Downtown, Mixed-Use Residential Developement

Portland, Oregon

Riverplace, Portland is a downtown, mixed-use residential development on the west bank of the Willamette River. Riverplace includes a 74-room hotel with a restaurant, 190 condominium-housing units, a 200-boat marina, 41,600 square feet of office space, 487 structured parking spaces, 23,220 square feet of retail space and additional recreational facilities. The entire 73 acre South Waterfront Project Area, as designated by the Portland Development Commission is the only remaining undeveloped tract in downtown Portland. The overarching goal for the city and the developer was to create a mixed-use residential neighborhood that would attract city residents to the South Waterfront area year-round. Thus the mixed-use project was conceived as an “Urban Resort” community, and is a good example of public private partnership. The project was initiated by the Portland Development Commission to develop a 10-acre tract of the South Waterfront Urban renewal area, in accordance with the downtown plan. The developers have been assembling the site since 1975, and sold bonds to raise approximately $6 million for street and riverfront public improvements. Other incentives provided by the city to the developers Cornerstone Columbia Development Company include tax increment financing, development of transportation facilities adjacent to the site, site improvements and expedition of the development review process. Portland’s “design zone” overlays the entire downtown and virtually all new projects must meet more than 200 design guidelines, which focuses mainly on the street level and aims at strengthening pedestrian activity. The review for Riverplace was extremely fast, taking only six weeks.