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When the pandemic reached the Pacific Northwest most public agencies, including the Port of Portland, had to pivot to determine how construction projects were going to be completed amid escalating materials costs and a dwindling workforce.

That challenge was magnified by one particular project 鈥� the Terminal Core Redevelopment (TCORE) project, the biggest makeover to date at Portland International Airport. As part of the Port鈥檚 PDXNext initiative, a series of improvements at PDX, Hoffman Construction Co. and Skanska USA created the Hoffman Skanska Joint Venture to carry out the work.

TCORE includes a remodel of the terminal core so that the renovated passenger entry terminal will double the size of the existing ticketing and lobby area when it opens in 2025. A new nine-acre, large-span roofing system will be installed over the entire terminal core complex. Crews will begin moving the wooden roof structure into place mid-summer, and the installation should be complete within six months.

鈥淭hat was the roof that President Biden visited when he came (in April), and it was a great opportunity to show what can be done with mass timber,鈥� said Daphne Patrick, the Port of Portland鈥檚 Small Business Compliance Officer.

The project team also will build a 150-foot multifloor addition between Concourse C and D, and add new pre- and post-security concessions. In addition, they are rebuilding and enlarging Concourse B to include six new gates for Alaska Airlines.

Kimberly Sutton, manager of the Port of Portland鈥檚 Small Business Development Program, said NAMC-OR has played a crucial role in helping it adapt to changes in the construction market in a way that provides the Port access to subcontractors who are traditionally underrepresented.

As an example, NAMC-OR began working with the Port last August as it prepared its final bid package for PDXNext. Dubbed Bid Package F, it was divided into three parts. The largest part went out to bid in April, and the next will go out in July to be bid in August.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a smaller package, but we need NAMC鈥檚 help to make sure we鈥檙e getting smaller subs to bid that work,鈥� Patrick said, adding the third portion of the bid package is still being developed.

Patrick and Sutton said the Port is now starting to see the results of its partnership with NAMC-OR, and participation by minority- and women-owned firms ranges between 22 percent and 25 percent.

鈥淲e鈥檙e unbundling everything we can unbundle and providing scopes that those companies can work with,鈥� Sutton said. 鈥淥ur overall goal is 20 percent of the cost of construction. We鈥檙e not sure if we will hit that and we have a long way to go, but that is where we are headed.鈥�

In addition, the Port has diversity goals for the number of minority and women apprentices who are gaining on-the-job training through the PDXNext project, with the ultimate objective of creating demand for these workers industrywide.

It also has partnered with Oregon Tradeswomen to make PDX a safe and welcoming place to build through the RISE Up Oregon anti-harassment and anti-bullying program that emphasizes zero tolerance for hazing and targeting.

Patrick credited the team with taking on a large project with myriad nuances over a difficult last couple of years fraught with not just a workforce shortage and the pandemic, but wildfires, record-breaking heat and unprecedented April rainfall.

鈥淭he collaboration between the Port, the JV team and NAMC-OR has been positive in that it has created an environment in which we鈥檙e able to have the hard conversations that are needed to discuss equitable subcontracting practices,鈥� she said.