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More than a year has passed since Kevin Cavenaugh of Guerrilla Development first proposed his "Fair-Haired Dumbbell" building for a site at the Burnside Bridge's east end. On Thursday he finally got the Portland Design Commission's approval.
Cavenaugh's design, which won a city competition, features two six-story, cantilevered buildings slightly angled away from each other and joined at every floor level by eight-foot-wide, 30-feet-long open walkways. Both buildings will be completely covered with an original design by an artist yet to be selected.
Design Commission Vice Chairman Ben Kaiser voted against approval, but commissioners Julie Livingston, Tad Savinar and Jeff Simpson all gave approval for the art-inspired project after about an hour of discussion. Commission Chairman David Wark and Commissioner Don Vallaster were absent.
Kaiser was not explicit about his reasons for voting no, but he seemed to be concerned about how the building would fare in the long term.
"We...