The 20 Pettygrove apartments make the most of the neighborhood's maximum allowable building height of 65 feet with 90 units in six stories.
They're driven by convenience, connectivity and a healthy work-life balance to maintain personal time and their relationships with friends and family.
Two-thirds say that living in a walkable community is important and half of that number is willing to pay more for the proximity to shops, work and entertainment.
The population segment often referred to as Generation Y – roughly 18 to 33 year olds – is driving the housing market, whether renting or buying.
"The information we're getting on who the market is tells us there's a demographic shift," says Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder. "They're young, they don't want space, they don't want cars – they work in town."
Yet in the Portland metropolitan region's denser, urban neighborhoods that are rich in the amenities attracting renters of all ages, availability and affordability are particularly challenging when demand outsteps supply.
20 Pettygrove, a new six-story, 90-unit apartment development that opened this spring on the corner of Northwest 20th Avenue and Pettygrove Street, helps fill the undersupplied market niche of workforce housing close to transit and within walking distance of urban amenities.
The Pettygrove apartments are a project of Metro's Transit-Oriented Development program that uses limited amounts of public funding to attract private investment in mixed-use, higher density housing and retail projects near transit.
Housing for the urban professional
"There are really two markets," says Pettygrove project developer Chris Rogers of Phase Two Development. "Super low end affordable housing and a lot of high end condos in the Pearl. But there's not much for the urban professional."
The modern studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments are a located a few short blocks from the Northwest 23rd Avenue shopping district, and minutes from social and cultural amenities including Washington Park, the Japanese Gardens, Powell’s Books, Crystal Ballroom, Oregon Zoo, and the Portland Art Museum.
Two ground floor retail spaces are designated for a soon-to-open wine bar and coffee shop.
While not only targeting renters in the Gen Y demographic, the new apartments are attracting young residents working at nearby Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center on Northwest 22nd Avenue, Con-way Enterprises on Northwest 21st Avenue, and interning at Nike.
20 Pettygrove fills an undersupplied need for transit-oriented workforce housing within the urban amenity rich Northwest District.
Seeking new construction in a renovation market
Ethan Lin, 26, a new resident to Portland, chose 20 Pettygrove over the older apartments he toured in preparation for his move from Houston.
"Everything in Houston is new," says Lin. "I set up a lot of places (in Portland) to look at but everything was in older, renovated houses. I liked the fact that 20 Pettygrove was a new building. I'm the first person to live in my apartment."
The building is designed by Portland’s William Wilson Architects PC, known for their expertise in multi-family, high-density structures.
Relocating for his one-year residency at the Good Samaritan Medical Center and Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Lin has a short five-block walk to Good Samaritan.
Coming from the more auto-centric Houston, Lin bought an electric car once he moved to Portland and uses it for his commute to Emanuel Medical Center. He leases one of the 18 covered parking spaces available at 20 Pettygrove for access to the electric vehicle charging station.
Among the sustainable features at 20 Pettygrove is a rainwater capture system for outdoor planters.
Proximity, amenities and transportation options
With 55 percent of the apartments leased, however, only three parking spaces have been reserved by tenants.
A car-free lifestyle is supported at 20 Pettygrove with limited auto parking and its proximity to the Portland Streetcar and frequent bus service, anticipated to generate an increase of more than 13,000 transit trips per year.
The additional farebox revenues from the increased ridership are projected to total more than $372,000 over the next 30 years.
"People are tired of sitting in traffic," says developer Chris Rogers, echoing research by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development that shows by 2030, nearly a quarter of all US households looking to rent or buy are likely to want higher-density housing near transit.
That can mean opportunity for developers. According to the Urban Land Institute's annual "Emerging Trends in Real Estate" report, locations near transit have been ranked as a best bet for investors five years in a row. Yet it's opportunity that comes with risks.
Balancing affordability with neighborhood goals
"There are challenges in keeping the rental units affordable," says Rogers. "In addition to permitting costs and park fees, there is a design review process driven by neighbors – and the City (of Portland) listens to the neighbors."
At the time the project started in 2009, the Portland City Council had recently expanded the fees and level of scrutiny for design review in the area. The additional review process and higher fees increased the cost of the project and extended its schedule.
"(It's about) how to balance the cost of housing with the need to support good parks," says Burkholder, councilor for District 5 where 20 Pettygrove is located. "The quality of the materials used on the building also adds to the cost."
And while the neighborhood desires a beautiful building, observes Rogers, it isn't necessarily concerned with the cost.
The rents at 20 Pettygrove range from $1,020 to $2,265 a month for units from 408 to 865 square feet.
The development's mix of studios and one-bedroom units with two-bedroom apartments provides smaller units to fill the workforce housing gap left by the significant number of condo conversions in the neighborhood.
Higher density adds needed rental units
The project makes the most of the neighborhood's maximum allowable building height of 65 feet with 90 units in six stories.
The resulting net density is 50 percent higher than the most recent construction in the area, adding badly needed rental units to a tight market that's driving rents skyward. According to Reis Inc., a real estate research firm, the Portland metropolitan area has the second-tightest apartment market in the county, just behind New York.
Metro's Transit-Oriented Development program provides relatively small funding grants as financial incentives for the private sector to invest in compact, mixed-use projects near transit. The program's investment of $350,000 in 20 Pettygrove represents 2.7 percent of the total development costs.