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Developed and built through a pandemic, new regulatory obstacles and a swift and severe economic downturn, Greystar‘s Sawbuck is nearing completion with 182 apartment units in Goose Hollow.

Crews are finishing apartments, installing mailboxes and laying brick on the podium patio deck in anticipation of residents. Apartments are available for preleasing. The eight-story building is on track to apply for a temporary certificate of occupancy in mid-to-late July, said Doug Burges, Greystar’s director of development for the region.

Sawbuck will also be one of the first large multifamily projects to offer inclusionary zoning units required by the city of Portland.

鈥淲e proved it by getting this project to go that we can attract investment at this scale and deliver affordable units,鈥� Burges said.

Sawbuck, 1725 S.W. Salmon St., takes its place in an increasingly dense Goose Hollow. Providence Park is across the street on Eighteenth Avenue. On the building’s south side, across Salmon Street, is the massive under-construction edifice of Lincoln High School. Nearby, other office, commercial and residential projects are in various stages of development and construction, while others have stalled.

Portland’s multifamily market has been buffeted by the Covid-19 pandemic, increased regulations such as inclusionary zoning that make projects less profitable and perceptions about the city’s out-of-control homelessness and sometimes-violent protests. Sawbuck is one of a handful of sizable multifamily buildings that are due to be completed this year.

Sawbuck’s completion is more like an echo of past economic conditions than a sign of current market robustness, said Noel Johnson, principal with developer Cairn Pacific, who is not involved in the project.

鈥淭his project, and there are a few others that are still yet to finish, are examples of the market which is a distant memory at this point,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭hat doesn’t take anything away from the project 鈥� we’re lucky to have new housing units 鈥� but it doesn’t say anything about today’s market.鈥�

Sawbuck was backed financially by a major insurance company and received a construction loan from City National Bank.

Greystar is interested in building more projects in the city of Portland, Burges said. 鈥淲e want to do business in the city of Portland because we believe in the long-term,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e know the challenges, but I think things are going in a positive direction.鈥�

Greystar, which is based in Charleston, S.C., opted to meet its affordable housing obligations by providing 10 percent of units affordable at the level of 60 percent of area median income. The developer also used an option to provide an equivalent number of bedrooms rather than units. The result is 10 two-bedroom units offered at restricted rents.

In return for the inclusionary units, Greystar receives a 100 percent property tax abatement on all residential units for 10 years. Burges said the tax break 鈥渂arely makes it work鈥� financially to build the project.

Sawbuck was designed by SERA Architects and built by Hoffman Construction serving as general contractor. (Hoffman is also taking the lead at Lincoln High next door, making Goose Hollow a nexus of activity for the local contractor).

Construction continued despite the pandemic. When positive COVID-19 tests arose, crews were quarantined while others continued working, Burges said. 鈥淗offman did a very good job of dealing with it,鈥� he said.

Construction and design were complicated by the subterranean presence of Tanner Creek, located about 40 feet below ground. Crews replaced a brick aqueduct dating from the early 20th century with structural steel. The building essentially straddles the creek, with no structural elements placed atop the waterway.

The creek also made it impossible to build a conventional below-grade parking garage. Sawbuck instead uses mechanized stackers for which steel was imported from China. The stackers can accommodate 86 vehicles.

Greystar purchased the property, a former parking lot, from TriMet for $6.5 million in 2019, according to public records.

Burges said Greystar was attracted by Portland’s market fundamentals and some perks of the Goose Hollow site: It’s on the MAX line and surrounded by long-term institutional properties including Providence Park, the Multnomah Athletic Club, Lincoln High and Zion Lutheran Church.

鈥淚t was not easy,鈥� Burges said. 鈥淏ut it’s a project that’s built right. It’s attractive. And if you’re going to be among these institutions, you better build something to last.鈥�