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Ankrom Moisan Architects Inc. is working with Kalberer Co. on the design concept for a renovation of an Old Town Chinatown warehouse to serve as the design firm’s new office.

The two companies have requested design advice from the Bureau of Development Services for a plan to rehabilitate a vacant, two-story annex building at 208 N.W. Fifth Ave., adjacent to the historic Mason-Ehrman Building. That 70,000-square-foot space, anchored by the Portland Development Commission, in 2001 received a $12.3 million renovation co-developed by Kalberer and Venerable Properties.

Though the project involved a major seismic upgrade, recent plans submitted to the city note that the Mason-Ehrman Building requires additional seismic bracing by 2018. It was assumed, however, that a high-rise development would replace the 74-year-old annex before that time.

Earlier this month, Ankrom Moisan President Tom Moisan said his firm was seeking up to 40,000 square feet in downtown. The company has occupied its Southwest Macadam Avenue office for more than 20 years.

Ankrom Moisan is considering a couple of possible schemes for the 20,000-square-foot annex building on Northwest Fifth Avenue, but in general they call for occupancy of the basement and first and second floors. The firm also would occupy the second and third floors of the Mason-Ehrman Building. Construction of a third-story penthouse atop the annex is being considered.

The renovation would create new canopies on Northwest Fifth Avenue, and lower the ground-floor windows. Because the warehouse was formerly used for storage of large rolls of paper for the Zellerbach Paper Co., the windows originally were cut higher into the facade to avoid damage.

In its application to the city, the project team reported that the estimated cost of construction was still unknown, but would likely be somewhere between $1 million and $2 million. Representatives from Ankrom Moisan and Kalberer could not be reached immediately for comment.