Con-way plots towers, a canal street

TribTown • ‘Early-stage’ plan unveiled for 15 prime acres north of Lovejoy

By peter korn

The Portland Tribune, Jan 15, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (10 Reader comments)

COURTESY OF CON-WAY INC.

Under a preliminary master plan presented last week by property owner Con-way Inc., Northwest Raleigh Street east of 23rd Avenue could recall Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with a canal — to be fed year-round by storm water.

In Northwest Portland, the area north of Lovejoy Street, west of Interstate 405, south of Vaughn Street and east of 23rd Avenue has been known by many names.

It has, at various times, been called Slabtown, the Northwest Portland transition zone and, fleetingly, NoLo – short for north of Lovejoy.

It also has been, in recent decades, the most underutilized valuable piece of property in the central city, dominated by half-empty surface parking lots belonging to Con-way Inc., a California-based freight company.

That’s about to change. And if Craig Boretz, Con-way vice president of corporate development, has his way, it will look like nothing Portland has seen before.

Over the course of the last year Con-way has hired architects and planners to develop a master plan for its 15 acres, approximately the area bounded by Northwest 22nd Avenue to the west, Thurman Street to the north, 19th Avenue to the east and Pettygrove to the south.

Last week Con-way gave a sneak preview of the recently completed plan.

For those who want Northwest Portland to retain its house and townhouse feel, the higher density the plan proposes may be threatening.

But Joseph Zehnder, principal planner with the Portland Bureau of Planning, said that city officials, who see Northwest Portland as part of the central city and who are committed to high density close to downtown, are likely to look favorably on the design’s density.

Storm water will fill canal

In the middle of the 15 acres, a four-block area bounded by Quimby and Savier streets would become a mixed-used development with residential towers 15 to 25 stories tall, according to the plan.

Shorter, three- to six-story residential buildings will fill the Con-way space along to its edges. In total, housing units may run anywhere from 750 to more than 2,000 units, according to John Spencer, an urban designer who helped create the plan.

The entire new neighborhood could accommodate as many as 4,000 new residents, Spencer said.

The plan calls for extensive retail space, a new community center and parks, and underground parking to accommodate shoppers, residents and Con-way’s 1,000 employees.

Raleigh Street would be turned into an Amsterdam-style street, with a canal filled year-round with storm water, buildings running alongside and narrow streets.

“This would be the first canal street in town,” Spencer said.

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