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For Ben Kaiser’s latest project in North Portland, the developer and architect drew upon influences as far away as Japan and as close to home as family.

The Canyons will open later this month at 3450 N. Williams Ave., near the intersection with Northeast Fremont Street. The 70-unit apartment building is intended to serve seniors seeking independent living units with convenient services.

Behind the six-story, 65-foot-tall building is a long, low-slung retail structure that creates an alleyway with the taller residential building. Kaiser expects a sushi restaurant, hair salon and salt retailer to open there after completion.

The project was designed before the COVID-19 pandemic began, but landed on a series of fortuitous choices with the help of partner Emily Dawson. For example, each unit has its own heating and cooling system, and does not share air with other spaces. Also, the corridors are open to outdoor air, and units are staggered in a sawtooth pattern so doors do not face each other.

鈥淲e weren’t planning on COVID, but we’re very happy with the outcome,鈥� Kaiser said during a recent tour of the property. 鈥淚t’ll be a post-COVID environment that’s safe.鈥�

The property will also have 24-hour concierge and occasional visits from Metro West Ambulance medics for residents who want blood pressure checks or other minor medical screenings.

In a brief video on The Canyons website, Kaiser talks about the past search for ideal housing for his aging father. That influenced development of the building.

鈥淭he products here in the United States need a lot of work,鈥� Kaiser said. 鈥淚t’s either super expensive or practically uninhabitable. We’re trying to find the middle ground.鈥�

The units do not have bathtubs, but do have unique features such as countertops that can be raised and lowered.

also has cross-laminated timber 鈥� a material heralded by Kaiser Group and Path Architecture. The Canyons shares a parcel with the team’s Carbon 12, which opened in 2018 and remains, for now, the tallest CLT building in the United States. For The Canyons, the team brought on R&H Construction, a local firm that had not previously built a CLT structure.

The innovative method of joining the CLT drew some initial skepticism from inspectors, said Iain Macdonald, executive director of the Tallwood Design Institute 鈥� a collaborative effort of Oregon State University, the University of Oregon and industry partners based in Corvallis. The CLT panels are connected to each other instead of to a beam or a wall.

鈥淲e did actually some testing for them because the building code guys had never seen CLT connected in that way before,鈥� Macdonald said.

CLT panels were loaded up with concrete barriers to test the material’s hardiness. The wood panels passed with ease, Macdonald said.

鈥淲e used every piece of concrete we had in the lab,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a really pretty dramatic illustration of the strength of it.鈥�

CLT for The Canyons came from Structurlam, a major manufacturer based in British Columbia.

Portland has been a leading U.S. market for CLT, with Kaiser among its earliest adopters. Developers and architects who have used CLT praise its warm aesthetics, lower carbon footprint compared to concrete, ability to meet fire and seismic codes, and connection to rural Oregon’s timber economy.

The Canyons is on track to hit its $36 million budget, Kaiser said. The project team was forced to pause twice during the pandemic because of COVID-19 cases, he noted.

As a development proposition, The Canyons 鈥� a rental product aimed at the middle of the market 鈥� complements Carbon 12, which has for-sale luxury condos. The retail buildings create a narrow alleyway with both The Canyons and Carbon 12, something Kaiser said was inspired by Japan’s dense, lively alleyways.

鈥淥ur hope is people fill in all through here,鈥� he said.

Hoosiers, a Japanese company, is a partner in the project.

The building has substantial bike parking, but approximately 30 parking spaces are tucked underneath. Seniors still want motor vehicle parking, Kaiser said.

鈥淚t’s still definitely a market that requires parking citywide,鈥� he said.

Interest from potential commercial tenants has picked up as Oregon gets a better grasp on the coronavirus pandemic, Kaiser said.

鈥淲e’re all learning how to live with this problem, and business is slowly coming out of its shell,鈥� he said.

Any new development in the Eliot neighborhood 鈥� historically one of Portland’s Black community centers 鈥� brings uncomfortable questions of gentrification and displacement. Kaiser has been having those conversations with residents and business owners for many years. Some still don’t like him or his developments, he admitted, but it’s a conversation he knows is necessary.

鈥淥ur country is going through a long-overdue awakening to the injustices of Black families in this country,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he diversity of this quadrant is what I love the most.鈥�

Kaiser first purchased the property and began developing ideas for it before the Great Recession. The economic collapse halted those plans. The recovery led to Carbon 12. The property was vacant at the time of purchase.

鈥淲e haven’t displaced anything,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e haven’t torn down homes; we haven’t torn down businesses. That’s not to say Williams (Avenue)-Vancouver (Avenue) doesn’t have a horrible history of gentrification.鈥�

Kaiser said he supports debt forgiveness for Black Americans.

鈥淲hat our country needs now more than ever is open discourse to alleviate this massive disparity,鈥� he said.

Kaiser Group is not done with the area, either. The developer owns an adjacent parcel east of The Canyons. The property is approximately 6,000 square feet and zoned for residential use.