Mullens “Addresses” Neighborhood Concerns

PORTLAND, Ore. – A meeting attended by representatives for a development proposed at Southeast 50th and Stephens Wednesday night informed neighbors of the specifics of the proposed building, while remaining as unproductive as previous pre-project meetings with the same development company.

Photo credit: Portland Chronicle

Dennis Sackhoff‘s Urban Development Group plans to construct a four-story, 84-unit apartment complex at 1916 SE 50th, said Don Sowieja of Myhre Group Architects, the architect on the project. The building will likely be 45 feet tall, rising far above the neighboring single-family homes, and will have balconies on its north, south and west sides.

While Sackhoff, a Beaverton resident, was absent as he generally is from such meetings, Sowieja and Urban Development Group manager David Mullens fielded questions about the possibility of lowering the height, lessening the number of units, as well as how the apartment complex will affect neighboring property values.

The representatives had a remarkably simple answer to each question. “We will take that into consideration,” they said.

David Mullens, manager at Urban Development Group. Photo credit: OPB News

The representatives initially tried to avoid discussing the pricing of the future 84 apartment units, but when pressed by the unhappy audience they acknowledged that units will go for between $2 and $3 per square foot.

In April, Multifamily NW released its Spring 2014 Apartment Report, which reported that downtown Portland, the highest-cost rental area in the city, had an average rent of $1.88 per square foot. These figures suggest that the UDG Stephens apartments will rent for far higher than the higher-end average city rent.

Myhre Group architect Don Sowieja. Photo credit: The Oregonian

Sackhoff’s representatives also said that there are no plans to reserve apartments for moderate or low-income tenants.

Sowieja often reiterated that he was “only the architect on the project,” while Mullens told the crowd that he was “not the developer on the project,” both ostensibly explaining that they were not in charge of making any decisions on the final project. There was no explanation as to Sackhoff’s absence.

Urban Development Group developer Dennis Sackhoff. Photo credit: Arbor Custom Homes

One member of the audience called Urban Development Group a “slumlord,” while another wondered why the company would go through with the project at its current proposed site knowing the anger neighbors felt over it.

Others asked for specific changes to the design of the building, though when the question arose whether these requests are ever seriously considered in these situations attendees could think of only one past case in which a developer had altered a design. In that case two units were removed from the proposed development to preserve a tree on the site.

Still, the representatives repeatedly claimed to be open to suggestions, although when an audience member asked if the design could be changed into a 15-townhouse development Sowieja was visibly amazed at the audacity of this idea.

“Fifteen units…? Instead of 84…?” He repeated back in disbelief.

The Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association announced a meeting that will take place at city hall later in January to discuss a traffic study carried out on Southeast 50th. The Portland Chronicle will have updates when specifics are made available.