Killingsworth Station: Big Changes on Interstate Avenue

Today a drive along Interstate Avenue brings you past a lot of surface parking lots, abandoned buildings and cheap motels. But the arrival of Interstate MAX, while a veritable nightmare for drivers with its single-lane traffic (why couldn't light rail share the road like it does downtown?), it's slowly starting to transform the area.

Case in point: Killingsworth Station, the housing and mixed-use project that is planned for the intersection of Killingsworth and Interstate. The project is designed by Vallaster & Corl Architects of Portland, who previously gained notoriety for The Hawthorne, the modern mixed-use building that replaced a controversial McDonald's originally set for the site.

With a budget of $16 million, Killingsworth Station will include 45 loft-style condos, 56 apartments, seven town homes, 12,800 square feet of retail and two levels of parking. The Portland Development Commisssion held a public meeting last week to get feedback on the design. According to a report in yesterday's Portland Tribune, major concerns included adequate parking and the need for high-quality property managers. But development manager Lois Cortell told the paper that feedback on the design was positive.

Obviously the most striking aspect of Vallaster & Corl's design is its "Go By MAX" sign, which obviously echoes the Pearl District's "Go By Streetcar" sign and is a fun icon in the making, if a little redundant. In my opinion, the rest of the building looks promising as well. The firm did a good job with The Hawthorne of breaking up the mass of the building with an inspired blend of metal, glass and brick. (The only thing I don't like about that building is the roof, which resembles a series of dumpster lids.) Killingsworth Station appears to achieve a sense of lightness by having the building slightly cantilevered on the Interstate side. There's also a strong emphasis on the corner with large balconies.

This looks like very solid, well proportioned, high-density infill housing in a neighborhood that desperately needs it. While there remain questions about gentrification and affordability in North and Northeast Portland, major streets and avenues, especially along MAX lines, need these clusters of high-density housing. While this project is more about fitting into the urban fabric than architectural pizazz, it looks like a potentially successful project to me.

What are your thoughts?

Comments

[Leah Greenwood]

I am happy to see the project is getting attention. PDC recently hosted a public meeting regarding the project that included a lot of excellent feedback from local residents and business owners regarding design, the sign, desired retail and parking issues.

I wanted to make one correction to what was reported in the Portland Tribune. They reported on the old project concept. The most up-to-date concept includes 56 affordable rental housing units, 35 loft-style condominiums, and 4 townhomes. Information about the project, public input and next meetings is available at www.pdc.us/interstate.

Please note that the next community meeting has been tentatively rescheduled for AUGUST 15TH, 6:30pm at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center located at 5430 N. Interstate.

[Philippe]

I like V & C's Hawthorne project. I don't know. . . I'd like to see this new building address the fact that it is on a transit line and transit has certain characteristics like movement, acceleration, speed. . . well not always in the case of Max.
In its present rendition. . . it looks rather generic. . .take away the sign. . . it just doesn't seem integrated.

[Lance]

If you are driving on the MAX tracks downtown you are committing a ticketable offense. Motor vehicles are allowed to share the lane with the streetcar, but not with MAX.
MAX service would be slowed down even more if it had to sit in congestion with the rest of traffic.

[anonymous]

it appears to be a jumbled mass of cheap materials, where is is balance you speak of? Give us something like the belmont lofts for example. Nice scale, very pedestrian/transit oriented, light use of materials. Its just beautiful. This building is development fluff.

[Brian]

To me the Belmont Lofts are in an entirely different league. That level of beauty and quality is not something I would expect to be achieved with your average PDC-funded urban infill project in a traditionally poor area for $16 million. But perhaps I'm being too cynical. I didn't mean to say I thought the Killingsworth Station project looks to be extraordinary architecture, but I think in a pragmatic sense it's not bad.

[Justin Wells]

You know, and this almost sounds like giving up, but at this point I would settle for almost any half-decent project outside of downtown. I'm a architecture student, yet if there is no precedent for a different scale to the east side of Portland then the typical single family home, then I'm afraid we would be stuck with horrible monotony. I'm really glad when these kinds of projects can be built. It's extremely heartening to see projects like the Belmont Street Lofts get built. Although this particular project doesn't excite me at all, the precedent it will set does.

[Leah Greenwood]

The second community meeting to discuss the Killingsworth Station has been confirmed for AUGUST 15TH, 6:30pm at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center located at 5340 N. Interstate.

The development team and architects will respond to feedback provided at the first meeting held on July 13 and present new project renderings.

[Sara Moskovitz]

I'm really glad that someone brought up the Belmont Lofts. This is the most stunning mixed-use project in the city. When I realized what was happening w/ the Killingsworth Station project, I immediately hoped that the architecture firm hired to design the project would be Holst Architecture PC. When this turned out not to be the case, I was equally excited to discover that the firm hired was Vallaster and Corl, as their Hawthorne project is, if not as beautiful as the Belmont Lofts, stand their own ground as a visually-impressive building. Both the Belmont Lofts and The Hawthorne use wood, metal and glass in such perfect balance that you cannot help but wonder how elegant it must feel to reside in either of these spaces. When I saw renderings of the Killingsworth Station design, my heart sank. And then I got upset. Why is PDC taking what could be an enormous opportunity by building a first mixed-use space of this kind in the neighborhood and turning it into a cheap, visually-disturbing space? That huge corner "Go By MAX" sign? What is that? The Yellow MAX line runs directly in front the building. Do we really need a sign reminding us of the line's presence? Not to mention that the Pearl district already has a sign like this. Is N/NE Portland not worthy of it's own unique design?? I am okay with the glass bridge and the green roof, I think those are nice touches, however, the mess of red brick, blonde brick, siding bay (what is that??) glass, metal and awnings is absolutely hideous. Why can't the firm do in similar fashion what they did with The Hawthorne? Pick a couple materials that blend harmonically together (please again reference the Belmont Lofts) and that will reflect on the modern, changing neighborhood. My vote is for wood and metal with large, glass windows. I was born, raised and now run a business in this neighborhood. I am not an East coast or Californian transplant. I have watched and been excited for so many other neighborhoods around the city that seem to recieve thoughtful planning and growth only to be let down when it came to my own neighborhood. We deserve better PDC. I would ask that you spend a little extra time (and money, if necessary) with your current design for the Killingsworth Station project and build something that could proudly fit into a line-up with the Belmont Lofts and The Hawthorne. Even Alberta and Mississippi are developing more appealing spaces. In my opinion, this is Interstate Avenue's time to shine. Everyone is anxiously waiting to see what will become of this section of the city that has had such a bruised past. It is the next part of the city to be recieving the fast growth and attention that other parts of the city are experiencing. I was so excited at the thought of living in this new space but I will not be signing any lease if I have to come home each night to a looming "Go By MAX" sign sitting atop an unsightly building.
I look forward to the meeting on the 15th and can only hope that design plans have not yet been finalized.