A keystone in the Conway Masterplan, Block 290 is the main gateway to the forthcoming new high-density, mid-rise neighborhood at the northern edge of central Portland’s Northwest District. Each edge of the full city block site offers a unique condition: a bustling commercial main street, a quiet ‘green street’, a new full block public park and a pedestrian-oriented ‘festival street’. The scheme sensitively addresses each while maintaining a cohesive, concept-driven aesthetic that synthesizes traditional ideas long-established in this historic neighborhood with a modern formal and tectonic language. YBA has levered our proven ability to work closely and attentively with local residents, neighborhood groups and the design review commission to shepherd an exciting, innovative design through a sensitive entitlements process featuring a broad array of diverse, interested stakeholders. Featuring 150 highly diverse units of mixed-use multi-family housing, nearly 15,000 square feet of retail and a new performance space for a local theatrical company, the scheme integrates a centralized public square and a variety of carefully designed street and courtyard edges as well as passages and walkways into the square. Solar access, pedestrian experience and retail needs were carefully studied through extensive iterations and precedent studies of similar spaces in cities around the world. The resulting place will be a center of civic and community life for the neighborhood for generations, realizing a long-standing vision of local residents and planners alike.