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Isabella Court II will be a mirror image of its neighbor; however, beneath the surface, it’s clear the new affordable housing project will be much different than its counterpart.

The original Isabella Court, operated by Portland-based nonprofit REACH Community Development, opened in 2016 at 3112 N.E. 62nd Ave. in Vancouver, Washington. The complex provides 49 affordable housing units to seniors over age 62. The second phase, near completion, will also offer 49 affordable housing units 鈥� but for formerly homeless individuals and families.

鈥淚t was originally designed to be a senior project, but funding priorities changed with the state of Washington, so we were told to serve families 鈥� and specifically families who were either experiencing or were at risk of homelessness,鈥� said Anthony Petchel, director of philanthropy and communication for REACH CDC. 鈥淪o we’re building out our service partnerships with the other service providers.鈥�

The project, designed by MWA Architects, is being built by general contractor Team Construction. The building will be fully managed by REACH CDC once substantial completion is reached in just over a month.

Thirty Section 8 vouchers have been secured for homeless or at-risk families. That is being handled by the Vancouver Housing Authority 鈥� a funding partner for the project, which has a budget of slightly less than $14 million.

The building itself has four stories of wood-framed construction over a slab-on-grade foundation. There will be 34 one-bedroom units and 15 two-bedroom units as well as tenant amenity spaces on each floor.

The project is being built to the state’s Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard 鈥� a requirement for any affordable housing project that is awarded state Housing Trust Fund dollars. The standard is based on a points system recognizing sustainable building practices such as: site location and neighborhood planning; water conservation; energy efficiency and use of renewable energy technologies; and environmentally-conscious construction practices, materials and indoor-air quality.

鈥淚t’s pretty prescriptive,鈥� said Ben Sturtz, project manager for REACH CDC. 鈥淚t requires a lot on the architect, the contractor and us as the owner.鈥�

Tradespeople are working to complete a punch list of items, especially on the fourth floor 鈥� the first completed. On floors one through three, crews are painting, and installing drywall, flooring and luxury vinyl tile. And in some units, cabinetry is being installed.

Exterior materials include masonry cladding on the ground floor, horizontal wood siding on floors two through four and a synthetic, rubber-based roofing system.

鈥淚f you were here last week there were probably 10 more trades,鈥� Sturtz said. 鈥淲e’ve done quite a bit of work since then.鈥�

Outdoors, crews are completing concrete pours for an outdoor playground and courtyard. Also, workers are tackling utilities, including electrical.

A 12-foot retaining wall rings the property on three sides as evidence of the work required to smooth out the sloped property and properly handle stormwater drainage. A massive four-foot-deep pre-cast concrete vault was constructed underneath the parking lot.

鈥淲e had to bring in a lot of soil to bring this up and maintain that courtyard,鈥� said Ryan Dooley, project manager for Team Construction. 鈥淎lso, because of the soil type here, we had to do full retention. Stormwater is always a difficult thing, and we’re now lower than our utilities and we have to pump stuff out.鈥�