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 The Standard Dairy Development is a landmark mixed-use infill development project in the historic Eliot Neighborhood, about one mile from Portland’s city center. The 66,500 sq. ft. complex has a mix of 57 live-work, live-retail, and residential units, along with 12 conventional commercial spaces, that form a tightly knit center for urban living. The project received the Year 2000 Governor's Livability Award.
Bill Reed purchased the run-down Dairy building in 1988 intending to build a mixed-use development. Ten years later, with his wife and business partner, Lydia Lundberg, Reed started the project with financing from Key Bank and Albina Community Bank. Demolition of seismically unstable portions of the old brick building began in early 1998 and contractors completed new construction in April of 2000. R&R Energy Resources, owned by Bill Reed and Bill Lenz, built the $9 million project. All units leased prior to the building's Grand Opening. Tenants learned of the project through word of mouth and newspaper ads ran throughout the latter half of 1999. Thirty-one apartments and all twelve commercial spaces sit on the Standard Dairy’s original foundation, whose nooks and crannies give these units unrivaled character. Residential units have 10-25 ft. ceilings, exposed-beam-and-pipe architecture, clerestory windows, and many other attractive accents. High quality copper, classic stucco, and low-maintenance baked enamel standingseam siding, as well as a standingseam roof, protect units from wear and tear. Copper gutters and downspouts lend additional charm and vitality. Planter boxes encircle the three, distinctive, red and gray paved common patios (combined 8,000 sq. ft.) that building tenants easily can access from their front door. The patios maximize public gathering space and offer sweeping views of downtown Portland, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, and the West Hills. Many units have additional private balconies and verandahs that also provide panoramic views. Zoning enables tenants to run home-businesses out of their units, and some tenants have full-fledged retail shops operating in street-level space connected to their apartments. The development’s adjacent townhomes use a 1900’s-era pill-box design to preserve regional heritage. All tenants have high speed, T-1 Internet/Ethernet access and cable or DirecTV included in their rent.
Portland entrepreneurs own and operate the Dairy’s businesses and are responsible for the early success of the project. The flagship commercial tenants are Billy Reed’s Restaurant & Bar, a 6,000 sq. ft. full-service restaurant with an additional 100-person banquet room; the “eliot e-mat café,” a 2,000 sq. ft. combination general store, Laundromat, cyber-café, video store, and delicatessen; and Healthy Motion, a 3,000 sq. ft. movement studio and gym. These businesses, along with Talisman Gallery, AMP Studios, Metropolitan Art Studio, Vessels, Forces of Nature, Phat Gear, Diana’s Clothing Boutique, Toto & Dot, Brown Sugar & Spice, Sheba House of Elegance, and Wandering Star, form a multicultural commercial community that help each other thrive. Shared staff, commercial space, web site (http://www.stdairy.com), and T-1 Internet/Ethernet connection provide tenants opportunities for e-commerce, alliances, and synergies. A prototype for sustainable growth, the privately financed project combines energy efficiency, environmental, and transportation/land-use management measures to reduce pollution, strengthen the community, and save land. These measures save the community about $6,700,000 over twenty-five years compared to a similarly scoped suburban-style development. The development retains the original Dairy’s curved brick façade and spinning 1950’s-era “Standard Dairy” sign, now copper-clad. Builders recycled old-growth beams when possible and reused exotic hardwoods from Portland shipyards in the restaurant tables, booths, and trim. The development deploys hydronic heating, double- and triple-pane windows, passive solar, insulation, and other features to conserve energy. It earns Energy Tax Credits because it is 79% more energy efficient than code requires. References:
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Recent articles in the Oregonian, Willamette Week, The Skanner, Oregon Business Journal, The Daily Journal of Commerce, and other papers attest that the Standard Dairy is the keystone project in the continued economic revitalization of the Eliot Neighborhood. Thirty-two of the 57 units are live-work/live-retail zoned and seven tenants have street-level storefronts connected to upstairs apartments. Many of these businesses are co-ops or share staff and space. Excited neighbors frequently walk to the new building to take advantage of the complex’s twelve businesses. They dine and take in live music at Billy Reed’s, experience art at galleries, get fit at a trainer’s gym, buy household items, do their laundry, rent videos, go food shopping, and buy a deli sandwich without leaving the development. Nearly 15,000 sq. ft. of patios, verandas, and balconies provide additional space for community-building and interactions. High-speed, T-1 Internet/Ethernet connection links business and tenants and provides opportunities for e-commerce. All business are locally owned and operated, and many commercial tenants and staff live in the building or in surrounding neighborhoods. Builders retained the original building’s curved brick façade to preserve regional heritage and long-time area residents can once again enjoy the old “Standard Dairy” sign, now restored, that spins and glimmers at night. A happy Eliot resident proclaimed in the Willamette Week, “Oh my God, we’re going out in our neighborhood. This is so exciting.” Environmental/Sustainability Half of the new Dairy complex is built on the old building’s foundation and the entire development uses existing stormsewer connections. In addition, the project’s combined location and amenity package saves on new road construction and maintenance by reducing VMTs by 94,000 annually. Only one mile from Portland’s city center, the Dairy is also on mass transit lines and within walking distance of Lloyd Center Mall, MAX, the Rose Quarter, Irvington Shopping District, the Oregon Convention Center and other workplace hubs. Billy Reed’s busses provide free shuttle service between these venues and the restaurant to further reduce the need for driving. Wide, well-lit sidewalks, Internet security cameras, and tenant cooperation ensure the building is safe and pleasant. Victorian-era Portland homes of the Irvington and Eliot Neighborhoods surround the Dairy, and developers worked closely with the Eliot Neighborhood Association and city officials to ensure the project met design criteria. Each apartment, for example, has its own front door to keep the project to a human scale and negate the use of institutional, long corridors. Many planter boxes and trees surround the building to soften its industrial look. An abbreviated summary of the project’s environmental achievements follows. These measures save $6,700,000 over twenty-five years compared to a similarly scoped suburban style development.
Related Savings over 25 years
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