The Burnside Blog

Posted By Mike Thelin on 06/19/2008

Rapaport’s view of downtown from his own fourth-floor penthouse

The most recent wave of the PDX building boom landed a sleuth of medium-density mixed-used infill projects on the east side of the river, and Developer Randy Rapaport and Holst Architecture’s Clinton Condominiums is for many reasons one of the best of that class. In terms of location alone, the Clinton is within steps of what’s probably the highest concentration of tip-top dining establishments in all of Portland. Not only has ex-Pearl Baker head baker Tim Healea chosen the Clinton’s light-flooded corner space at the intersection of SE 26th Avenue and Division Street as ground zero to his new baking enterprise, Little T American Baker, the Clinton is a scone’s throw from establishments like Lauro Mediterranean Kitchen, Pok Pok, Nuestra Cocina, Vindalho, Broder, Savoy, New Seasons Market and the forthcoming Bar Avignon, a wine bar and restaurant venture by longtime Wildwood sommelier Randy Goodman.

In the matter of a few years and thanks to urban pioneers like Lauro proprietor David Machado, the area surrounding the Clinton Condominiums could sell itself on the basis of real estate’s three most important rules alone, those of course being location, location, location. In addition to the bakery, the Clinton also houses a yoga studio.

Beyond location, the Clinton has been accused by some in the blogsphere as being the most attractive new building on the east side of the Willamette. Maybe that explains why as other Eastside condominium projects are struggling, only eight of the Clinton Condominium’s 27 units remain. That’s not bad considering the residential units are still about six weeks from completion. It’s also proof that, despite what you might read in the Oregonian, certain niches of the condo market are performing extremely well.

The north and south faces of the Clinton are capped in core ten steel while the east and west-facing exposures represent a medley of windows and glass balconies. At a lecture last year at PSU, Holst Architecture Principal John Holmes compared the building’s would-be appearance to that of a geode, a volcanic rock with a rough exterior and a glowing crystalline core. “Finally Portland has a world-class infill project,” says Rapaport. “That was our intention.”

I expect to write more about the Clinton once it’s completed, but for now, here’s a mix of photos courtesy of yours truly and Jeff Stuhr at Holst Architecture. And if you happen to be in the neighborhood, definitely stop by Little T’s and try a chocolate chip cookie.