Yard (Portland, Oregon)


Yard is a 21-story, -tall apartment building built at the Burnside Bridgehead in Portland, Oregon's Kerns neighborhood, in the United States. It was designed by Skylab Architecture for Key Development Co. of Hood River and Guardian Real Estate Services of Portland.

History

The Portland Development Commission started buying land at the east end of the Burnside Bridge about 2000 for a redevelopment project, eventually spending $11 million. Plans were first submitted to develop the property in 2006, but eventually the project was delayed due to the Great Recession. Construction began in October 2014 on what was estimated to be a $58 million project. The building topped out in January 2016 with a ceremony attended by Congressman Earl Blumenauer.

Details

Yard includes 21 above ground floors. The -tall concrete and glass high rise was designed by Skylab Architecture. It is a mixed-use development with ground floor retail and 284 apartments. The sixth through eighth floors are set aside for working-class studio apartments, available through a lottery process. The building was met with criticism for allowing marketplaces such as Vacasa to rent out the entire 11th floor as short term rentals, without having applied for a change of occupancy permit for the "de facto hotel."
The Yard is the winner of a 2018 honor award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Given its appearance, the building is referred to as the "Death Star" and was dubbed "the new apartment building you'll love to hate".