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Iredale Group Architecture, a firm based in Vancouver, British Columbia, had a design dilemma.

Its client – Franz Gehriger, CEO of SwissReal Group – wanted to build a new office tower on a lot he acquired in Vancouver’s financial district. But he also wanted to preserve the Old Stock Exchange Building on an adjacent lot. The 84-year-old structure previously housed Vancouver’s first stock exchange and Gehriger’s development company.

“We quickly realized in order to maximize density we would have to build over and above the existing building,” said Daniel Hawreluk, an Iredale Group associate. “That was the genesis of the idea of sort of marrying the two buildings together.”

Now, Iredale Group is navigating the final portion of the city’s approval process to build a modern, 31-story tower that rises from the top of the existing 11-story building. Density is being increased and a historic structure is being preserved.

However, would such a project be feasible in Portland?

“That would be an extreme example relative to what we might see here, but that’s a good place to go when you want to have a philosophical discussion about things, because it makes the issues a little more apparent on both sides,” said Brian Emerick, a principal at Emerick Architects.

One Portland neighborhood that could accommodate a project blending preservation and new construction is Old Town Chinatown, where height limits reach 400 feet. However, it’s a touchy subject. The discussion is playing out in West Quadrant planning efforts, as part of the Central City 2035 plan update.

“At the last meeting we had we were supposed to cover many topics, but spent four hours talking about the height map,” Emerick said. “It is a historic district and the height is an area of friction.”

In the case of the Exchange Building, preservation became an incentive for the developer. It gained a boost in floor area ratio (FAR) from nine to one, to 21.5 to one. Now, instead of simply razing the existing structure, the team plans to dig down seven levels to provide enough parking to meet Vancouver’s minimum requirements, Hawreluk said.

Also, the new tower will fit into the existing building like a Tetris piece, making it seismically stable without excessive reinforcement. Tower construction will require punching new concrete columns through existing floors, but the team as much as possible will preserve the interior. Old floors will be merged with new ones.

“Personally, I think a well-designed contemporary building can co-exist and add to a district that also has some historic buildings,” said Jill Sherman, vice president of development for Gerding Edlen. “There are different perspectives on that. It would be interesting to see what the local historic preservation folks would think about something like (the exchange building project) … I like it a lot. I think it’s very creative and it looks like a beautiful building.”

Sherman is leading redevelopment of the historic 511 Federal Building, and Gerding Edlen previously transformed the Brewery Blocks. Those project teams relied heavily on federal historic tax credits and state property tax exemptions, but Sherman said there needs to be more financial tools. She’s participating in a work group led by Restore Oregon to identify new ones for historic preservation. The results of their work should be released in the weeks ahead.

“The … whole point is there needs to be additional tools because there are economic opportunities that could be realized by restoring more of these buildings,” she said.

The city of Portland does have FAR incentives for historic preservation, but Nicholas Starin, a planner with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, said they tend to get lost in the shuffle.

“In general, the historic transfer provisions haven’t made a lot of sense from a market perspective for builders and developers because they can get that building entitlement easier and cheaper through other means,” he said.

Starin said staffers are re-evaluating that toolkit as part of the Central City 2035 update, and may give greater weight to historic incentives – like FAR transfers – in the future. Peggy Moretti, executive director for Restore Oregon, is one of the area’s biggest advocates for historic preservation, but she hesitates to promote Vancouver’s Exchange Building project as a model.

In the Skidmore/Old Town Historic District, for instance, there is a height limit of 75 feet. Some developers say that makes new construction difficult, but Moretti said one tall building can change the character of an entire neighborhood.

“Having a modern building sprout out like an alien, out of a historic building … I’m not so sure about that. That doesn’t reflect historic preservation to me,” she said. “… It’s a balancing act between property rights and public responsibility. At what point do you cross the line where you start to lose the character of a place? It’s a little hard to pin down, but there is economic value in having there be a ‘there’ there.”

In Vancouver, the Exchange Building is surrounded by high-rise buildings, so the new 31-story tower likely won’t change the district’s underlying character, but the development team does see it as a catalyst for change. The team is pursuing a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum rating, as well as a historic listing.

Global financial firm Credit Suisse is financing the $200 million project, and is the majority owner. Iredale Group is working with Swiss architect Harry Gugger on the design.

“We really look at this development as a way of revitalizing the financial district,” Hawreluk said. “It will be a real iconic building within this segment of the city.”