The Pearl District is about to get a new mixed-use project, but this one won't be like any the neighborhood has seen before. Freedom Center 1 is being planned with NW Pettygrove's impending Green Street designation in mind.
The project renderings look pretty modest at first glance. Three 4-story buildings, 50 x 100 ft each, filled with small studio apartments and ground-floor retail space. Principal architect Steve Fosler, of Fosler Portland Architecture readily admits that it is simple out of necessity.
"The developer wanted a design that could be financed and built in the current economic climate," Fosler says, "which leaves you with money to build a shoebox. But we have not only worked to meet [the developers'] needs, but we surprised ourselves. We reinvented the shoebox."
While the original intention may have been to build inexpensive buildings to create low-priced rentals, the vision has morphed into something much more relevant. Steve Fosler and his team had the foresight to pay attention to what their new neighbors had to say, and found that they had a lot to say about their hopes for the project.
Preliminary rendering of the proposed development
For the past three years, the Northwest District Association (NWDA) has called for NW Pettygrove, beginning at NW 15th where the Freedom Center 1 is slated to be built, to be a designated Green Street. This area is significant in that its creation would create a green link between Wallace Park (NW Pettygrove and NW Raleigh between NW 25th and NW 26th), and The Fields Park, which begins on NW 10th at NW Pettygrove, creating a safe thoroughfare for residents. There would be no parking on the four blocks between the Fields Park and NW 15th Street, allowing for wider sidewalks (20 feet on each side of a 20ft road), larger diameter street trees, and a more bike and pedestrian friendly atmosphere overall. It would also be physically ‘greener,' utilizing bioswale plantings to manage stormwater.
I learned from Patricia Gardener, Planning, Transportation, and Design Review Chair for the Pearl District Neighborhood Association (PDNA), where the community's concern about the development lay. She and other interested residents were eager to hear what the plans for the buildings would be, and especially what the plans were for the few parking spaces in front of the project. Gardener admits that although the Green Street designation has been in the works for years, it is not yet in the Portland Department of Transportation (PDOT)'s code. Technically, if the developer wanted to continue to utilize those spots for parking, he could. Gardener, and the rest of the proponents for the Green Street designation, hoped that he would take a long-term look at his decision.
NW Pettygrove looking east, the Pearl's future four blocks of green street
"If you only have four blocks, you don't want to let one go," Gardener told me, when we met prior to the Design Advice hearing that Steve Fosler had requested.
"I am hoping the developer sees this as an opportunity to really make a statement. With one hundred and fifty units planned, those few parking spaces wouldn't make an impact. We have lots of public parking in the Pearl. This is an opportunity to set the Green Street concept strongly."
Luckily, the developer (who, at this time has chosen not to be named), and Steve Fosler saw the opportunity as well. They looked around the neighborhood to find their target market. Their small and inexpensive housing, their minimalist design mixed with "green" common spaces in the form of courtyards and rooftop decks, their focus on bike parking—the entire blueprint seems a perfect fit for the many students who study in the Pearl District's two colleges, The Art Institute of Portland (Ai), and The Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA). These schools have always struggled with finding housing for students who often choose to live outside of the spendy Pearl.
"This [project] can potentially serve a real need for student housing in the Pearl," Gardener stated at the Design Advice hearing, speaking in favor of Fosler's design.
The site plan shows Freedom Center 1 on the north half and The Overton on the south half. The Overton, an office building, has been approved but must find a tenant before it is built.
Others on the design board were equally enthusiastic about the potential of this endeavor. Jeff Stuhr, chair of the Portland Design Commission, thought this was an "exciting opportunity." He said he felt that being able to offer affordable housing for students, allowing their energy to permeate the neighborhood both day and night would in turn "energize the district." He and the rest of the design commission had suggestions about keeping the design of the building simple, saying that that in itself would be making a statement. Instead of imitating projects with bigger budgets, they suggested embracing the utilitarian nature of the building as part of the movement to simplify and live greener. They suggested creating more communal gathering spaces and seating areas in the two courtyards that Fosler's renderings showed as full of plant life. They praised the Fosler design team for their forward thinking design—considering colors and textures that would blend well with the surrounding structures, keeping the paths through the courtyards open to Pettygrove, creating a continuum of green space. Fosler says that the project has gotten him back into the "mindset of a twenty-four year old," anxious to create a space that speaks to a forward-thinking generation. The Design Review also suggested ground-floor live/work spaces in the building that can encourage young entrepreneurs to open new businesses by offering them affordable rental rates.
With positive feedback and constructive ideas for further exploration, Fosler said he was pleased with the response and eager to get back to the design team with the Design Commissions suggestions.
"The team is working around the clock," Fosler told me. "We hope to have our finished design in for review by October." He says despite the tight deadline, he is excited about the great opportunity that lies in this project. Encouraging people to bike, not drive, offering housing for people who otherwise could not afford to live in the bustling district, and an opportunity to set a precedent for Green Street building projects is a tall order, but one with likely to get the attention and support of the community at large.
