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A new 141-unit student housing complex is now open in Southwest Portland. But first the project team 鈥� including developer College Housing Northwest, architect SERA Architects and general contractor Pavilion Construction 鈥� had to overcome a significant site challenge.

The Amy, an $18 million project, was built at 2031 S.W. 10th Ave., slightly south of Interstate 405. The property’s west side, which borders a Portland Bureau of Transportation right-of-way, has a slope with over 50 feet of elevation change.

A roughly 20-foot-tall retaining wall was constructed to hold up the hillside. But it was deemed inadequate, so engineers decided to use a soil nail system. This was accomplished by drilling holes into the exposed wall face and placing tension-resisting steel bars into the holes.

Then winter arrived in 2017, when the retaining wall actually moved beyond established tolerance.

鈥淲e had to buttress it and redesign it and go in and pour this additional shelf which goes up to the road,鈥� College Housing Northwest development manager Ryan Sturley said.

So a second retaining wall was constructed.

鈥淲e kept the original one and we poured the new one up top,鈥� Sturley said. 鈥淧art of the issue up there is Cardinell (Drive). Even though the original wall was 15 or 20 feet below the road, PBOT would not let us put soil nails underneath the right-of-way, or tiebacks.鈥�

As a result of the slippage, the entire project was delayed while the shoring wall was redesigned.

鈥淲e had to put more, smaller soil nails in, and it was a definite challenge,鈥� Sturley said. 鈥淲e had to pause the project, we had to redesign, and then pour an even larger wall. It was the biggest challenge we faced and it was a big undertaking.鈥�

The Amy, near Portland State University, is the first new development in many years for College Housing Northwest, a nonprofit. It has primarily built apartments in Portland and Corvallis, around Oregon State University. All of the housing units are open only to registered college students.

In fact, at The Amy, units are available only to students registered at least half time at an accredited institution, which includes trade schools.

鈥淚t’s been over a decade, and our last one was a partnership with OSU on their campus,鈥� Sturley said. 鈥淚t was actually a remodel of an existing apartment building, so this is our first ground-up construction since the ’90s.鈥�

A post-tensioned concrete podium at The Amy supports five stories of wood-framed residential space. There is one level of below-grade vehicle parking. Exterior materials include metal and fiber cement panels chosen for economy as well as energy efficiency.

The building has 139 studio apartments and two one-bedroom units. Communal kitchens are featured on each floor to promote social interaction.

鈥淥ne of the things we’re always thinking about is this statistic that says students that connect with one another are much more successful and have higher grades,鈥� Sturley said. 鈥淲e did that by putting in as much common space as we could.鈥�

The building was completed in the spring and already occupancy is approaching 60 percent, site manager Josh Merrick said. He credited that statistic to the common spaces, among other things.

鈥淲e’ve only been open for three months, but we’re already seeing that manifest in students organically connecting in those spaces,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n the kitchens and elsewhere it’s a great connector.鈥�