Old Town/Chinatown News

[65MAX]

Much better. I agree about the faux historicism, not a fan, but the massing is vastly improved over the hodge podge with the gaping hole in the middle they had before. I like that they broke the façade up into two distinct volumes, not 4 or 5.

[Sioux612]

Demo has started on the Grove hotel site.

[maccoinnich]

Photo from Emerick Architects of progress at the Overland Company Warehouse:



(via facebook)

[maccoinnich]

Staff Report [PDF] for the Worldmark, which now recommends approval.

[maccoinnich]

Portland Monthly is reporting that Pine Street Market is open, albeit with only two of the tenants. The rest will open over the course of the month.

[maccoinnich]

I went to the Pine Street Market and had some delicious rotisserie chicken from Pollo Bravo. The place is very cool, and was already pretty busy.

First look: Pine Street Market, downtown Portland's new food hall



After months of construction and permitting delays, Pine Street Market, downtown Portland's hotly-anticipated food hall, is set to open in the coming weeks.

The 10,000-square-foot food hall spans entire ground floor of the 1886 United Carriage and Baggage Transfer Building and will bring nine, big-name Portland restaurants, bakeries and more together under its skylit roof.

Pine Street Market, from project developers Jean Pierre Veillet, David Davies and Rob Brewster and culinary curator Mike Thelin, will give Portland its first taste of a red-hot modern food trend, the curated food hall, which has already found success in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

...continues at the Oregonian (with lots of pictures).

[maccoinnich]

The Landmarks Commission approved the Worldmark on Monday. Much as I tend to disagree that Commission, their review really did improve that project.

[maccoinnich]

Wasserman & Weil buildings, which were demolished in 1954. (The site is still a carpark today). The WorldMark is going to incorporate salvaged cast iron from the buildings at its ground floor.



I really love this photo, because it shows how badly decayed the area was, and really helps explain how it was that we lost so many of these cast iron buildings. And yet it's also easy to look at them and imagine what they might have looked like had they been restored by someone like Venerable Properties.

[AcmeGreg]

I really love this photo, because it shows how badly decayed the area was, and really helps explain how it was that we lost so many of these cast iron buildings. And yet it's also easy to look at them and imagine what they might have looked like had they been given restored by someone like Venerable Properties.[/QUOTE]

Forget the buildings... look at the lines on that cool automobile!

[maccoinnich]

Pine Street Market Opens Tomorrow: A Comprehensive Guide to What to Eat and Drink



The long-awaited day is almost here: The massive Pine Street Market food hall curated by Feast co-founder Mike Thelin officially opens May 1. The downtown market is a cross between a big European food hall and a mall-like food court, and the eight restaurants inside are owned and operated by the coolest kids in school, from Olympia Provisions and Salt & Straw, to John Gorham. Accordingly, Pine Street Market isn't just one of this city's most-anticipated opening, it's one of the most anticipated openings in the country.

Since the market offers 10,000 square feet of options, we put together this handy guide to what to eat and drink. All of the restaurants inside are new concepts from established restaurant owners, most from the Portland-area, and for seating, you'll find a large communal dining area in the center of the food hall, as well as a handful of seats at most of the restaurants themselves. And there's still one puzzle piece missing: A final restaurant has yet to be named as the ninth restaurant inside Pine Street Market.

...continues at Eater PDX.

[maccoinnich]

The new Skidmore/Old Town Historic District Design Guidelines [PDF] are going before City Council next week. The idea that the Historic Landmarks Commission would ever approve some of examples (see pages 57, 58, 67) is hilarious.

[maccoinnich]

[cailes]

That is a lot of building about to be shoehorned in that tiny little space. Going to be neat.

Somehow looking at the size of the lot, and the proposed 9 story addition, the renderings make it look longer on the east/west direction.

[Abide]

Its' already fun watching them work in that tiny pocket. They were scraping away at the party wall attached to Floating World Comics today. Looks like they were working to smooth the rough edges. Also, the lions on the Chinese gate are getting refurbished right now as well. Quite a busy little intersection at the moment.

[maccoinnich]

A foundation permit was issued for the Grove Hotel renovation and expansion:

partial – EXISTING BUILDING: demolish north theater addition (portion of building within the new tower footprint) and basement level, ground level, second level + third level- existing slab on grade, existing non-structural partitions, ceilings, finishes, etc. New footings for new shear walls. Install new basement level slab (new lower elevation). New shear walls. EXISTING AND NEW ADDITION UNDERGROUND UTILITIES: water, sanitary, storm, electrical piping. NEW ADDITION FOUNDATION (Foundation = below grade plus ground floor slab): New shoring- steel soldier piles + lagging, tiebacks, and shotcrete. Matt slab on rammed aggregate piers foundation (Geopiers). Basement foundation walls- Shoring becomes permanent basement foundation walls. Basement level cast-in-place concrete columns. Ground level PT slab (entry level at grade).

[Abide]

Spot on the Grove Hotel.

http://www.kgw.com/money/business/po...ject/171292285

[maccoinnich]

Fantastic. Another surface parking lot in Old Town looks like it might be disappearing. A Pre-Application Conference has been scheduled by GBD Architects to discuss a project at 108 SW 3rd Ave:

Pre-Application Conference to discuss a Type III Historic Resource Review for a new 6-story mixed-use building with approx. 9,000 sq. ft of ground-level retail, 120 market-rate residential units and 63 below-grade parking spaces. Eco-roofs are proposed. The applicant submitted a list of questions for staff response.

(For those of you keeping score at home this is one the Goodmans' "Ankeny Blocks".)

[ORNative]

What a great location if you like to eat! Pine Street around the corner, VooDoo close enough to smell and a steakhouse across the street at Embassy Suites. Also zoned for 75' and a 6 story building proposed. Great to see this part of town developing. Who would have thought five years ago that an apartment building would go into that area?

[cailes]

Great news!

[downtownpdx]

Awesome, I love seeing this area come to life. I think the Pine Street Market has pushed the Skidmore District to another level. And the Ankeny alley by Voodoo has become its own destination, which I'm sure the owners of the historic Dan & Louis Oyster bar don't mind. I can't believe I've never set foot in there, & it's been around for about a century. .... Now hopefully we get to see some projects over 6 stories around here in the coming years. Although this will be nice infill and keeping with the funky low rise old buildings nearby.