstart in recent months.

Original article can be found HERE on the Portland Business Journal Website

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New Apartment building designed for bike enthusiasts

bike aptIn Portland’s Eliot neighborhood, a cycling-centric apartment building is wrapping up construction along Northeast Cook Street.

The mixed-use, 206-unit Cook Street Apartments is the largest complex in the North Williams Corridor and borders North Williams Avenue, a bike route that connects commuters over the Broadway Bridge directly into the City Center, about two miles away.

“The ongoing redevelopment of this area is starting to move toward mixed-use facilities, that’s kind of the trend in this zone right now,” said Aaron Rieck, the onsite project manager with Sierra Construction. “Also, it’s very cycling-centric — that’s part of the difference in the coding, they don’t require parking at all — it’s designed for cycling-centric commuting into town.”

… Cook Street Apartments was developed by Lake Union Partners, designed by LRS Architects and built by Sierra Construction. Its neighborhood is one area that has become more economically valuable than in the past due to its proximity to downtown.

Even though the site is on a bike route directly into downtown Portland, and zoning doesn’t require developers to build parking lots, Cook Street Apartments has parking for 146 cars and 252 bikes.

“In the grand scheme of things, everyone’s going to ride a bike,” Rieck said. “But there are still people who own cars and you end up in a condition where the overflow is moving into the neighborhood, taking up everyone’s spare spots.”

JULES ROGERS - The sculpted orb, made from bicycle gears, represents the cycle-centric buildings amenities and location.

JULES ROGERS – The sculpted orb, made from bicycle gears, represents the cycle-centric buildings amenities and location.

As for other amenities, the residents’ rooftop patio on the sixth floor has indoor-outdoor fireplaces, BBQs, huge sliding doors that connect a community kitchen to the outdoors and a restroom. Two plazas on the southern corners of the lot add landscaped greenery and artwork in the shape of a prominent sculpted orb made from bicycle gears…

The total project cost $30 million, including a little grant money from the Energy Trust of Oregon to add efficient lighting and low-flow water fixtures. At the peak of construction more than 140 workers were onsite, according to Rieck.

The U-shaped building cradles an above-ground parking lot roofed by metal racks that will soon be covered in growing vines. Handpainted murals of historical architecture in the neighborhood adorn the enclosed street-level parking lot.

… The market-rate units range from $1,270 for a small studio to $2,575 for a spacious two-bedroom. Thirteen of the units are already leased.

The entire story can be found HERE on the Business Tribune’s website.

 

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Neighborhood clean-up calendar

Curb too close?  Dump too far?

Do you have items in your home that are difficult to dispose of because of their size and shape?  Neighborhood cleanups make disposing of bulky waste (old furniture, cat castles, etc.) easy.  Plus they cost less than fees garbagerequired at the dump and help to fund community activities like picnics, movie nights and more!  Eight different cleanups are scheduled April-May 2016 throughout SE Portland…

Click the link HERE for the cleanup calendar and the fine print, brought to you by SE Uplift.

 

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