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Whistles are blowing and flags are waving on Northwest Sixth Avenue in Portland as crews coordinate their efforts on the extremely tight site where a seven-story building is being constructed.

While many downtown construction projects can present an array of challenges, the new is going up only six inches away from the 100-year-old Butte Hotel to the north. Also, the existing center borders the property line to the south and a car rental business is active on the lot to the west.

And with barely an inch to spare, crews are constructing the building around a tower crane while motor vehicles and TriMet light-rail trains zip along Sixth Avenue.

鈥淵our typical downtown infill project needs a lot of careful planning, but we have additional complexities on this site,鈥� said Scott Passman, project manager for general contractor .

Crews are now pouring the deck and completing the fifth floor of the 30,754-square-foot structure, according to site superintendent Jamey Shaw.

鈥淓verything is on an as-you-need-it basis,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here’s no room to lay anything down. The sidewalk is closed by city permit, so we use that as our very minimal staging area, but nothing can be stored there.鈥�

The building, designed by , will include 42 studio apartments for individuals making 60 percent of the median family income or less, as well as expanded offices and support space for the Macdonald Center. The nonprofit purchased the building at 125 N.W. Sixth Ave., formerly the Satyricon music venue, for $1.5 million in 2010.

The $11 million project is on budget, according to Pat Janik, executive director of the Macdonald Center, but the nonprofit is still involved in a capital campaign to cover the costs.

Because of the site’s constraints, demolished the venue by hand.

Now, to make room for deliveries to the construction site, which is 50 feet across and 100 feet deep, the team from Howard S. Wright coordinates closures of a traffic lane and posts a TriMet-certified flagger at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Couch Street. The flagger blows a whistle to alert construction workers that a train is approaching and signals train conductors when they can pass safely.

When crews assembled the tower crane a couple of months ago, communication with TriMet officials was particularly important because a crane was lifting segments of the machine over the MAX line and passenger platform. A similar process will be used to dismantle the crane in July.

鈥淭here was no movement of the crane when the train was at the platform, and we had barricades up, so the public was not walking under the crane as it moved across to the jobsite,鈥� said Tony Roberts, senior safety specialist for TriMet.

While the 12-hour tower crane assembly required extra coordination, Howard S. Wright is in nearly constant communication with TriMet to renew weekly permits and coordinate additional training sessions. Roberts conducts safety meetings with every subcontractor to discuss working near the platform and tracks.

Some deliveries require use of the tower crane, which also comes with special restrictions because it passes within 20 feet of a live power line. Workers strung multicolored flags to serve as a reference point for the tower crane operator, so that it would be easier to see when the machine was nearing the power line.

鈥淚t’s a very challenging area to have that kind of construction going on,鈥� Roberts said. 鈥淭hat’s why communication up front is important; that resolve a lot of issues. I’d rather do training than an investigation.鈥�

Construction is expected to wrap up in November.