A four-story apartment building with no off-street parking and modern architecture does not fit Beaumont-Wilshire.
That was the overwhelming message conveyed in June to developers proposing to tear down several storefronts on Northeast Fremont Street between 44th and 45th avenues and build affordable apartments. During a two-hour public meeting, 30 local residents spoke and about 200 others packed the sanctuary at Bethany Lutheran Church.
“I believe that this project does not keep in consideration the character of the neighborhood,” said Nancy Doty, who has lived in Beaumont-Wilshire for more than 60 years.
Developer Wally Remmers announced at the meeting that he would change his original plans. The revised plans include retail stores on the ground floor, a reduction in the number of apartments from 68 to 56 and include some 2-bedroom apartments in addition to studios and one-bedrooms. Those changes, along with acknowledgement that Remmers didn’t have to meet with the neighborhood, won him some goodwill from the crowd.
But he showed no willingness to compromise on the parking or building height.
“I’m not going to make everybody happy, I can tell you that right now,” Remmers told the crowd.
As a result, the neighborhood association has formed a committee to decide how to respond to the proposal.
Remmers, an owner of Everett Custom Homes of Beaverton, is buying the property from the Medak Family Trust. He plans to tear down the buildings from 4419 to 4439 NE Fremont St.
The property is zoned CS, or storefront commercial. The city’s zoning code says the CS zone is “intended to preserve and enhance older commercial areas that have a storefront character. The zone intends that new development in these areas will be compatible with this desired character.” However, the zone does not require storefront commercial. It also does not require off-street parking. And it allows for buildings as tall as four stories.
Planners are starting a process to review zoning throughout the city, but that could take about two years and Remmers’ proposal would fall under the current zoning. That led several residents, including Scott Weaber, to the realization that Remmers can force something on the neighborhood that is unwanted or can scale down the project and build something tasteful.
“You have the opportunity to preserve that charm,” Weaber said. “You gentlemen have an opportunity to hit a home run. You also have the opportunity to strike out.”
Residents suggested many changes that might make the development more acceptable. Those included finding an off-site location for resident parking or replacing patios and a stormwater detention facility in the rear of the building with 10 to 12 parking spaces. Other residents suggested the building be three stories instead of four, not have balconies in the rear that look over neighbors’ properties, include apartments larger than 700 square feet and use an architectural style that more closely resembles the Beaumont Village.
The developer’s selling point is the quality of construction. Don Sowieja, of Myhre Group Architects described the building’s initial design as “clean, slightly modernized traditional.” Initial renderings showed an articulated front with brick and lap siding, but Sowieja said the plans would change slightly with the addition of retail and larger corner units.
Sowieja, Remmers and his son Victor Remmers met with neighborhood leaders before the larger community meeting. That meeting led Remmers to make changes to the plan.
But he rejected the possibility of off-street parking. The cost to build “podium” parking spaces beneath the building would be about $40,000 per space and would prohibit affordable rents, he said. He also said the mid-block location of the project made parking in the rear unlikely.
Remmers has said he doesn’t know how many tenants will own cars, but guessed that it would be an increase of only about 30 vehicles to the neighborhood. They said most tenants will rely on transit, bicycling and walking. However, the TriMet No. 24 bus line which serves Fremont does not run on weekends and its frequency on weekdays is only every 30 or 40 minutes. City code requires 1.1 long-term bicycle parking per unit.
Business owners said they were concerned about customers being able to find parking. Residents, especially those living on 44th and 45th Avenues, said they don’t want to be squeezed out of their own neighborhood as has happened near other popular retail cores.
“I do not want Hawthorne,” said David Klipper.
Others objected to the building height of 45 feet. “It’s sad for me how that thing is going to be up there,” said Tim Spofford.
Remmers said there is a demand for affordable housing in Beaumont-Wilshire and, like all close-in neighborhoods, is going to be redeveloped. Rents will be about $2 to $2.25 per square foot a month, or a little more than $800 a month for a 400-square-foot apartment.
The revised plans include two 2,000-square-foot retail spaces in the front of the building. Several long-time neighborhood businesses are being evicted to make way for demolition, including Sparkle Beauty Bar, Nip & Tuck, Bella Flora Studio and The Scene Marketing Group. Remmers promised existing retail tenants the first opportunity to lease space in the new building, but rents promise to be much higher than they have been.
Remmers said Everett Custom Homes plans to own the project for at least 10 years and use Riverstone Residential Group to manage the property.
Everett Custom Homes has built infill and so-called “skinny” houses in Portland, but has never built a multi-family project. Wally Remmers, who is also co-founder and vice president at Arbor Custom Homes, said Arbor has built apartments in the suburbs, but not in Portland. Remmers said after the meeting that he didn’t know when he would be submitting plans to the city for approval, but has said in the past that he hopes to start construction in the fall.