Items Tagged ‘Oregon’
City Seeks Partners To Develop Three Downtown Properties
Synopsis:
Three buildings in Hillboro’s historic district have been designated as focal pieces to help redevelop the Oregon downtown. As the heart of the community, the city is dedicated to the district’s livelihood. The city issued a Request for Qualifications to determine the teams that will help to see this vision through. The three sites slated for redevelopment include a former Wells Fargo bank, redevelopment of the Wells Fargo bank site, and redevelopment of a city-owned parking lot. The two underutilized sites as well as the adaptive reuse of the bank building will help to bring renewed focus on the downtown and provide smart growth opportunities. By innovatively reusing the bank building, the project team will be able to showcase the potential of other adaptive reuse projects within the downtown area.
Food Carts Take the Curse Off Portland’s Parking Lots
Synopsis:
Vacant parking lots in the Portland, Oregon, area are finding new life thanks to food carts. Portland has seen a significant rise in the number of movable food stands. Neighborhood-oriented clusters of food carts are appearing outside of downtown on vacant parking lots. It’s a great transitional tool being encouraged in the area to find new uses for the land-hogging lots that are becoming antiquated. The concept is a great “interim idea for locations where there is no market for buildings.”
Garage House
Synopsis:
History
The 280-square foot building used to serve as a garage for a residential home.
(Re)Developer
Martin John Brown is the owner of the home and the featured garage. He had decided that he wanted to convert the garage for two reasons: granny flats help to reduce our carbon footprint; it could offer additional income as a rental property. The process takes him over two years thanks in part to difficult city regulations in Portland, OR.
Outcome
Although granny flats are typically built above a garage allowing for the continued use of car storage, Brown decided to convert the entire building. With an added loft, the living space comes out to 400 sf (half the amount of his home next door). It contains a living room with fireplace, kitchen, bath, and lofted bedroom. Skylights and large glass double doors at the front help to provide light and a sense of openness. The end product is a creative home that’s made use of limited space and is functional.
