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It came as a bit of a surprise to SERA Architects officials that they signed the largest commercial office lease in Portland since the pandemic began. In fact, for years they sought to build, not lease, a new showcase office.

鈥淲e got serious in a few locations,鈥� said Stuart Colby, a SERA principal who leads the firm’s workplace studio. 鈥淚t’s just that there were a number of barriers.鈥�

Instead, SERA agreed earlier this year to a lease with Galleria owner Unico Properties for the entire 42,000-square-foot top floor of the historic downtown building between Southwest Alder and Morrison streets, and Ninth and 10th avenues.

鈥淭he firm has a long history of preservation and adaptive reuse,鈥� Colby said. 鈥淭hese older buildings offer a lot of richness.鈥�

The Galleria building, completed in 1910, offers a number of other advantages. As a full-block building, it has a floor plate among the largest available in urban Portland.

鈥淚n general, a full-floor-plate building is certainly ideal,鈥� Colby said. 鈥淟arge floor plates are scarce.鈥�

After the move, all of SERA’s Portland employees will be able to work on one floor 鈥� something that is not possible within the firm’s current space at 338 N.W. Fifth Ave. in Old Town Chinatown. SERA has approximately 150 employees in Portland (30 additional employees work in an office in Oakland, California, where the firm has done work for Google and other tech companies).

In Portland, SERA currently occupies five floors in two buildings. The firm first moved into the former Minnesota Hotel building in 2004.

Environmental reasons also led SERA to lease existing space rather than build new, Colby said.

鈥淚t’s also a sustainability issue,鈥� he said. 鈥淩eusing these existing buildings is a huge piece of keeping your carbon use down.鈥�

Another point in the Galleria building’s favor, Colby said, is that it received a major seismic retrofit in recent years.

鈥淲e wanted seismic safety,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ost of these cool, old buildings in Portland, most of the developers didn’t want to do a full seismic upgrade.鈥�

The Galleria office will have more space for collaboration and creative endeavors, Colby said. The tenant improvement is meant to be something of a demonstration project for SERA.

鈥淲e’re certifying everything under the sun, at great financial and labor cost,鈥� he said.

Separately, SERA is designing core and shell improvements for Unico Properties on all five floors, Colby said.

鈥淲e did not commingle any financial interest between the two (projects),鈥� he said.

Fortis Construction is building out SERA’s tenant improvements. A main goal is to showcase the original skylight, while upgrading it with modern materials. The primary steel structure will remain, but the glazing frames and clear glass will be replaced with insulating glass that will feature tinting and a ceramic frit, or small dot pattern, to maintain consistent temperatures.

鈥淕iven the property’s historic significance, the overall appearance both from the inside and outside will maintain fidelity to the original skylight design,鈥� Colby stated in an email.

SERA plans to welcome employees to the new space in June 2022. The firm is also adapting to remote work, with the expectation that employees will return to the office on some days.

鈥淲e’re working out the details,鈥� said Cristian Asher, senior director of business development.

Firm executives are discussing the possibility of asking employees to work in the office three days a week, but no decisions have been made, Asher said.

鈥淎gain, this is a work in progress,鈥� he said.