91ÊÓƵ

A new apartment complex weaves into the Con-way master-planned area of Northwest Portland. The seven-story apartment building, planned for Block 291 east, will live adjacent to the neighborhood park.

“This park is meant to be the heart of the neighborhood,” Kurt Schultz, principal at SERA Architects, said.

Prometheus Real Estate Group and Cairn Pacific are the property owners. SERA Architects is the designer and R&H Construction Co. is the contractor.

Project Freewell‘s site has two buildings on it designed to respond to the park next to it. The stand-alone two-story pavilion building lends as a step stool for the 192-unit apartment complex down to the park.

The pavilion building will be constructed out of mass-timber wood and host a fitness studio, community room and a maker’s studio. It’ll also have an art gallery, which will be open to the public on the first Thursday of each month.

The design’s goal is to “let the park roll into the buildings,” Schultz said.

The apartment complex is a 5-2 with wood framing over concrete — the seventh-floor sets-back to open up to the park. The building is 235,000 square feet, including a 120-lot basement parking garage.

The complex’s ground floor will have retail spaces, a lobby, building amenities, and a few residential units. Live-work units will also be available facing the park.

Schultz said the challenge was creating a building that meshed with the park and addressed the neighborhood association’s needs.

The neighborhood association suggested that the two-story amenities building would give the park light and help keep the space open.

Construction on the project plans to start in December 2021 and will be finished by 2023.

“It’s really hard to create a new neighborhood from scratch but it’s a great opportunity,” Schultz said.

On the Boards is a 91ÊÓƵ feature offering a look at the projects in Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact Alex Jensen at [email protected].