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An abandoned big-box building in Portland’s Gateway area is gaining an unlikely tenant.

is preparing to relocate its operations on Southeast Division Street into a former Circuit City space at 1700 N.E. 102nd Ave. By reusing the existing shell, the health care provider is hoping to reduce construction costs; the renovation is expected to cost between $10 million and $12 million.

But the team first had to get with the programming.

鈥淧robably the biggest challenge of the project was to actually fit everything that they wanted inside the building,鈥� said Brad Dehle, a principal at , the project architect. 鈥淚t was about 4,000 square feet smaller than what they wanted it to be, and an addition was not going to be possible without tearing it down.鈥�

That is because the 32,186-square-foot building is inside a design overlay zone. The shell of the building was grandfathered in; however, an addition would trigger code requirements that would make the property unusable for Kaiser Permanente.

So, Soderstrom focused on making efficient use of the interior. For instance, designers placed the pharmacy near the entrance to eliminate the need for an additional hallway. Dehle likened it to piecing together a jigsaw puzzle without a picture as a guide.

But solving the puzzle generated significant savings for the health care provider.

鈥淚t’s definitely cheaper than the ground-up development option that we looked at,鈥� said John Sullivan, senior real estate manager for Kaiser Permanente.

The hope is that 20 to 25 percent savings can be achieved by not building new. Sullivan said the move is because of a Portland Community College campus expansion planned to start in 2014 on Kaiser Permanente’s leased Division Street space.

A year and a half ago, Sullivan began scouting for possible sites to relocate. Kaiser Permanente ultimately chose the bank-owned Circuit City property 鈥� one of 567 spaces around the nation left behind by the defunct retailer 鈥� which it purchased for a discounted price of $2.8 million.

Approximately 24,000 patients receive services at the Division Street facility. Sullivan said the Gateway location 鈥� near the nexus of interstates 84 and 205 鈥� would make transitions easy. But it also offers other advantages.

鈥淲e see ourselves as a combination of an office user but in a retail environment,鈥� Sullivan said. 鈥淲e are trying to attract new members, and get our name brand and logo out into the public for more visibility. We feel that a retail environment is more to our advantage.鈥�

Building upon that brand was a challenge for Soderstrom as well. Dehle said that Kaiser Permanente uses a 21-point program to foster cohesion in design and patient experience. For instance, one point asks architects to consider whether the building is visible from the street and whether it is recognizable as a Kaiser Permanente facility without a sign.

For the Gateway project, Circuit City’s iconic red triangle entryway will be removed and the entire concrete masonry building will be rewrapped in a new, beige brick veneer. Also, numerous holes will be cut in the exterior to make way for window systems, and the storefront will be reconstructed with a tall, glass vestibule.

Dehle said a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating will be sought. Two exterior garden/bio-swale areas will treat all of the building’s stormwater runoff on-site.

In addition, the facility will feature a fairly new heating and cooling method called a variable volume refrigerant system. A series of heat pumps and pipes will redistribute hot and cold air throughout the building in order to maintain a steady temperature.

Another innovative technique that Kaiser is employing is a software program by tech company that syncs building information modeling data with ongoing maintenance systems.

The project is out to bid, and construction is slated to begin within the next two months. Kaiser Permanente hopes to open the facility in early 2014.