lloyd superblock development

Work is underway at a planned 657-unit apartment development on a Lloyd District site previously used for parking. Three new mixed-use buildings will add residences to a mostly commercial district that currently has only about 1,000 residents now.

(Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

A San Diego investment trust is preparing to break ground on a development that will bring nearly 660 apartments to the white-collar Lloyd District.

The ambitious plan has been slightly scaled back from when

, when plans described 750 apartments.

But it's still the largest single Portland apartment project in recent years, and perhaps the largest in the city's history.

That in a neighborhood that's hardly known for its housing options. The Lloyd District has about 25,000 workers but only about 1,000 residents,

chairman Brian Griffis said. (The neighborhood is so employment-heavy that its business district also functions as its neighborhood association.)

"The perception of the Lloyd District is that everyone goes home at five and on weekends unless you're going to the mall," said Griffis, who works in the district as a financial analyst at Point West Credit Union. "If we're going to get more in balance, we need to get ... more people living in the district."

, a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in San Diego, bought its Lloyd District portfolio from Ashforth Pacific in a $92 million deal.

Included was one of the city's rare "superblocks," a site the size of four typical city blocks used mostly for parking and long pegged for redevelopment. The block is bounded by Northeast Multnomah Street, 9th Avenue, a MAX line and 7th Avenue.

AAT plans to upgrade the existing Lloyd 700 Building, a 16-floor office tower in the block's northwest corner.

In the adjacent space, it will build three new mixed-used buildings:

In the northeast corner, a five-story building with a ground-floor anchor -- the company told the city design commission it is targeting a specialty grocery store -- and apartments above.

In the southwest, a six-story apartment building with some ground-floor retail.

In the southeast, a 21-story apartment tower with retail facing the MAX light rail line along Northeast Holladay Street.

All told, the buildings would add 47,000 square feet of retail space and include 1,200 underground parking stalls. The developers also plan to seek LEED certification.

AAT plans a formal groundbreaking Sept. 17, but work is already underway at the site. Construction on the project could take more than two years.

The Lloyd District may be known for office towers and shopping, but city planners have long sought to introduce more housing and services in the area. Portland's

plan calls for quintupling the number of residences in the area to about 5,000. That would pave the way for more of the district's workforce to live within minutes of work.

"It will make the Lloyd District a place where you can live and work at the same time," said Griffis. "You don't have to travel outside the district to do the things you need to do, if you choose."

Apartments in and around the Lloyd District already fetch rents approaching $1,000 a month. And the Portland area as a whole has seen apartment vacancy dip to 3.55 percent, according to rental housing association

, much tighter than historical averages.

Dana Canary, who has managed the Weidler Court apartments with her husband for 17 years, said about half the 22 units' residents live and work in the Lloyd District. The rest, she said, like the easy access to transportation.

"I've never had trouble renting our building," said Canary. "Any apartment that's open is gone in days, and I keep a waiting list."

But the district could use a little more round-the-clock energy, she said. Nearby shops and food options are mostly limited to mall fare.

"We could use a nicer restaurant," she said. "And we don't need any more shoe stores."

-- Elliot Njus

Update: An earlier version of this story imprecisely referred to the number of apartment units proposed. The correct number is 657 units.