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Nels Gabbert and Ben Kaiser knew early on that they wanted to develop a district, and not just a collection of buildings. The partners in Karuna Properties II LLC and Kaiser Group Inc., respectively, wanted their separate projects at to connect both to each other and surrounding North Portland neighborhoods.

Their central idea was to search for a way to share resources between three highly energy-efficient structures: Kaiser Group’s Radiator Building, and Karuna Properties’ East and West buildings.

鈥淭he challenge had been: How do we think of this as a neighborhood instead of a single building?鈥� Gabbert said. 鈥淗ow can we utilize various assets that don’t usually get utilized?鈥�

The three buildings, rising between North Williams and Vancouver avenues just north of Fremont Street, each will have a mix of office and retail space and be connected by shared electrical, stormwater and telecommunications systems, as well as a shared public courtyard.

For the latter feature, each developer donated land and resources proportionally into a fund and worked with the city to add an existing public alley to the courtyard. The result will be a better flowing, community gathering space linking One North with the Boise neighborhood, said Scott Noble, project manager for the Kaiser Group.

鈥淚t’s kind of a showcase that multiple developers can work with the city to create nice spaces,鈥� he said. 鈥淚magine if they were doing everything on their own. It would be more chopped-up common space.鈥�

Meanwhile, the process to install utilities required significant coordination, Noble said.

Kaiser installed the underground electrical conduits and built a transformer that will feed power into all three buildings. R&H Construction, meanwhile, will do the same for the telecommunications networks. Stormwater systems will be shared between the West and Radiator buildings.

鈥淚t will take digging up access into the Karuna site so when that’s going on, it restricts how materials are being delivered,鈥� Noble said. 鈥淚t means excavating and backfilling as quickly as you can.鈥�

Not all district development plans came together as envisioned. Underground pipes linking One North with the New Seasons Market nearby were installed while the store was being constructed; however, plans to create a district-wide heat redistribution system were scaled back.

Originally, piped water from refrigeration units at the market would have been used to heat One North buildings. But plans were crafted early in the design phase, before it was known exactly how much waste heat New Seasons would generate and how it would be utilized, said Owen Gabbert, Nels Gabbert’s son and a partner in Karuna Properties. Installation costs were higher than expected and a use could not be determined, he said, in part because the One North buildings were more energy efficient than expected.

鈥淲e realized it wasn’t going to work in the way that we thought it was going to work,鈥� he said. 鈥淲aste heat only has value if you have a use for it. Otherwise, you’re paying money to move water around.鈥�

Other options are still being explored, such as bringing other buildings into the fold. The system could end up being used as an educational tool for other developers interested in installing a similar system, he said. Regardless, the system is available if energy costs spike later, Owen Gabbert said.

As the project teams continue to build their district, R&H and Kaiser Group 鈥� the contractor for the Radiator Building 鈥� are encountering logistic challenges.

鈥淲e’re scheduling major deliveries with R&H along with the neighbors,鈥� Noble said. 鈥淚t takes constant communication.鈥�

鈥淚t often feels like several projects are going on simultaneously,鈥� R&H superintendent Andy Hernandez said.

Plus, site access is constricted and the three One North buildings have different construction timelines. The Radiator Building is slated to be completed by the end of the year and will need its power sooner than the other two buildings. The East Building will be completed by June 2015, and the West Building‘s completion date is still undetermined.

Work will take place on an expedited schedule because R&H by April 1, 2015 will hand over construction of the East Building for tenant improvements to suit digital creative agency Instrument. It will occupy three floors.

East Building at One North
Location: North Portland
Anticipated completion date: June 2015

Owner: Karuna Properties II LLC
Developer: Karuna Properties II LLC, Nels Gabbert, Owen Gabbert

General contractor: R&H Construction
Architect: Holst Architecture
Landscape architect: Lango Hansen Landscape Architects
Engineers: KPFF Consulting Engineers (civil), Froelich Engineers (structural), McKinstry (MEP)

Radiator Building at One North
Location: North Portland
Owner/developer: Deco Diner LLC
Architect: PATH Architecture

General contractor: Kaiser Group Inc.
Landscape architect: Lango Hansen Landscape Architects
Engineers: Munzing Structural Engineering, PAE, KPFF Consulting Engineers