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When a committee of local industry professionals first convened last spring to advise the city of Portland on plans to renovate the Portland Building their message was clear: Don’t make the same mistake twice.

鈥淭he city thought the best strategy would be fix the obvious problems, which are really limited to the structural issues and the building leaks,鈥� said committee member Bing Sheldon, co-founder of Portland-based SERA Architects. 鈥淥ur advice was, 鈥楲ook, you got into this mess in the first place by budgeting too little for this building.’ I think everybody felt very strongly that if the city was going to fix the building, they ought to make it a 100-year building.鈥�

City officials are taking this recommendation and others made by the six-member volunteer advisory committee seriously as they move forward on investigating the costs and best moves to make in renovating the historic — and controversial 鈥� postmodern structure, said Fred Miller, the city’s chief administrative officer and director of the Office of Management and Finance.

Steps to improve drab city government offices in the building the project could include replacing tinted windows with clear glass to bring in more light, tearing out drop ceilings and opening up floor plans. Renovation plans could also call for upgrading heating, ventilation, mechanical and electrical systems, and elevators, and improving access for people with disabilities.

Earlier this year, a city report concluded that $95 million worth of repairs are needed to fix up the Portland Building, which was completed in 1982. After considering several options, including building demolition, city officials could soon seek proposals from developers, architects and contractors for a remodel. Miller said he hopes to secure financing by early next year for a supplemental study that will look into the costs of various renovation options and the feasibility of making those upgrades while portions of the building are still occupied.

鈥淲e know the route we’re headed, but it could end up in various ways,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 lot of people don’t want this building torn down. If you’re going to maintain it, why not invest in it?鈥�

Seeking outside input

The renovation project will involve considering that the Portland Building was listed two years ago on the National Register of Historic Places and that its designer, renowned architect Michael Graves, is still alive. Miller said city officials plan to seek input on the renovation plans from Graves, a principal of Princeton, N.J.-based architecture and design firm Michael Graves & Associates.

鈥淲e don’t want to do anything that violates his sense of the building,鈥� Miller said.

Earlier this month, Graves visited Portland at the invitation of the University of Oregon’s John Yeon Center to give a lecture during Design Week Portland where he discussed how to improve the Portland Building. Graves’ comments during the lecture in favor of replacing the building’s tinted glass and modifying the ground level to better support retail space will be helpful as the city moves ahead with gaining approval for changes to the historic building from the National Park Service, which oversees the National Register, said advisory committee member John Russell of Portland-based Russell Development.

鈥淗is coming here and being open to changes is very important because it is a landmark building,鈥� Russell said.

Along with consulting Graves, Miller said he felt it was important to reach out to local professionals who’ve worked on similar projects. The advisory committee he assembled for this purpose includes industry leaders in architecture, real estate, development and construction. Seeking proposals from developers, architects and contractors on how to renovate the building could further help in the planning process, Miller said.

鈥淲e need to do something. We can’t just let it go,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’re definitely going to capitalize on outside expertise.鈥�

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Looking beyond $95M repair estimate

Miller said he’s long wanted to know more about the city’s options beyond the $95 million in repairs outlined in an in-depth assessment completed by Portland-based FFA Architecture and Interiors on the building’s envelope and structural elements.

鈥淚 can’t be comfortable with that until I know what the alternatives are,鈥� he said.

A more accurate cost estimate on renovating the Portland Building will help the city determine how much is needed for bonds to finance the project, Miller said. Since the $95 million estimate is strictly to fix leaks and structural problems, a more extensive renovation will likely cost more, he said.

鈥淚t’s got to function like a new building,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淵ou want something that’s functional and represents a good investment.鈥�

Sheldon said a renovation that does more than repair the building will be worth it.

鈥淧olitically, this is a stubbed toe anyway so as long as you’re being criticized you might as well do it right,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese are big problems. That’s why the price tag is as big as it is.鈥�

One potential savings could be avoiding the estimated $28 million cost of temporarily moving everyone out of the building while it’s renovated, Miller said. 听This could be achieved by only renovating several floors at time.

Russell said he believes the Portland Building can be fixed seismically without taking everyone out. This could be similar to an asbestos abatement project his company did on the 200 Market Building in downtown Portland while it was still occupied, he said.

鈥淭here is a huge savings if the building is fixed when it’s partially occupied,鈥� Russell said.

Sheldon disagreed. Extra costs would be incurred while moving workers around and much of the construction work would have to happen at night, he said.

鈥淭he biggest problem is it will take longer to do it that way and it’s more expensive,鈥� Sheldon said.

He recommended a renovation to the Portland Building similar to a modernization project designed by SERA Architects that transformed Portland’s Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building.

鈥淭he first thing you do is you remove all the suspended ceilings and remove all the ducting, and that’s exactly what we did in Wendell Wyatt,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll of a sudden you have a much more pleasant environment.鈥�

Removing the ceilings in the Portland Building would be transformative, Russell said.

鈥淭he new cutting-edge standard for workplaces is the ceiling is removed,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat’s a perfect solution for that building.鈥�

Open floor plans would also make the building a better place to work, Sheldon said.

鈥淒esign the interior so that instead of how it’s chopped up into private offices, it’s open,鈥� Sheldon said. 鈥淚f that were done than the Portland building would be a remarkably better building. It’s not impossible. To me, it’s not condemned. I think you could make significant improvements.鈥�