Proposed Project would Provide More than 700 Units for Residents Earning 60 Percent of Median Family Income, Using Energy-Efficient Construction and Mass Timber
PORTLAND, OR – Aug. 24, 2023 – Portland developer Curtis Rystadt and Access Architecture principal Brendan Sanchez today debuted plans and architectural renderings for Burnside One, a proposed 30-story, more than 700-unit affordable housing development to be built in Downtown Portland.
The vertically dense project, which is proposed to be built next to the west side of the Burnside Bridgehead on S.W. Ankeny between First Ave. and Second Ave., would serve tenants who make 60 percent of the area’s median family income (MFI). Its proposed location is near light-rail, bus transportation, and social services.
Rystadt, who is a COBID (Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity)-certified developer, today presented his plans at a City of Portland Pre-Application Conference online to more than 30 city planning, transportation, and sustainability officials.
“Our city faces a shortage of affordable housing, especially in the downtown area, and the below proposed project aims to assist in remedying this crisis,” Rystadt. “I was born in Portland, attended Lincoln High School and Portland State University. This city, and its success, are very important to me and my family.”
The Burnside One project would deliver:
- Affordable housing at scale, providing 700+ units (in stark contrast to the proposed Crowne Plaza Hotel project in N.E. Portland)
- Easy accessibility light rail and public transportation
- Commitment to clean energy,withsolar and geothermal systems that would reduce the project’s footprint on the city grid and will lead to continued savings for the tenants
- Utility bill savings of up to $65 a month for tenants, freeing up extra cash to spend on goods and services in the central city, boosting the downtown economy
- Incentivization of economic activity downtown with more than700 additional residences in the central core, increasing the retail customer base, foot traffic and the overall feel of the city
The development of Burnside One would demonstrate that the City of Portland is a place that welcomes all, not just upper-middle-class districts like the Pearl and South Waterfront.
“This project would be located in the Skidmore/Old Town District,” Rystadt said. “Do we watch its continued decline by keeping the status quo or do we bring in housing at scale that will reinvigorate it?”
