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Taped to the walls and doorframes throughout an Old Town space being modified for Airbnb are the corresponding elevation sheets.

For a project with so many unique finishes and special materials 鈥� 15 species of wood, numerous shades of gray and white, etc. 鈥� this old-school step has helped keep crews confusion-free, according to Fortis Construction project engineer Kevin Kelly.

鈥淚t’s a part of our quality control process when we do these high-end TIs,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou want to make sure people are cross-referencing and always looking at the right finishes.鈥�

Airbnb established its Portland foothold in the 129-year-old Blagen Block three years ago with 160 employees 鈥� customer service representatives, information technology staffers, trainers and managers. By adding personnel in product development and engineering, the North American operations hub now has approximately 330 employees. The improvements under way will give the firm 38,500 square feet 鈥� enough space to accommodate up to 690 people.

Airbnb is expanding its space on the first floor and taking over the fourth floor (formerly occupied by Dell); the online room rental giant now completely occupies the four-story building.

Where employees sit throughout the day will be largely up to them. The open-office design allows staffers to work where they want among nooks, petite 鈥渃aves,鈥� conference tables and living rooms over four floors. Many spaces will be equipped for videoconferencing 鈥� an important feature for an international company with 19 offices around the world.

The theme of the project is 鈥渂elong anywhere.鈥� About three dozen workers are following intricate floorplans from around the world. A number of true-to-life mock-ups of Airbnb spaces are being created. For instance, a spare server room with blacked-out windows is being transformed into a replica of a Maltese living room including in a listing on the website.

Other spaces include a 鈥淧ortland,鈥� a 鈥淢oscow鈥� and a brightly colored 鈥淢exico.鈥� All of these conference room designs are replicas of Airbnb spaces considered exemplary by staffers. A freestanding accessory unit is awaiting rough-in, and a geodesic dome is in the works. While the Airbnb listing with the dome has a small fireplace, the Blagen Block version will feature a salvaged fireplace that hides an air vent.

Even a few original aspects of the 1888 building are being preserved, including some column hardware (with strict historical guidelines, little could be done to the exterior). The unreinforced masonry building has yet to receive a seismic upgrade.

鈥淭he level of finish is very high, and as a builder, that’s fun,鈥� Kelly said.

He added that he’s proud the project team has diverted for reuse 78 percent of materials that otherwise would’ve ended up in a landfill. A spiral staircase, for instance, was purchased within a week.

Blagan Block tenant improvement

Cost: $1 million

Size: 20,250 square feet

Project manager: Specht Development

Contractor: Fortis Construction

Designer: Bora Architects

Expected completion: May 2017