By Josh Kulla
For the 91��Ƶ

Despite the ongoing pandemic-related shifts taking place in the construction industry, residential projects are still helping move things forward into 2021.

In Portland, one of the largest and most prominent residential projects currently underway can be found near the epicenter of last summer’s protests. The 140 SW Columbia building, a 20-story mixed-use tower being developed by Alamo Manhattan, has moved along though the turmoil with few hiccups, and now is approaching completion in the coming months.

“We’re looking at (a temporary certificate of occupancy) about the 21^st of February and that will be (floors) one through 16 that we turn over, and substantial completion about a month after, maybe a month-and-a-half,” Andersen Construction Project Engineer Cameron Broberg said during a recent 91��Ƶ site visit.

There were few signs of the graffiti and boarded up storefronts that still are found throughout the downtown area, despite the project standing just a block from the Multnomah County Justice Center, which was occupied briefly by protesters, who set fires inside the building at one point.

“When everything was really hot we kept everything really tight, really secure,” Broberg said.

Andersen Construction is the , which was . The 469,000-square-foot building will have 349 residential units, 236 parking spaces on levels two through five and more than 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

The structure is being built at 140 S.W. Columbia St., adjacent to the KOIN Tower, on a 0.92-acre full block site. The building is supported by a five-story full-block podium, and is topped by an L-shaped tower. The north wing of the tower is 20 stories, while the west wing will be 16 stories.

Rooftop balconies will distinguish the sixth, 16th and 20th levels, with amenity space included at each of these levels. Work still continues on each of these amenity decks, as well as on the interior, where finish work is proceeding from the second level and up.

Ground-floor work on the retail space also is continuing, but those areas will be left largely unfinished as the owners wait for tenants to sign leases before proceeding with work.

“Right now we have sheetrock done all the way up and we’re just working on finishes,” Broberg said. “On level six on top of the first garage, they’re putting in pavers, curbs, barbecues, all that good stuff. And on 16 it has a dog park, while 20 has a patio and fire pit, kitchen and a community area.”

The building is being constructed atop a . However, a concrete “bunker” providing entry from Southwest Clay Street to the below-grade parking structure serving KOIN Tower has been kept in place. The concrete structure was poured all in one go, and has been incorporated into the new building without actually being a part of it. The parking structure for 140 Columbia is accessed via the existing structure’s entrance off Southwest Clay Street.

“They (KOIN) have their access branches off to the left and our access goes straight through,” Broberg said. “It’s the same entrance and different controllers.”

The new parking structure wraps around the existing structure without relying on it for structural support using a series of massive concrete pillars and beams that were poured within inches of the old parking garage.

Broberg said that a greater amount than normal of post-tensioning cables and rebar went into reinforcing those structural elements.

“Those kind of unique challenges are very cool,” Broberg said. “But it’s why it stood empty for so long; nobody wanted to touch it and nobody really knew what to do with it.”

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