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A new building to serve racial minorities is in the works in Northeast Portland. The Building United Futures Complex, designed by Mahlum Architects, is the vision of the Black United Fund of Oregon 鈥� an anchor for the Black community.

Mahlum began working with the Black United Fund of Oregon in 2019 as the organization started to look at possibilities for its existing land. It included a dilapidated warehouse and a 3,500-square-foot office building in the Alberta Arts District. The warehouse was demolished and the office building will be eventually. The new building will rise on the office building’s footprint.

鈥淭hey were trying to figure out how they could use their land to provide additional support to the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) community and find out how to bring some of that back into their neighborhood, which has been disenfranchised over time,鈥� project manager Kim Olson said.

Mahlum and the Black United Fund of Oregon engaged in a series of visioning sessions. They sought to create a complex that would draw together organizations that serve underserved populations.

鈥淲e are in mid-design development right now,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淲e are looking to break ground in June of 2023.鈥�

Adre, an equity-centered development company founded by Anyeley Hallova, is the project’s developer. Walsh Construction will be the contractor. The four-story building will have approximately 35,000 square feet.

鈥淩ight now, the way that the building is being designed is it’s got a lot of 鈥� spaces for potential tenants,鈥� Olson said.

The building will have shared resources, such as a conference room, that smaller organizations may need 鈥� but not on a full-time basis, Olson added. A 鈥渞esource alley鈥� will hold shared tenant amenities, and an event space on an upper floor will be available to tenants and community members.

The architecture supports themes of celebration, welcoming and gathering. The building will have multiple canvases for artwork and murals that celebrate communities’ diversity. Textured materials will invite and guide visitors into shared community spaces and resources. Designated gathering spaces will have large windows that provide visual connections to the street.

鈥淲e’re looking at a mass-timber construction type assembly,鈥� project designer Octavio Gutierrez said.

An effort to ramp up sustainability and level environmental justice has been part of this process, Gutierrez said. The motto of the Black United Fund of Oregon, 鈥淥ur Presence Has Power,鈥� is the driving force of this project. The organization has occupied the project site for 40-plus years, he added.

鈥淥ne of the key features we’re (planning) to really drive that sense of welcoming and comfort is a really strong mural on the ground level that actually wraps its way up and makes its presence on the building on the south elevation as well,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat’s driving from a lot of the themes of the art we see on Alberta (Street).鈥�

Construction is estimated to finish by the end of July 2024.

On the Boards is a 91视频 feature offering a look at projects in Oregon and Southwest Washington being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact the 91视频 at 503-802-7221 or [email protected].