• Morrison Bridgehead Project
  • Project Summary
  • James Beard Public Market
  • Design
  • Press Room
  • Contact
• Blanchet House of Hospitality
  • Project Summary
  • Blanchet House
  • Construction
  • Press Room
  • Contact
• Sunset Center at Tanasborne
• Hilton Executive Tower/Fifth & Taylor Parking Garage
• Robert Duncan Plaza
• Port of Portland Headquarters
• Portland Art Museum, Mark Building
• Channel 12 KPTV Studio

Design concept

Portland is a river city, but our downtown core does not connect in a meaningful way to the Willamette River and Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The Skidmore/Old Town Historic district, one of the most significant cast-iron districts in the nation, is struggling with under-utilized buildings, surface parking lots and inactive streetscapes. Developing the Morrison Bridgehead site to its full potential will catalyze a riverfront “market district” north of the Morrison Bridge by providing a bookend to recent improvements in Ankeny Square and the Burnside Bridge area (Mercy Corps, University of Oregon/White Stag, Saturday Market and the Smith Block).

Connectivity
The design concept for this site is based on creating connections. The James Beard Public Market and the adjacent tower development will improve physical pedestrian and bicycle connections from the eastside to the downtown retail core and enhance the waterfront. The development will build economic connections by adding jobs to downtown and bringing commerce and localized density to this key site. The combination of office, retail, a permanent vendor market, day table and prepared foods will create cultural connections and add a vibrant, dynamic focus to Downtown Portland.

Creating a Gateway
The James Beard Public Market at the Morrison Bridgehead site will complement Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland’s “living room” by providing the City with its “kitchen and pantry.” An iconic tower will become the gateway to downtown and the Market and provide a catalyst for business development within the adjacent districts, building upon market customers, vendors and improved connectivity and pedestrian access.

Excellence in Design
The tower will be the “hinge-pin” and gateway icon at the center of a multitude of different flows—pedestrian, bicycle, traffic, light rail, and food—and its curved design form will be expressive of this dynamic and vital intersection. In addition, the curved plan deliberately echoes the plan and form of the market halls to reinforce a cohesive “clover leaf” concept. The tower envisions office use with approx 17,000 sf net floors, basement parking, and retail. Balconies and floor-to-floor glazing facing the river will create spectacular views to the Cascades beyond, making this a highly desirable premier office development. The narrowing of the tower form to the river side will present an elegant east-facing façade, strengthening the gateway icon for the approach from the Morrison Bridge.

At grade, the tower base and surrounding walkways will create the vital pedestrian link. A wide entry plaza on Second Avenue will lead to a south facing pedestrian walkway and footbridge over the light rail tracks and will be lined with retail, landscaping and water features. An alternative pedestrian route will be offered through an “arcade” within the tower.

Safe Pedestrian Access
The Morrison Bridgehead site, with its easy access to bus and light rail service as well as approximately 1,200 public and private short-term parking spaces within blocks, is an ideal site for the Market. The recent improvements to the pedestrian and bicycle accessibility on the Morrison Bridge ramps makes the approach to the Market safe for people coming from both downtown and the eastside.

Public Involvement
Because of the prominence of the site and widespread interest in the Public Market, we will employ a broad citizen involvement process. Building public good will for the market will engage the general public in a dialogue that asks for their input as potential customers who appreciate the civic benefits that public markets provide.

Sustainability
The Morrison Bridgehead project presents an opportunity to achieve high sustainability in design, construction and ongoing operations and will strive for a LEED Platinum level certification (or an equivalent award level) and commits to achieving sustainability goals consistent with a LEED Gold designation. Melvin Mark will direct the implementation of the sustainable program with SERA Architects expertise.

We commit to:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by providing centrally-located source for local foods, reducing fossil fuel energy use, reducing waste and promoting pedestrian-oriented transit. Design strategies to reduce use by 60% from the CBECS 2003 benchmark include generating on-site renewable power such as integrated photovoltaic arrays on the market roof and the tower façade solar shading, and purchasing renewable energy.
  
  
• Improving energy and water efficiency by researching opportunities to offset and balance energy loads with a central combined heating and cooling system. We will also implement many strategies to handle urban stormwater run-off including a green roof on the tower high-rise, drought-tolerant landscape plantings, graded exterior paving directing water into potted plants and treatment swales at the perimeter of the bridge ramps.
  
  
• Improving air quality and reducing contaminants with the avoidance of volatile organic compound (VOC) materials; selecting low maintenance, renewably-sourced, minimal transportation materials; and implementing environmentally-friendly cleaning and waste management policies.
  
  
• Reducing vehicle miles by encouraging tower tenants and market customers to use public transit and shop more frequently for fresher foods. Our focus on local foods will result in the dual benefit of reducing the number of “food miles.”
  
  
• Reducing waste by offering an array of options for creative use of surplus ingredients onsite, gleaning and recycling programs tied to job creation, the Market will work toward its goal to waste less food daily than a typical family of four.  As with all of Melvin Mark’s properties, a robust and extensive recycling program will be throughout the building and available to all tenants.