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The $65 million project to upgrade the former Meier & Frank warehouse in the Pearl District is on track to be completed by this time next year. But the building’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places has created challenges for the team targeting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certification for the 185,000-square-foot renovation and expansion project.

鈥淭he review through National Parks Service is actually what caused us to put the project on hold,鈥� said GBD Architects’ Keith Skille, project manager for the renovation.

Work began in 2007, but was stalled in 2009, when design approval for a penthouse addition required more time than expected. Skille called the historic design review process a 鈥渟ignificant hindrance,鈥� and added that conversations with historic review boards have continued throughout the project.

Windows also presented a significant challenge, said Patrick Wilde, vice president of development for project developer Gerding Edlen.

鈥淭he real problem is (that) when you change windows out altogether, it really changes the look,鈥� said Val Ballestrem, education manager at the Architectural Heritage Center. 鈥淚t changes the whole face of a building.鈥�

鈥淭hey want to see you work with existing windows or replace them with something nearly identical,鈥� Wilde said.

The project team showed that the building’s existing windows were in such a state of disrepair that they needed to be replaced; however, the new windows had to have a 鈥渧ery similar profile,鈥� Wilde said. Hard-to-duplicate, 80-year-old windows were identified for replacement by higher-performance, double-pane ones, he said.

To further insulate the building and increase energy efficiency, the team wanted to add some insulation to the walls. That design aspect ended in a compromise.

鈥淭hey didn’t want to see everything 鈥楽heetrocked,’ 鈥� Wilde said, so some walls were left uninsulated.

鈥淲hat’s important to (review boards), as far as what’s historic, doesn’t always align with how to make a building efficient. That’s a reality we have to deal with,鈥� Wilde said.

The historic building was able to accommodate some efficiency features. For instance, the building will have an air delivery system under a raised floor, Wilde said. This will allow for efficient distribution of air that doesn’t require extra energy to push it down from above. The floor’s height will be better for light penetration into the office setting; this design also benefits the historic perspective.

鈥淭he air is delivered under-floor, and that takes all the clutter off the ceiling space and exposes the existing structure, to show off that history,鈥� said Rob Schnare, project manager for Glumac, which is addressing mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering and technology needs for the project. The original exposed beams were a significant part of the design.

鈥淚t’s something you can notice from being outside the building,鈥� Schnare said. 鈥淲hen you look from the street, you see the exterior walls, but you also see the ceiling of the space.鈥�

The new penthouse atop the building will be 22,000 square feet. 鈥淗ow tall it was, its shape (and) how you could see it from the surrounding neighborhood, were all very important for the historic review boards to weigh in on,鈥� Wilde said.

A new atrium will let daylight penetrate all floors of the building.

A full rainwater collection system will feature a 165,000-gallon cistern in the basement. Water will be filtered and pumped for use in flushing toilets and irrigating the building’s green roof. Wilde also expects the building to have a solar array.