Wright Architecture is proposing a 11-story affordable housing complex at 1810-1838 N Argyle St and will be attending the next Kenton Neighborhood Association meeting on July 14 at 7pm. All neighbors are welcome to attend the meeting. See link for meeting details.
Here’s an overview from Wright Architecture:
Contact: John Wright at john@wright-architecture.com and/or 503-206-8380
Location: 1810-1838 N. Argyle St.
Description: The proposal’s site is zoned RM4 Residential Multi-Dwelling with Design Overlay, and this development will undergo a Type II Land Use Review.
The proposed redevelopment is on a corner 25,000 SF site at the Northernmost edge of the Kenton Plan District. The proposal includes roughly 290 residential units in a new approximately 195,000 SF, 11-story building. 100% of the units will be offered at 60% Average Median Income (AMI), and are proposed as a mix of two-, one-bedroom and studio apartments. The site currently contains a four-plex built in 1946 and a 10-unit apartment building from 1949, both of which will be removed. All stormwater to be disposed of on-site through the use of on-site swales and drywells.
The project team is dedicated to the creation of new, permanent affordable housing units that are close to existing high-capacity transit and other urban amenities. The project is receiving OHCS 4% Low-Income Tax Credits, Metro Transit Oriented Development Grant, and Oregon Multifamily Energy Program funding.
The Kenton Downtown Plan identifies this site as being a prime location for tall, high-density housing, noting that the sloped topography limits blocked views, reduced privacy and shadows cast on nearby lots. Per the plan, this location should “reinforce the potential success of the Denver Avenue businesses by fostering development of additional housing within walking distance,” and is considered a “good location” for higher density housing because the site is “close to light rail, the Denver Avenue Business District, and other Kenton neighborhood amenities.” The site sits outside of the Kenton Conservation District, and neither of the existing buildings are historic resources or architecturally significant structures.
The new building will sit at the corner of two downward-sloping street frontages, N. Argyle Street and N. Fenwick Avenue. To the North is an EG2 industrial area that is below N. Argyle along N. Columbia Boulevard and the Columbia Slough. Across N. Fenwick to the East is a series of multi-dwelling buildings in a RM2 zone. The South and West are zoned CM2, which are currently a pair of single-family homes and a parking lot respectively. Just beyond the parking lot is a light rail station and the Kenton District’s main street along Denver Avenue.
The building is being designed as a Type IV B mass timber structure utilizing mass plywood panels (MPP). The project will also be built using modular construction, minimizing neighborhood impacts by decreasing on-site disruption time, construction noise, and the number of contractors travelling to the site.
