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Portland’s South Waterfront District is undergoing a construction boom, with numerous new buildings rising along the Willamette River. The area once dominated by industrial warehouses and rail yards is becoming a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood.

One of the most notable construction projects under way in the South Waterfront is Alamo Manhattan鈥檚 Block 41 development 鈥� also known as the Willamette Tower. The 24-story mixed-use building will feature 340 apartments and roughly 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space at 3820 S. River Parkway.

At 290 feet tall, it will be the district鈥檚 fourth-tallest high-rise 鈥� and the focal point of the Dallas-based developer鈥檚 Alamo Manhattan Blocks 鈥� also known as the Willamette Blocks.

The 10-acre site will eventually have five buildings totaling approximately 1,200 residential units and 22,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Three of the five are under construction or complete.

The biggest construction challenge has been dealing with the logistics of transporting materials and crew members from point A to B, said Ryan Zetter, Willamette Tower project superintendent for general contractor Andersen Construction.

鈥淵ou would think that having this seven-acre site, we have all kinds of lay-down room and room to store items, and there鈥檒l be plenty of room for truck traffic.鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e building actually a six-story (building) at the same time, and it鈥檚 right next door to us.鈥�

The Olivia, a six-story, 231-unit apartment building is being constructed next to the approximately 500,000-square-foot Willamette Tower.

Between the two blocks, around 350-400 people are working on site daily. About 210-230 of those are tackling the tower. It鈥檚 one of the busiest construction sites in the city. The tower鈥檚 material lift system is slammed five to six days a week hoisting materials and moving crew members up and down all day, Zetter said.

With so many people working on-site daily, personnel management can be a challenge, Zetter said. However, after working as a superintendent for nine years, he has learned to try to memorize as many people鈥檚 names as possible, he added.

Willamette Tower construction is expected to finish in December.