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Count 'em: After upzoning, developer proposes eleven new buildings for downtown Portland

Count 'em: After upzoning, developer proposes eleven new buildings for downtown Portland

The City of Roses may get a flurry of major developments downtown. The plan: Portland’s Downtown Development Group, headed by the Goodman family, has proposed eleven buildings representing a $1.5 billion investment in the city.

The Goodmans’ vision, dubbed the Ankeny Blocks, would develop a series of parking lots topped by mixed-use buildings interspersed in a historic downtown neighborhood and near beloved landmarks like the Portland Saturday Market, reported The Oregonian this past Saturday.

The five tallest buildings in the Ankeny plan—Blocks 5, 17, 18, and 19—top out at 460 feet. The blocks could play host to a variety of building types: offices, residences, retail, and restaurants. There is no word on tenants yet, but some are hoping tech giants like Google and Amazon could finally open big offices in downtown Portland.

While the Ankeny plan is getting generally positive press, there is some controversy. One of the planned apartment buildings may replace the oldest food cart pod in Portland.

The Goodmans’ plan comes at a time when expected new zoning regulations will change the look and feel of the city. In March 2015, the Portland City Council approved the West Quadrant Plan, a 20-year comprehensive upzoning plan to increase downtown density through development (and help spruce up the city skyline).

There are more building details with interactive graphics on the developer’s website, with FARs, building heights, zoning, and land square footage for each of the proposed blocks.

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