91ÊÓƵ

Mortenson Construction started the year with 20 people in Portland and says it’s on track to finish with 70.

Since 2012, when just three staffers worked in Portland, the national firm has delivered local projects for AC Hotel and the Port of Portland. The firm last year contributed to the local building boom by handling construction  of its own 9,000-square-foot office in the Crane Building in the Pearl District. The location was in part selected to appeal to current and prospective employees, Portland general manager Dan Mehls said. Adaptive reuse techniques were used to show off preferred building methods.

“We never thought about doing it any other way,” Mehls said.

Minnesota-based Mortenson has been active in the Pacific Northwest since it opened its Seattle office in the early 1980s. Expansion into the Portland market was strongly boosted with the award of a major hotel project at the Oregon Convention Center.

Mehls acknowledges the company has an advantage in that it can pull staff from other Mortenson offices around the country to meet project needs.

Storyline Apartments

The Storyline is a 14-story, 147-unit market rate apartment building at 1133 S.W. Market St. in downtown near Portland State University.

Amenities include a dog-wash station, fitness center, common room, lounge, rooftop viewing area, and bicycle storage and a cleaning station. The design by SERA Architects is described as modern with original touches such as white stucco, black vinyl windows, a glass canopy and an aluminum storefront system.

Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center

Mortenson is preparing to start heavy work just north of the Oregon Convention Center on the 600-room Hyatt Regency hotel. The $240 million project will add 440,000 square feet to the Lloyd District, one of Portland’s fastest-growing neighborhoods. Mortenson is the project’s design-builder as well as the developer.

Coos Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant

Mortenson was recently selected by the city of Coos Bay as construction manager-general contractor to build a new wastewater treatment plant and tie it to the existing plant across the street. The new plant will include an influent pump station, headworks, sequence batch reactor system, equalization basin, ultraviolet disinfection system, an office/laboratory and shop/garage. The project team also includes CH2M.

United Way Hotel Project

The 15-story hotel will add 221 rooms to downtown Portland. The United Way of Columbia-Willamette is developing the project in partnership with Mortenson and Melvin Mark Brokerage. The lobby will include retail space and multimedia art displays. Work is expected to start at the end of the year and conclude by summer 2019.

Mortenson Portland headquarters

Mortenson’s fast-growing Portland office recently relocated to a custom space in the Crane Building at 710 N.W. 14th Ave. in the Pearl District. To provide the lumber used in the office, Mortenson purchased and deconstructed a 100-year-old barn in Colton. The reclaimed Douglas fir was used on workspaces and for trim around the 9,000-square foot office. Other authentic touches include an antique refrigerator used as a decorative piece on a stair cap and a conference room table fashioned from an 1890s-era door from an East Portland estate.

Builder’s Choice is a 91ÊÓƵ feature offering a look at the projects being tackled by local architecture, engineering and construction firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91ÊÓƵ construction reporter Garrett Andrews at 503-802-7226 or [email protected].