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An old office building dating from the 1970s will soon have new life breathed into it as it becomes apartments.

The building on Southeast 52nd Avenue just south of Duke Street in the Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood has two floors that DiLoreto Architecture redesigned to hold 32 units, for a total of 20,000 square feet. An existing parking lot has 32 spaces.

鈥淭here’s some creativity you need to have to be able to figure out how to create nice spaces for people to live here,鈥� project manager Stephanie Fitzhugh said.

Chris DiLoreto was the principal architect and Brian Melton was the project designer.

Andersen Construction will cut holes in the walls to allow more natural light into the building, Fitzhugh said. Because of those holes, the building’s exterior will be changed to metal panel and wood siding.

The design doesn’t call for adding any space. Most of the units will be either studios or one-bedroom apartments 鈥� including five affordable ones. Another 10 will be lofts.

鈥淚 think they’re really hoping to get people who go to Reed College or younger people,鈥� Fitzhugh said of the owner, 52nd Avenue Apartments LLC.

Converting office space into residential space is a unique project for DiLoreto Architecture, she said. Some of the amenities include gathering spaces outside the lofts, a new lobby, an exercise room, bike storage, a multipurpose room upstairs, a washer and a dryer in every unit and a patio outside.

The designers liked the challenge of repurposing an old building.

鈥淭here’s such a need for housing,鈥� Fitzhugh said. 鈥淭he people that wanted to do this thought this was the most valuable use of the resources long-term.鈥�

The project is going through design review. Fitzhugh expects construction to begin in the fall and finish around summer 2019.

On the Boards is a 91视频 feature offering a look at the projects in Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact the 91视频 newsroom at 503-802-7222 or [email protected].