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Multnomah County this week celebrated the grand opening of the Gladys McCoy Health Department Headquarters, a new public health building that will bring an array of services and 500 employees to the western edge of Portland’s Old Town Chinatown neighborhood.

The nine-story, $94.1 million building is over a decade in the works, and includes pharmacy services, specialty clinics, examination rooms, open office space, and a large central laboratory that will service 20 off-site county clinics. A large ground-floor space will serve as a public health emergency command post and a meeting space. Employees will move into the space next month from an outdated 10-story building (also named for the late Gladys McCoy, a former county chairwoman) at 426 S.W. Harvey Milk St.

The grand opening marks the completion of a two-year project by construction manager-general contractor J.E. Dunn, which began major work on the ZGF Architects-designed project in February 2017. Shiels Obletz Johnsen served as the owner’s representative. A total of 935 skilled tradespeople worked on the project 鈥� up to 250 on the site at one time at the peak of construction. The project team utilized 31 percent apprentice labor and 28 percent DMWESB-certified firms.

Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury, speaking at the opening ceremony, praised a project labor agreement between the county, contractor, labor unions and other interested parties. The PLA created a framework so that the project partners 鈥渃ould work together to overcome the historic barriers that have kept the construction industry from being open to everyone,鈥� she said.

The project was funded in part by Prosper Portland, which contributed $36.4 million in tax increment financing from the River District Urban Renewal Area. The building is located within the Broadway Corridor, a 34-acre area that could eventually see up to 4 million square feet of mixed-use development.

鈥淭his is a key moment in our long-term partnership with Multnomah County,鈥� said Kimberly Branam, Prosper Portland’s executive director. 鈥淭his building signals the transformation to come within the Broadway Corridor, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring the Pearl District and Old Town together.鈥�