Bridgeton N. A. Meeting Minutes
Meeting notes for July 16, 2008
The Columbia Room at the Courtyard at the North Harbor Marriott
23 BNA members 8 of which are board members were present
This was a special meeting with Trammell Crow Residential to discuss their plans
to build a 250+ unit apartment complex on the west end of Bridgeton Road. TCR
was represented by Sam Rodriguez and Thomas DiChiara. They brought Mike Coleman
to explain the results of the traffic study and Paul Jeffreys of Sera
Architects to show his early rendering of designs for the site. Airanne Sperry,
the North District Liaison for the Portland Planning Bureau also attended.
Sam Rodriguez started the meeting by saying that they still have not been able
to meet with PDOT (Portland Department of Transportation). They hope to have a
meeting with them next week to discuss their plans for a private street that
has a permeable material for the connector to Bridgeton Road for emergency
vehicles and a bike trail along the Bridgeton Slough. They will also learn what
will be required for the access off of Marine Drive.
Mike Coleman explained that his review of the traffic study results would
indicate that they will need to put in a left turn lane for east bound traffic
wanting to enter the complex. They plan to have three lanes on the entrance
road and block parking at the entrance which should allow vehicles making right
turns the ability to exit without having to wait for cars making left turns
onto Marine Drive. He worried about their being able to see west bound traffic.
This study considered only the current traffic which is now that of an arterial
road and not a collector road (which is what it is listed as). There is no
consideration for traffic that may come from the 141 apartment complex going in
on Anchor Way. Walter did say that Mr. Chiu has already agreed to pay for a
stop light at the intersection of Anchor Way and Marine Drive when it is
needed. We need to find out what is required to show that it is needed.
TCR is now saying that they plan to have 254 units that will be Studios (500 sq
ft), one bedroom and two bedrooms (1000 sq ft) which they will charge from
$1,000 to $1,400 per month. The larger buildings on the river side would be
white with wood trim on long, sleek units with recessed and pop out balconies.
The balcony rails would be of glass. The smaller, walk-up buildings would have
a different design. They don’t think it would be feasible to make the buildings step down to the lower
construction on either end because of the city requirement for fire escapes on
the ends of the buildings. They would have to have many stairwells.
They have requirements from BES (Bureau of Environmental Services) to stay a
certain distance from the slough. They will be looking into what plants are
allowed to be planted on their land.
TCR keeps saying that the economics of the project require them to have 254
units. They are still saying that they need to add a story to the large
buildings on the river going above the current zone restrictions or having
three more small buildings which would cause the loss of the private road
giving a public street and potential through road to Bridgeton Road. They have
not explained what that economics is. They also said that they can build one
square foot for every square foot of land.
TCR and Sera said that they will not be allowed to change their construction
materials after it is reviewed and approved by the city design review. Several
people suggested that they would like to see some angles in the design and it
was suggested that they not use white because of the discoloration caused by
jet fuel.
There were many questions about parking spaces for these apartments. We were
reminded that the code does not require parking spaces and it was mentioned
that people would probably not rent if they did not have parking provided. When
the street parking within the complex is included, the complex would have 1.2
parking spaces for each unit. TCR reminded us that most complexes are not 100%
full.
Someone said that Harbour Court has 1.1 parking spaces and many of the spaces
are empty. However, Harbour Court charges extra for the parking causing many to
choose to park on the street which might explain the parking issues on Harbour
Way.
A meeting will be scheduled to continue this discussion the most likely date is
August 6 at the Marriott. We hope to see more people at the meeting to get more
people aware of the issues.
filed by Leslie Sawyer, BNA Chair
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25 June 2008
Bridgeton Neighborhood Association
Special meeting: Alexan Columbia Waterfront
Presenter: Sam Rodriguez of Trammell Crow Residential
30 neighborhood attendees
The vacant land along the levee adjacent to Bridgeton townhouses, Blue Frog
Marina, and the Muse is a 6.7-acre site that is being designed to accommodate
approximately 250 apartments, wetlands, parking, and a bike/pedestrian path. It is zoned CM.
There is a no-build zone along the north boundary of the project.
Drainage District #1 surveyed a 25’ strip, measured south from the north edge of the levee, which is set aside to
accommodate the bike / pedestrian path. No fencing will separate the levee path from Alexan.
There is an environmental zone on the south side of the project that contains
wetlands. The west and east ends of the project will protect access to and from the
levee. An additional levee access point in the center of the project was described as
suitable for handicapped access.
The project will be built to attain a Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design or LEED Gold rating. Apartment units are 750 SF 1-bedroom and 925 SF 2-bedroom. Rents are proposed at $1.40 / SF.
Two options were presented. Both options provide an additional connection from Harbor Dr. to Marine Dr.
with a turn lane onto Harbor from Marine Dr. Note: The Muse is 65’ above the levee while the maximum height for the Alexan project is 55’ above the levee.
Option #1 contains a public road while option #2 offers a private road. Option #1: 250 apartment units in nine buildings, 200 parking spaces, 5-story
total height with four stories above the levee, 52’ wide public right of way connecting from Harbor Dr. to Bridgeton Rd. The Bridgeton connection will employ a turn around and bollards to contain
vehicle traffic in the apartment development. Emergency access from Bridgeton is allowed.
Option #2: 250 apartment units in six buildings, 270 parking spaces, 6-story
total height with five stories above the levee, 52’ wide private street connecting Harbor Dr. to a more narrow access to Bridgeton
Rd. that is limited by bollards to non-vehicle traffic. This option assures a pocket park on the east end of the project. Emergency access from Bridgeton is allowed.
Bike / pedestrian path construction will be paid for from sources including;
Trammell Crow, PDC, Parks, CRC, L.I.D, Metro Greenspace.
Rich Brown Leslie Sawyer Sam Rodriguez
360-921-5501 503-314-2137 503-517-2792
BNA Secretary BNA, President Trammell Crow
srodriguez@tcresidential.com