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Years ago, Home Forward put into motion its 鈥�85 Stories Initiative鈥� to improve much of its low-income housing stock. Several buildings in Portland have received attention, and now Williams Plaza, a nine-story building at 2041 N.W. Everett St., in the Nob Hill neighborhood, is finally getting some.

A tight budget has forced project designers and engineers to become creative, but they have been meeting the challenge.

鈥淭his project is design-build, which yields a lot of benefits from the start,鈥� said Matt Bokar, a senior associate at Salazar Architect. 鈥淎t the start, a lot of that just goes into scoping. So it’s about getting a handle on the stuff we have to do and then the stuff we want to do and then the stuff we hope to be able to do.鈥�

Permits for building alterations and mechanical alterations at Williams Plaza total slightly more than $7 million. Budget constraints exist for any affordable housing project, Bokar added, so Salazar Architect is working very closely with general contractor Walsh Construction to ensure as many upgrades as possible are completed.

鈥淔rom the start we are working to really organize the scope into those three buckets,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hen as the design process unfolds you try to make space in the budget and the schedule for the stuff you want to do.鈥�

Much of the investment is going into renovating units’ bathrooms and kitchens. Williams Plaza has 101 apartments (a mix of studios and one-bedroom units) occupied by tenants who are age 55 or older, or have a disability.

鈥淭his one is really systems-heavy,鈥� said Leslie Cretan, a Home Forward senior project manager. 鈥淚t’s a heavy plumbing job, and even though it started mainly as a bathroom remodel we had to pretty much gut the bathrooms to do the replacement of the plumbing.鈥�

The building’s security systems, corridor lighting, mechanical systems and rooftop generator all are being upgraded or replaced. An old boiler is being replaced by individual water heaters, and the ground-floor community room, lobby, mail room and garbage room are being expanded and improved. And while the building’s electrical wiring will remain for now, dilapidated baseboard heaters are being replaced by more efficient wall heaters.

鈥淲ith this project the timing was just perfect,鈥� Cretan said. 鈥淲e were already having water leaks all over the place and shut-off valves that wouldn’t shut off.鈥�

New shut-off valves were installed to allow better control of water flow.

鈥淣ow you’ll be able to shut it down at the unit and not affect anyone else’s water and go in and fix whatever you need to fix,鈥� said Brian Ames, the project superintendent for Walsh Construction.

Other work taking place includes: abatement of flooring and joint compound containing asbestos; installation of new rooftop exhaust fans and roofing as well as new exhaust fans in each bathroom unit; installation of new stove tops and splash guards; and more. A lot of these touches, including new luxury vinyl plank flooring, came via suggestions from residents.

鈥淐ommunity meetings were held during design, and we were blessed to have an active and engaged population,鈥� Bokar said. 鈥淲e held three meetings to walk residents through scoping and sequencing of the work.鈥�

Tenants are remaining in the building while improvements take place. In this case, the work is being done one floor at a time, with residents being shifted to a 鈥渉otel鈥� floor (the sixth) on a temporary basis. The sixth floor will then be the final level to be renovated.

鈥淲e just moved everybody back from the sixth floor into the fifth floor,鈥� Ames said. 鈥淭hat took us two days. And then we go through and clean the hotel floor and make sure it’s ready for the next group.鈥�

Work is proceeding from the top down, with floors 9, 8, 7 and 5 already completed. Crews currently are working on the fourth floor and the ground floor.

鈥淲e’ll go back at the end to the hotel unit, which just got new bathrooms, and we’ll do the remaining scope items there at the tail end,鈥� Ames said.

The project schedule calls for completion by September.