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Northwest Dance Project executive director Scott Lewis knew he’d found the contemporary dance company’s new home when he toured an industrial building in Northeast Portland. He noted that an 8,500-square-foot space at Northeast 10th Avenue and Davis Street that once served as a motorcycle shop was ideally suited for company dancers to practice and host classes.

鈥淲e’ve been looking for a space for two years,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s been incredibly hard to find a place for dance. It has to be tall and open and light. Pillars are killers for dancers.鈥�

The nonprofit dance company, founded in 2004, has been headquartered at Portland State University since losing its lease this past summer of a studio on North Mississippi Avenue. Thanks to donations raised through an ongoing $700,000 capital campaign and the pro bono support of two Portland firms, the Northwest Dance Project will soon move into a converted space in the industrial building that caught Lewis’ eye.

Portland-based Opsis Architecture and Joseph Hughes Construction have each donated a portion of their services to transform the space into a professional dance studio. Joseph Hughes crews started work on the fast-tracked project last month and are expected to wrap up in February.

鈥淧eople have been very generous and responsive,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淓very little bit helps. Both Opsis and Joseph Hughes have been really conscious of us being a nonprofit.鈥�

The project involves construction of two dance studios with sprung floors. The 3,200-square-foot studio will serve as practice space for Northwest Dance Project’s 10-person company, and the 1,500-square-foot public studio will host dance classes for children and adults. Plans also call for dancer dressing rooms with showers, a lobby, a laundry room and storage for costumes.

With its tall ceilings, and large windows, the 67-year-old industrial building that will become Northwest Dance Project’s new home already has a lot of attributes that make it well-suited for the company, said Jim Kalvelage, a partner with Opsis Architecture. The renovation will preserve that industrial look 鈥� including exposure of bowstring trusses 鈥� that suits Northwest Dance Project’s choreographic style, he said.

鈥淭heir work is very contemporary, edgy (and) more minimal,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e tried to give a lot of consideration to who Northwest Dance is as a troupe and how we could express that through architecture. It was a minimal and artful aesthetic.鈥�

The Opsis design team was also conscious of the nonprofit’s limited budget, Kalvelage said. The space that will become the dance company’s new home has been gutted, but the existing doors and windows will be reused throughout the studio. He likened this cost-saving measure to choreographing a dance, where different body movements are rearranged to create new compositions.

鈥淚t was recomposing and rearranging all those elements,鈥� Kalvelage said. 鈥淚t took a while to get to the point where everything is locked in so it feels intentional.鈥�

Kalvelage has long been a fan of Northwest Dance Project’s work, and when the company approached Opsis to design its new home, he was pleased to contribute to the project.

鈥淔or Opsis, a core value is supporting the cultural arts,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e think it’s really important to guiding community. Northwest Dance (is) just a real treasure of Portland.鈥�

Caleb Beaudin, senior project manager with Joseph Hughes Construction, said the firm was also happy to donate some of its services and $5,000 to the project. Beaudin, who once ran a nonprofit, said he could relate.

鈥淲e ran purely on donations, so I understand what it’s like to be in that position,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was just something that was a great fit for us to contribute to.鈥�

The aggressive construction schedule 鈥� the aim is to get the dance company into the building in early February, to prepare for an international tour 鈥� has been a challenge, Beaudin said. This is especially true working with an older building where there are always surprises, but the project is on track, he said.

Lewis said the company is eager to move into the space.

鈥淲e’ve been waiting so long for that; we really want to get into our new home,鈥� he said.

Northwest Dance Project headquarters

Location: 211 N.E. 10th Ave.

Cost: $700,000

Construction start date: December 2014

Anticipated construction completion date: February

Owner: Northwest Dance Project

Architect: Opsis Architecture

General contractor: Joseph Hughes Construction