The Burnside Blog

Posted By Tim DuRoche on 11/06/2008

Two projects are coming up for a Design Review look-see today: Joe Weston’s Cosmopolitan (the 31-story, 216-unit, point-tower which has been planned for, what seems like, eons, on a narrow, half-block parcel at Northeast Grand and Holladay in the Lloyd District) and a proposed three-story renovation of Powell’s City of Books’ flagship at Northwest 10th Avenue and West Burnside Street.

While wildly dissimilar in fabric, value, and use, the two projects share a common trait in that neither is likely to actually get underway or built for the foreseeable future.

The Cosmopolitan
Weston’s building has been in suspended animation for quite awhile, as reported by Mike Thelin here last winter. A eerily prophetic and prudent Weston told the DJC in late 2007: “They think everything’s going to be fine next spring,” he said. “Well, it’s not going to be fine.” Plans all along have been to wait. And then wait some more until the pulse of the housing market quickens.

Still, the construction documentation and design process chugs ahead. “We want to be a leg up,” Weston told the DJC, “When the market looks favorable, we want to start with the minimum amount of delay.” Tom Gibbons of LRS Architects will be presenting Design Commission-requested changes to the Cosmo at 1:30 p.m. today.

Powell’s City of Books Renovation
Powell’s plan for replacing the Burnside store’s current bunker-like entrance with a three-story building with roof-top garden/stormwater feature may be delayed (partially due to slowing sales and the current partly cloudy economic/credit forecast) according the Stephen Beaven in the O.

Considering its position as an icon (both to Portland and to the fierce-indie bookselling spirit), I think it’s about time that the store freed themselves from the cinder-block and hot-melt glue, how-buildings-learn approach to expansion and got a building they deserved. The renovation as envisioned now swaps the current SE corner structure with a 27,660 square-foot building with a total height (including a roof-top feature) at around 55 feet.

Here’s the delicious rundown according to the Design Advice Request with Portland’s BDS:

A faceted glazed storefront system on the lower two stories is proposed allowing views into and out of these spaces. The corner of the building will highlighted by a “Art Beacon” or “Art Cube” above a covered, recessed entry facing both streets. The cladding of the third story is planned to be a locally manufactured, unglazed ceramic tile containing 45% to 65% recycled material. The tiles would be set in 3×5 stacked bond panels that would be contained within a larger aluminum grid.

The roof garden is envisioned as both an event venue and a treatment facility for storm water. It would contain hard surfaces and planted areas, as well as a small pavilion. The elevator and stairways in the NE quadrant would extend up to provide access. Storm water would be stored in tanks located below the street level retail and pumped to the roof for irrigation.

The project intends to incorporate these and other sustainable building practices and will be pursuing LEED certification [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design].

Additional improvements could include: the restoration of the street level façade of the SW quadrant parking garage [fronting NW 11th Avenue]; improvements to the loading area; additional bike parking; vehicle access improvements and a solar PV array on the roof of the NE quadrant of the block.

By January (after year-end and the holiday-buying season—and a hopeful uptick in the country’s economic outlook) they’ll have a clearer sense of whether and how they should move ahead with the renovation. Meanwhile Powell’s czars will continue working with Corey Omey and Ernest R. Munch Architecture and the city on the design of the addition (including a possible special setback along West Burnside, to reducing the required 10-foot setback). I’m guessing that’s what they’ll be talking about at today’s Design Commission Review .