Tom Henderson//May 2, 2013//
Software developers at Mozilla are rushing to open a new office in the Pearl District, but they aren’t in a hurry to talk about it.
Company officials declined to comment on the 7,363-square-foot office being built on the third floor of Brewery Blocks Building 2 at 1120 N.W. Couch St. They said they would prefer to talk about why they are coming to Portland – and what they will be doing – after the office opens in June.
According to Portland building records, the price of the office space project is $663,000. A building permit for the project was issued on April 19, listing Lease Crutcher Lewis as the contractor.
Janice Westcott, Lease Crutcher Lewis’ marketing director, said the design of the space incorporates regular workstations and what is known as “hoteling” – an office organization system wherein several workers use a single, physical workstation or surface at different times.
It also includes video conferencing and training space, she said, as well as a bike hub with showers, lockers and bike storage.
“We performed two weeks of select demolition last month in order to prepare the space for construction,” Westcott said.
Wall framing is complete, and preliminary mechanical, electrical and plumbing work is under way, she added.
“We are performing the work during off-hours to limit disruption to other Brewery Blocks tenants,” she said. “The rapid eight-week schedule will conclude with substantial completion June 20.”
CBRE of Portland is the building manager, GBD is the architect, and CRE Group is representing Mozilla for the project.
Paul Riso, the project executive for Lease Crutcher Lewis, said a 7,000-square-foot office space should accommodate between 25 and 30 people.
“They are certainly looking for collaborative space with break-out areas for collaborations,” Riso said. “The building lends itself to that sort of aesthetic.”
Although the project has been fast-tracked, he said, that’s not unusual for office space projects.
“They all seem to be going fast right now,” he added. “What makes this project challenging is that it’s an open structure, which creates more design challenges with the overhead features.”
In recent weeks, Mozilla executives announced that they are expanding their San Francisco office, adding 125 employees.
Just last month, Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs announced that he will step down. Former CEO Mitchell Baker will reportedly have an expanded role.
Mozilla has shifted focus in recent years from its Firefox desktop Web browser and Thunderbird email system to mobile versions of its services. Kovacs was brought in to oversee those changes. According to media reports, he is stepping down as part of a broad management shake-up.
The Brewery Blocks were built in 1908 by Henry Weinhard to serve his brewing empire. The Portland brewery operation closed in 1999.