91视频

Sustainability-focused Portland design-build firm SolTerra has split into two businesses and laid off design professionals.

Co-founders James Wong and Brian Heather will run separate firms, the company confirmed Friday.

SolTerra’s designated spokeswoman declined to answer questions, but issued a 150-word statement.

鈥淪olTerra’s owners have decided to divide the company into two operating entities to bring greater focus to the core聽strengths of each,鈥� the statement reads. 鈥淭hese entities are聽cooperating with each other but have different business models.鈥�

Heather will run a company focused on solar energy and living walls, as well as the development of several in-progress real estate projects, according to the statement.

鈥淏rian Heather has decided to continue to carry out his mission to connect people to nature, create stronger communities, and make a positive impact on the earth,鈥� it reads.

The entity聽headed by Wong will focus on development of multifamily projects in the Seattle and Portland areas. It will 鈥渃reate beautiful, vibrant communities that residents can be proud to call home.鈥�

SolTerra was founded in 2008, just as a nationwide recession began to paralyze the construction industry. Heather told the 91视频 last year the timing allowed him to hire a number of talented out-of-work design professionals.

The company started out designing and installing green roofs and living walls, before adopting a business model of controlling the entire development process for聽sustainable building projects. It would build only LEED platinum-rated buildings.

It recorded $30.5聽million in revenue in 2015, and last year, the Portland Business Journal listed it as one of the seven fastest growing companies in Oregon. The company purchased a quarter-block lot in the Pearl District in March, with plans for a tower called 鈥淧arq.鈥�

The company is also in the process of building an ambitious 35,000-square-foot headquarters.

鈥淲e’re going all out,鈥� Heather said of the project to the 91视频 last year. 鈥淲e’re really pushing the envelope.鈥�

SolTerra聽has completed several mixed-use Portland mid-rises 鈥� notably the Woodlawn in Northeast (its first) and Brooklyn Yard in the Brooklyn neighborhood. They’re marketed as聽meeting the highest standards for energy-efficiency and environmental impact.

But SolTerra projects are also notable for how long they take to build. The earliest permit activity for Brooklyn Yard registered with Portland’s Bureau of Development Services is a demolition permit issued in February 2014. Construction lasted nearly two years, with temporary occupancy granted by the city in October 2016.聽A grand opening is planned for February.

The scope of other projects changed drastically from one permit request to another.

The Strata at 3185 N. Vancouver Ave. was submitted in August for Type II design review as a 110-unit building. This week, it reappeared as a 鈥済roup living facility鈥� with 240 units.

The Antelope at 177 N. Failing St. was submitted as a five-story building with 50 apartments, but was resubmitted as a group living facility with 84 units.

The application lists Jackson Main Architecture as the designer, yet the company touts designing all its products聽in-house.

Reviews from the job-satisfaction website Glassdoor paint a largely positive picture of life at the company until about summer 2016. Accounts by commenters purporting to be former SolTerra employees describe inexperienced management and disarray.

The company’s website still states that it employs 150 people, hires 鈥渨eekly鈥� and is in a 鈥渉igh-growth phase.鈥�

SolTerra has three projects in development in the Seattle area, including a plan to build a seven-story apartment building on a parcel purchased in August, according to a Seattle Business Magazine profile of the company from this month.

The article doesn’t mention turmoil at the company. Rather, Heather describes ambitious plans, including developing projects abroad and aiding lawmakers crafting policy.

鈥淲hen you have a vision, you really have to have a group of people that are all totally aligned,鈥� Heather is quoted as saying. 鈥淭hat’s hard to do with too many companies involved.鈥�