8 • The Southwest Portland Post
NEWS
July 2013
Design commission approves 199-unit
South Waterfront apartment building
HOUSING
By Lee Perlman
The Southwest Portland Post
Two new housing projects, both in
the South Portland neighborhood, won
City approval last month.
The Portland Design Commission
(PDC) unanimously approved a six-
story, 199 unit apartment building at
0601 S.W. Abernethy St., on a block
bounded by Abernethy and Lane
streets and Moody and Bond avenues.
The apartment building, by Alamo
Manhattan Properties of Dallas, will
have 196 underground parking spaces
and 1,470 square feet of retail.
It was the project’s fourth session
before the PDC, including an informal
“design advisory” discussion. PDC
members had asked for changes in the
Introducing
entrances, building materials, exterior
landscaping and the interior courtyard.
Wade Johns of Alamo Manhattan told
the PDC, “This was far more compli-
cated than we thought it would be.”
PDC member David Wark replied, “I
appreciate your efforts. I was in Hous-
ton at its wildest, and I realize this is
a cultural shift for y’all.” Chair Gwen
Millius told Johns, “I hope you feel this
has brought value to your project.”
Landmarks commission approves
row houses for historic Lair Hill
district
Four days later, the Portland Historic
Landmarks Commission approved the
design of the Lair Hill Rowhouses, a
five-unit project by Consolidated Land
and Cattle of Lake Oswego at 3314 S.W.
First Ave. The project was reviewed by
the Landmarks Commission because it
is part of the South Portland National
Historic District.
The project had originally been a
single building with five connected
units. Largely at the urging of the South
Portland Neighborhood Association
Land Use Committee, the developer
broke it up into two structures of three
and two units each.
Consultant Bruce Vincent said, “Col-
laboratively, we came up with a design
that incorporates their advice.”
The developers asked for a code
adjustment to reduce the side yard
setback a required five feet to three.
Planner David Skilton said this was in
character with Lair Hill, and showed
slides of buildings less than a foot
apart.
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“You could borrow a cup of sugar
from your neighbor if your window
lined up with hers,” Skilton said.
The lot was formerly occupied by
a church built in the 19 th century and
last occupied by Phil Wikeland’s Great
Northwest Bookstore. It was destroyed
by fire in 2010.
South Portland land use chair Jim
Gardner told the Landmarks Com-
mission, “We commend the developer
for his willingness to work with us. In
general we’re very pleased.”
The group would have preferred one
less unit, he said, “but we understand
that the real world is not ideal.”
The Commission spent some time
debating the developer’s plans to use
fiberglass windows frames. The dis-
trict guidelines say that wood frames
“should” be used, and some Commis-
sion members said they feared they
would be setting a precedent.
Commission member Brian Emerick
pointed out that the proposed frames
are designed to have an historic look
and said, “What matters is that this
matches the district, not the material.”
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