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A $70 million renovation to Portland State University‘s Neuberger Hall is the latest in a series of major upgrades to campus buildings, including the Karl Miller Center last year and the Viking Pavilion at the Peter W. Stott Center this year. Fortis Construction is building the Hacker-designed project, which will modernize the 1960s-era Brutalist building with seismic and systems upgrades, improved accessibility, a light well providing ample daylight penetration, and a new curtain-wall system on the western portion.

The full-block structure, which fronts Southwest Broadway to the east and the South Park Blocks to the west, consists of two separately constructed buildings. The western portion is constructed with concrete-encased steel and was completed in 1961, and a steel-framed addition on the eastern portion of the block followed in 1969.

Crews have been at work on the project for about four months, primarily handling demolition and abatement. That phase of work is expected to continue through this summer. Performance Abatement Services is currently removing asbestos-laden fire retardant from steel beams on two of the building’s four above-grade floors, as well as in the basement.

Once abatement and demolition work is completed, the next major step in the project will be to cut a light well into the building’s west side. A section of slab measuring approximately 3,000 square feet will be removed from each floor and the roof to allow daylight into the center of each of the building’s occupied floors.

Meanwhile, Staton Companies crews are demolishing fifth floor/rooftop mechanical structures, and soon will commence removing the curtain-wall facade of the western portion. The facade will be replaced with more glazing in an effort to open the building up to the facing Park Blocks. Similarly, precast concrete panels on the ground floor of the building’s eastern portion will be replaced with an aluminum storefront system, providing a connection to the streetscape of Southwest Broadway. In addition, new entries will be constructed at each building elevation.

When it opens for the fall 2019 term, the building will house offices, classrooms and laboratories, and an art museum funded by the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.

The project team also includes Mayer/Reed, KPFF Consulting Engineers, PAE Engineers, and ABHT Structural Engineers.