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Architectural models of a planned mixed-use building in Old Town Chinatown line the windowsill and clutter the table in a small conference room at Ankrom Moisan Architects‘ Portland office.

Senior associate Matt Janssen enthusiastically points out details on the models or refers to renderings and inspirational photos that coat the room’s bulletin board.

鈥淚t’s going to have that old warehouse feel,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou want to have an honest building, and we thought that structure fit with that concept.鈥�

The $37 million project has particular significance for Janssen and other staffers working in Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office. When the six-story building on the corner of Northwest First Avenue and Davis Street is complete, it will become the firm’s new home.

Since determining that the site would suit the firm in its quest to leave Southwest Portland and move closer to downtown, Ankrom Moisan has worked with the project’s developer, Portland-based Gerding Edlen, on design. The architecture firm will occupy about 40,000 square feet on the third and fourth floors of the approximately 130,000-square-foot building. Plans also call for 16,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 20,000 additional square feet of office space on the second floor and 58 units of workforce housing on the fifth and sixth floors.

The Portland Development Commission since 2005 has owned the 29,100-square-foot Block 8L 鈥� next to the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and the University of Oregon Portland campus 鈥� where the project will be built. Last fall, the city agency awarded Gerding Edlen first rights to acquire and redevelop the L-shaped property now a parking lot and dirt. The sale is being negotiated and likely will become final this fall, PDC senior project manager Eric Jacobson said.

Gerding Edlen Vice President Jill Sherman said the developer worked with Portland-based Works Partnership Architecture on initial design of the mixed-use project, but hired Ankrom Moisan to take over in May as part of an agreement for the firm to move into the building.

鈥淲hen they approached us interested in the location, their interest was in being a tenant, but also an architect of a new building,鈥� she said.

Creating a contemporary Old Town building that responds to the historic architecture that surrounds it has defined the design process so far, Janssen said.

鈥淲e started looking at something very modern because we’re architects,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hen we stepped back and we thought about it long and hard and we said, 鈥楾his is a historic district.’ We wanted to be respectful of that, so we tried to make a building that fits into that vocabulary but still is understood as a building that was built today. That’s a really delicate balancing act that we’ve been trying to ride.鈥�

The project’s design team has twice sought the advice of the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission, which will review the plans and potentially request modifications before granting city approval. Ankrom Moisan staffers have a third design advice request hearing with the commission scheduled for later this month; they plan to seek design approval in October.

One way that the project could acknowledge the neighborhood’s history will be through display of cast-iron rods from historic Old Town buildings that were demolished, Janssen said. The rods, part of a collection that the PDC has acquired over the years, would be incorporated into a plaza space on the part of the property that faces Northwest Naito Parkway and Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

鈥淥ne of the fun things about this site is we’ve got this enormous right-of-way on Naito. It’s almost like a gateway,鈥� Janssen said. 鈥淲e thought it would be fun to create an outdoor museum.鈥�

The building will feature heavy timber construction on a concrete base to give it the appearance of a warehouse. The facade will invoke the feel of the historic district with tall windows and strong vertical lines, he said.

鈥淓verything (in the district) is really vertical in nature, so we’re trying to pick up on that,鈥� Janssen said.

Ankrom Moisan has occupied space on Southwest Macadam Avenue for more than 20 years. However, officials sought a location allowing easy commutes by bike or public transportation, Janssen said.

Firm staffers also are excited about working in a mixed-use building 鈥� one of the most common projects Ankrom Moisan designs, principal Murray Jenkins said.

鈥淭his was an opportunity to live what we’re doing,鈥� he said.

General contractor R&H Construction is scheduled to start work on the project at the end this year and wrap up by early 2016. Ankrom Moisan plans to move into the space in January 2016. The firm currently has 185 employees in its Portland office. The new office space is designed to accommodate up to 250 employees, Jenkins said.

The Old Town office space will have a much more open floor plan aimed at encouraging collaboration, Janssen said. The stairs will be located on the perimeter instead of in the middle, and give staffers easy access to a central courtyard, he said.

鈥淲e want to have a lot more internal communication,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t frees up the plan on the inside of the building to be extremely open.鈥�

Block 8L mixed-use building

Location: 60 N.W. Davis St.

Cost: $37 million

Anticipated construction start date: late 2014

Anticipated construction completion date: early 2016

Site owner: Portland Development Commission

Developer: Gerding Edlen

Architects: Ankrom Moisan Architects, Works Partnership Architecture

Landscape architect: Lango Hansen Landscape Architects

Structural engineer: DCI Engineers

General contractor: R&H Construction