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The story behind the name of the New York industrial building in Northwest Portland is simple. The six-story structure is being built on Northwest York Street.

But the spirit of New York City extends beyond the name, according to the building’s lead designer, Brian Melton of Portland-based DiLoreto Architecture.

鈥淭he building is called 鈥榯he New York’ and we just kind of ran with it,鈥� he said.

Iconic New York City structures inspired Melton’s design for one of the first ground-up vertical industrial buildings constructed in Portland in years. The theme is most apparent in a series of six laser-cut steel wall panels on each floor’s lobby he designed to represent New York City scenes. These include views of the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Center and Chrysler Building.

鈥淚 just tried to do abstractions of these iconic images of New York to give each lobby a theme,鈥� Melton said. 鈥淚 think anybody who knows New York, not even intimately, will be able to recognize these images.鈥�

Andersen Construction crews started work on the $12 million project in fall 2013 and are currently applying finishing touches, said Jeff Slinger, an Andersen senior project manager. Tenant improvements will be completed over the next year until the building is fully occupied, he said.

New York industrial buildings and traditional working buildings found in cities throughout the country served as a jumping-off point for design of the 110,000-square-foot New York building, but the project represents a more modern approach, Melton said.

鈥淚t’s an industrial building, but I wouldn’t say the building itself is a New York industrial building,鈥� he said.

Instead, the design is geared toward light industrial users; spaces are catered to creative office tenants and Portland’s maker culture.

鈥淭here are a lot of smaller entrepreneurs out there,鈥� Melton said. 鈥淭he nature of the building lends itself to those uses 鈥� It lends itself well to what’s happening in Portland.鈥�

Each floor can become more than a dozen smaller work spaces for tenants that could include software startups, industrial designers, bicycle makers, furniture restorers or breweries, Melton said.

鈥淚t’s super easy to change and accommodate for each tenant use,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n that way, it’s a successful building because you’re going to get so many different tenants.鈥�

The New York building caters to creative businesses with features similar to those found in older industrial buildings, Melton said. The large windows, concrete floors and a large freight elevator will be ideal for tenants seeking work spaces for manufacturing or building products, he said.

鈥淕etting the right window proportions was important to getting that industrial feel we all know and love,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is a lot of glass in each unit.鈥�

Like other industrial buildings, the New York is unapologetic about its use, Melton said. The building’s steel and concrete structure, ductwork and seismic braces on the facade are left uncovered.

鈥淲e very much tried to keep it industrial by exposing the structure, keeping this raw,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s not a refined building. It’s a building to make things.鈥�

That’s part of the beauty of the New York building, Slinger said.

鈥淚t’s like a building that has an old soul and that’s what we’re trying to do,鈥� he said.

The New York’s raw look inspired the laser-cut steel artwork Melton designed to adorn the lobbies and add a theme to each floor. The backlit, carved panels 鈥� each measuring about 6.5 feet by 12 feet 鈥� fit in with steelwork found throughout the building, he said.

鈥淭hat just naturally lends itself to making these art pieces out of raw steel,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 took that material and played with it.鈥�

Melton came up with dozens of potential designs before settling on six images that he thought would most strike visitors.

鈥淚t was really hard to figure out how to capture this image to get it to read in a two-dimensional way 鈥� just understanding how the light is going to play off it,鈥� he said.

A lot of experimentation was required to determine the best way to light the panels, and Andersen crews had to create a special structure to support their weight, Slinger said. In the end, he’s pleased how they enhance the building’s overall look.

鈥淭he whole construction team (is) really proud with how it turned out,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it’s interesting and unique.鈥�

The New York building

Location: 2104 N.W. York St., Portland

Cost: $12 million

Construction start date: fall 2013

Construction completion date: fall 2014

Owner: Rosan Inc.

Architect: DiLoreto Architecture

Engineer: WDY Inc.

General contractor: Andersen Construction