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Central City Concern is bringing new life to the southwest corner of Northwest Sixth Avenue and Flanders Street in Portland’s Old Town Chinatown.

The old, decrepit Westwind Apartments building was demolished in October 2021, and Walsh Construction has since led the effort to replace it with a seven-story, 100-unit affordable housing structure designed by Works Progress Architecture.

Recently, the building got a name: the Starlight. Central City Concern’s director of real estate development, Mary-Rain O’Meara, said the name relates to the area better since Amtrak’s Coast Starlight line travels through Union Station nearby and the annual Starlight Parade passes through downtown.

The building will have 70 single-room-occupancy units and 30 studio apartments for people earning either 30 percent (or less) or 50 percent (or less) of the area median income. There will also be ground-floor retail space and an outdoor courtyard. Residents will have access to 鈥渆xtensive supportive services,鈥� according to the city of Portland.

Early Thursday morning, Zavala Corp. crews started laying the second and last post-tensioned concrete deck. They began on the southeast corner of the site in the dark, and by 9 a.m. on a clear morning, the third-floor deck was nearly filled in.

Pouring concrete in the Portland-metro area comes with lots of challenges, especially now when there’s so much construction taking place, Walsh Construction Community Outreach Director Afton Walsh said. Project teams must pick their day two weeks out, commit to it, and then hope for good weather, she added, because concrete crews have full schedules.

Once Zavala Corp. finishes its work, framers, plumbers and electricians will enter.

鈥淚t’s kind of an exciting day,鈥� Walsh said. 鈥淚t’s sort of the completion of one scope of work, and then we’re really off to the races.鈥�

This is the first time Walsh Construction has partnered with Zavala Corp., a COBID-certified firm based in Troutdale. Its crews laid the foundation and the two post-tensioned decks.

鈥�(It’s the) start of a very long partnership,鈥� Walsh said. 鈥淚 know that.鈥�

Over the coming months, the building will rise four more stories and gain a roof. Then drywall work will begin.

Central City Concern opted for new construction, O’Meara said, mainly to increase site density and provide space to better suit future residents 鈥� primarily chronically homeless individuals 鈥� and social service providers.

The new building is designed to achieve Earth Advantage platinum standards. There will be a solar array on the roof. Also, an outdoor courtyard on the second floor was designed to match neighboring buildings’ courtyards and create a small, urban oasis.

Construction of the project is expected to wrap in the fall.

鈥淲e really see it as revitalizing this corner of Old Town,鈥� O’Meara said. 鈥淲e’re looking forward to having it come to fruition.鈥�