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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When excavation work at Portland’s Block 40 this past fall turned up lead and other soil contaminants, progress slowed to a crawl. Substantial personal protective equipment was required for personnel on site and a decontamination container was installed for workers handling the tainted soil.

“In a weird way, we were kind of preparing for COVID-19,” Andersen Construction project manager Mike Carrigg said.

Andersen Construction is serving as the general contractor for the project to erect an eight-story mixed-use building for developer Alamo Manhattan.

“Like most of Portland, it seems, there’s all this dirt down there from dredging the Willamette (River) back in the 1920s,” Carrigg said. “It ended up having a high concentration of polycarbonates and lead, actually. That was fun, and we ended up having to dig it all out.”

Carrigg estimated that crews needed around a month to complete mitigation. But then it was full steam ahead.

“We were able to get rid of everything and have a clean bill of health,” he said. “The job’s going forward, and as you can see now we’re doing the concrete.”

Hensley Lamkin Rachel Inc. of Dallas, Texas, designed the 232-unit project located at 3838 S.W. Macadam Ave. A single-story, 37,000-square-foot warehouse that formerly served La Grand Industrial Supply Co. was removed from the 1.07-acre site prior to excavation.

The project also includes construction of a public plaza on the Southwest Lane Avenue right-of-way adjacent to the site’s north side.

Block 40 is part of a two-block development from Alamo Manhattan that received the Portland Design Commission’s approval in 2018. A seven-story, 190-unit mixed-use building is planned at 3714 S.W. Macadam Ave.

Earlier this month, crews from R2M2 Rebar and Stressing and ASI Structures completed monolithic slab-on-grade concrete pours for the Block 40 building’s foundation and footings, which sit one level below grade. Crews simultaneously assembled the shoring and tables for another post-tensioned concrete deck at ground level.

Because of the property’s steep grade, the building will feature eight stories on the east side and seven stories fronting Macadam Avenue on the west side. Each side will have five stories of wood framing atop the concrete decks.

The pandemic has had less of an impact on materials and workforce than it might have during later scopes of work, Carrigg said.

“We’re kind of in a fortunate time frame in that we’re not dealing with finishes right now,” he said.

Nevertheless, Andersen Construction is taking measures to account for potential delays.

“We did get these table forms early,” Carrigg said. “We’re using rented equipment from PERI, and some of their yards were closing a couple of weeks ago. We were like, ‘Let’s get the material here now so we have control over our own destiny.’ That’s been a big help. We’re saying, ‘Have a storage problem; don’t have a no-supply problem.’”

That’s a relief, he added, after losing another week trying to source adequate supplies of waterproofing materials for the foundation and parking-level walls.

“We’re still OK,” he said. “We’re still tracking schedule, but man, it makes you nervous.”

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Portland design commissioners on Thursday suggested significant revisions to two South Waterfront towers proposed by a Dallas-based developer.

The proposal represents the latest iteration for Southwest Portland blocks owned by Prometheus Real Estate Group. Alamo Manhattan won design approval in August 2017 for two multifamily buildings, but did not move ahead at that time.

Five buildings are proposed on four riverfront blocks between Southwest Lane and Lowell streets. The parcels north of the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant have long sat vacant. The new buildings would bring 1,232 residential units, 20,000 square feet of retail space and more than 700 parking spots, along with new streets and river access.

In December 2019, the developer withdrew its application and resubmitted the proposal under a new land-use case based on a 2017 subdivision of the property. The maneuver makes the Alamo Manhattan proposal subject to the city’s inclusionary housing requirements for affordable units. However, the move frees the Dallas developer from meeting requirements that are part of Central City 2035 zoning updates, including those for bird-safe glazing, eco-roofs and low-carbon building performance.

Avoiding the requirements is likely to save Alamo Manhattan substantial money, because the premium for bird-safe glazing on only one large building can run several hundred thousand dollars. An eco-roof likewise is a costly requirement for space that brings building owners no revenue.

The development would fill in a section of the South Waterfront Greenway that is currently broken. Alamo Manhattan has been unable to reach agreement with city officials regarding funding to build a high-quality greenway in the area.

“We’re excited to have this stretch of the greenway come into development,” said Brett Horner, planning manager for Portland Parks and Recreation. “We were unable to reach agreement with them on public assistance for enhanced greenway. We would really like to see an enhanced greenway that would more closely match the built greenway to the north.

“All the bureaus worked together, and we were represented by Prosper Portland for some potential public involvement, particularly in the greenway. Those talks did not end result in any agreement,” Horner said.

The design is from the Dallas office of WDG Architecture, and Dallas landscape architect Linda Tycher and Associates. The Design Commission dealt with 250-foot-tall towers proposed on blocks 41 and 44. Plans call for a largely light-colored design on Block 41 and a reddish-brown metallic treatment on Block 44 to the south.

Commissioners and Bureau of Development Services staffers praised the glassy, river-facing design for Block 44, which would feature a small notch mid-building. They had serious concerns, however, about the L-shaped tower. The staff report even suggested revisiting the building’s footprint, which would be a major step.

For both buildings, commissioners suggested simplifying the façade treatments for a consistent design language.

The land-use case is one of the most complex the Design Commission has faced in recent years, with multiple buildings on multiple blocks, river access, transportation issues and the greenway all playing a role.

In response to earlier criticism, the design team moved the buildings back from the greenway. Linda Tycher and Associates’ landscape design fills in a required 2,500 square feet of space largely with shrubbery. Commissioners said the space needs to provide a greater public benefit.

“It’s just kind of a leftover space that nobody wants anyway,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

Chairwoman Julie Livingston agreed.

“The 2,500 square feet needs to make a place,” she said. “It is all about having space for the public to occupy.”

The current design, Livingston added, “is negative space for the building. It seems more about providing privacy for residents of the building.”

Designs for the interior blocks are scheduled to be reviewed on March 12. After that, at least one more review hearing will have to be scheduled before the Design Commission can issue approval.

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One of the tallest projects under way in Portland is rising quickly in downtown, not far from near Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

The 469,000-square-foot 140 Columbia mixed-use tower will have 349 residential units, 236 motor vehicle parking spaces on levels two through five, and more than 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. GBD Architects designed the building for Dallas-based developer Alamo Manhattan, and Andersen Construction is serving as general contractor.

The structure is being built at 140 S.W. Columbia St., adjacent to the KOIN Tower, on a 0.92-acre full block. There will be a five-story full-block podium topped by an L-shaped tower; the north wing of the tower will be 20 stories, while the west wing will be 15 stories.

Rooftop balconies will distinguish the sixth, 15th and 20th levels, with amenity space included at each of these levels. The sixth floor will have a 3,200-square-foot terrace, and the 20th floor will sport a large lounge and community room for residents.

“Right now they’re working on level 10, on the south half of the deck,” Andersen Construction project engineer Cody Cloe said. “So, there’s PT, rebar and in-slab stuff going in; probably most of the activity is up there right now.”
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Crews are averaging completion of one post-tensioned concrete deck every two weeks. Recently, they set post-tensioned cables, rebar and MEP systems in preparation for slab pours.

On lower levels, Western Partitions Inc. carpenters are framing interior walls and installing drywall, while specialists lift and place facade panels.

Major subcontractors on site these days include: R2M2 Rebar and Stressing, whose ironworkers are laying rebar and post-tensioned cables; Ocean Park Mechanical, whose workers are installing both dry and wet HVAC and plumbing systems; Eastern Steel Erectors, whose ironworkers are erecting structural steel, stairways and other fittings; Patriot Fire Protection, whose sprinkler fitters are installing equipment; and Andersen Structural Inc., whose carpenters are performing structural concrete work.

The building will replace a longtime surface parking lot owned by Downtown Development Group. However, a concrete “bunker” providing entry from Southwest Clay Street to below-grade parking serving KOIN Tower has been retained. It will be incorporated into the new building, which wraps around the existing structure without relying on it for structural support.

The 140 Columbia exterior facades on Southwest First Avenue and Clay Street will feature a gradient pattern stretching from the tower to the parking structure. The pattern begins with smaller window openings that become larger and more transparent toward the corner of First and Clay. Similar patterns are found on the rest of the building.

Construction of facades on the first five levels is being done with prefabricated wall panels that include everything from metal framing to envelope materials as well as precast concrete facade panels manufactured by Knife River at its Harrisburg plant. The complete wall panels are being trucked to the highly constrained site as needed and lifted into place with a mobile crane and carpenters from Western Partitions Inc.

Brick masonry will be the predominant exterior material on levels six through 20.

“They’ve got some precast panels being flown on the north face of the building that actually have waterproofing and everything in the panel,” Cloe said. “These prefabricated wall panels have the finished product on them in most cases.”

Project delivery is scheduled for late 2020.

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A Dallas-based developer’s plans for a five-building redevelopment of property in the South Waterfront District have a long way to go to gain approval, the Portland Design Commission indicated on Thursday.

The development would sit on four blocks near the Willamette River. Portland Bureau of Development Services staffers raised questions regarding access to the Willamette River, traffic impacts and the layout of a greenway through the area.

The project’s first review hearing before the Design Commission was Thursday. Commissioners were nonplussed by Alamo Manhattan‘s proposal, saying they were unsure how to even begin evaluating what one commissioner described as an incomplete land-use application for a massive redevelopment.

Alamo Manhattan proposes to build approximately 1,232 residential units, 20,000 square feet of retail space and 965 parking spots. The design would locate two high-rise buildings closest to the river, with three mid-rise buildings on the two western blocks, in contrast with city guidelines that call for building heights to step down to the river. The buildings closest to the river would rise to 244 feet, 9 inches, just below the 250-foot maximum height. The interior block buildings would be approximately 72 to 73 feet tall.

“This is very unusual that we’re reviewing five massive buildings and a greenway,” Commissioner Zari Santner said. “How come the bureau accepts an application that is so insufficiently complete?”

“The applicant can deem it complete,” BDS planner Staci Monroe replied. “There is nothing in the code that prohibits it.”

Monroe agreed that it was not typical to review several buildings and related infrastructure at once.

“It’s an insane amount of work to put this into one land-use case,” she said.

Santner suggested the developer’s plans were not close to meeting guidelines.

“There’s nothing that stops us from asking the applicant to keep coming back until we get to something that’s approvable,” she said.

Alamo Manhattan President Matt Segrest offered no indication that the developer would break up the land-use application into smaller parts.

“I recognize this is a huge chore here,” he said. “It is. There’s no way around that. We want to get this approved as soon as we can as well.”

The staff report did not recommend approval – a routine stance in the early stages of a land-use application. However, the staff report details at least 29 distinct guidelines not yet met by the proposal. Furthermore, the city’s environmental services and transportation bureaus, as well as the BDS site development section, stated they were not able to support the application.

The design team includes WDG Architecture, HLR Architects, landscape architect��Linda Tycher and Associates��and engineering firm��Otak.

The property is slightly north of The Old Spaghetti Factory, and bounded by Southwest Bond Avenue, Southwest Lane Street, Southwest Lowell Street and the river.

Two design advice hearings for the project took place in February and August. The project team is scheduled to return before the Design Commission on Feb. 6, 2020.

Also on Thursday:

OHSU expansion wins approval

The Portland Design Commission unanimously approved plans for Oregon Health & Science University’s 14-story hospital expansion on Marquam Hill.

Commissioners praised the proposal presented by the design team of NBBJ, based in Seattle, and Mayer/Reed, which handled the outdoor plaza.

“The response that we’re looking at today is significantly stronger than when this building (design) came into the room,” Design Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said at Thursday’s hearing.

The building will be located slightly west of the Elks Children’s Eye Clinic, which was also designed by NBBJ.

The plaza and outdoor spaces were a focus of the Design Commission’s attention throughout the review process. The designers responded to earlier criticism that the plaza’s pathways weren’t well integrated and lacked separation between pedestrians and cars. The final design expanded outdoor seating, added street trees and also created a landscape buffer between the sidewalk and street.

“Your collective feedback has greatly improved the hospital design as well as the public plaza,” said José Sama, a principal with NBBJ, which recently opened a Portland office.

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A new multistory mixed-use building is due to rise on Block 40, in Portland’s South Waterfront District, but demolition must take place first.

Hensley Lamkin Rachel Inc. of Dallas, Texas, designed the 232-unit project at 3838 S.W. Macadam Ave. for Alamo Manhattan, also of Dallas. Andersen Construction is serving as the general contractor.

Right now, crews are dismantling a single-story, 37,000-square-foot warehouse – formerly the home of La Grand Industrial Supply – built on the 1.07-acre site in 1956. The building was constructed with concrete tilt walls and a wooden post and beam structural framework. Because of its age, there was asbestos insulation and fireproofing material that required extensive abatement.

“We started demolition on Thursday last week, so now we’re pretty far along,” Andersen Construction project manager Mike Carrigg said Wednesday. “We did have asbestos, but all that work took place before we started demolition. It was a very effective product; that’s why they used it on everything. But in the remediation world it’s terrible.”

Westech Construction is working with Staton Companies of Eugene to perform this scope of work.

“That whole process is about a four-week process to demo and remove everything, and then we start on the excavation,” Carrigg said.

On Wednesday a Staton crew was on-site with a team of excavators knocking down concrete walls, roof trusses and other parts of the old warehouse. The building is now mostly demolished except for a storefront section along the Macadam Avenue frontage.

The new building will have seven stories of wood framing above a concrete podium and a parking garage partially below grade. The ground floor will have three separate retail spaces while the rest of the building will feature residential space and a rooftop amenity deck.

Because of the steep grade of the property, the building will present eight stories fronting Moody Avenue on the east side and seven stories fronting Macadam Avenue on the west side, Carrigg said.

The scope of work also includes construction of a public plaza on the Southwest Lane Avenue right-of-way abutting the project site’s northern portion. The of the two-block site with two seven-story buildings. According to Kimberly Lan, a development associate with Alamo Manhattan, the firm currently does not have a construction timeline for the second building: a seven-story, 190-unit structure at 3714 S.W. Macadam Ave.

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A plan to develop four blocks along the Willamette River drew an outcry of opposition Thursday during a design advice hearing before the Portland Design Commission.

Area residents expressed concerns about how the project might affect life in the neighborhood, with further criticism pointed at the architecture itself.

The Willamette Blocks would include 1,200 residential units, as well as retail space and parking. Two high-rises would sit along the river, with two mid-rise buildings inward. The property is bordered to the east by the river, to the north by Southwest Lane Street, to the west by Southwest Bond Avenue and to the south by Southwest Lowell Street.

The project team, led by Dallas-based developer Alamo Manhattan, is made up of firms drawn mostly from the same city. The riverside high-rises (blocks 41 and 44) are being designed by WDG Architecture, while inner blocks 42 and 45 are being designed by HLR Architects. Linda Tycher and Associates is taking care of landscape architecture, and the one local firm on board, Otak, is handling civil engineering duties.

Plans call for the mid-rise buildings to ascend to 75 feet, and the high-rises to tower over the river at 249 feet. The riverside blocks will be built podium-style, with four stories making up the base and the others sitting back in the middle of the structure. Inclusionary housing units would be included in the western blocks.

A number of Portlanders aired their grievances, which centered mostly on the impact the development would have on neighboring residents’ views, and how traffic would be affected.

“The main issue really is transportation, coming from the south as well as going north,” said Len Michon, president of the South Portland Neighborhood Association.

Michon said he was concerned that in an emergency such as an earthquake, congestion would be too severe in the area for people to escape in time.

South Waterfront resident Ken Fransen said putting the high-rises next to the water would cause the views for other residents to be “obliterated.” He suggested that the mid-rises be placed riverside, with the towers inward.

“The river is obviously the single most scenic attribute of the city of Portland,” Fransen said. “This makes no sense; it should be reversed.”

Commissioners were split on certain issues and united on others. A common critique was that the mid-rise structures would be too bulky and unappealing for residential use, but there was some division on where the high-rises fit into the equation.

Commissioner Jessica Molinar said the waterfront has a bit of an eclectic context, and the two towers would be too similar to one another. In an area with a number of unique projects, the riverside blocks should look as though they were built by different teams, she said.

“They’re both varying from the context, and they’re right next to each other,” she said. “Some variety needs to happen in there.”

Commissioner Samuel Rodriguez, conversely, had no issue with the towers, saying they were consistent with the area. He said he was pleased to find the proposal actually more consistent than some prior plans.

Commissioners said the inner blocks need some revision, likening the bulky residential massing to federal buildings.

Particular attention was also paid to the inclusionary housing units, which would be detached from the main residential complexes. Commissioner Zari Santner said the inclusionary housing feels segregated, and would not be holistic with its neighbors. Commissioner Don Vallaster agreed, and added that the building was unattractive.

“That kind of reminds me of a 1970s office building,” he said. “It looks like the afterthought of the building.”

Thursday’s design advice hearing was the second for the project, following one in February. Commissioners said the project team ought to return with a finalized proposal for its next appearance in front of the group.

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Construction can continue apace on the 100 Columbia project in downtown Portland now that the developer has secured a $96.5 million loan.

The loan was arranged by commercial real estate firm HFF on behalf of developer Alamo Manhattan and will be repaid over four years, Multi-Housing News reported. HFF previously obtained for the project team a $47.4 million loan “in a joint venture equity partnership with Diamond Realty Investments,” according to Multi-Housing News.

The Bureau of Development Services late last year issued a building permit for the project, and ground was broken in January on the 0.92-acre site at 140 S.W. Columbia St. Andersen Construction is serving as general contractor.

The estimated value of the project is $75 million, according to BDS documents.

GBD Architects‘ design for the project was approved by the Design Commission in November 2017. Plans call for a 20-story tower with 348 residential units, 15,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and rooftop amenity spaces at multiple levels.

Approximately 244 motor vehicle parking spaces will be included in an above-grade garage. Also, 521 bicycle parking spaces will be provided.

Construction is tentatively scheduled for completion in 2020.

The property owner is Downtown Development Group via Lot 53 LLC. It acquired the property in 2013 from the Louis Dreyfus group, according to media reports.

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A major multifamily project with a large parking component is planned for a former gas station lot along Southwest Macadam Avenue.

The developer, Alamo Manhattan of Dallas, is proposing two midrise buildings with approximately 200 residential units in each building. The project also calls for a significant complement of parking – 240 spots at each building. The program also includes an unspecified commercial use, according to a Portland Design Commission agenda.

The project is scheduled for a design advice meeting with the Portland Design Commission on July 13.

The property at 3714 and 3838 S.W. Macadam Ave. overlooks the South Waterfront just east of Interstate 5.

Parking is an outsized element of the proposal to date. Most new multifamily developments have 0.5 to 0.8 parking spaces per residential unit. Alamo Manhattan is proposing 1.2 spaces per unit.

The two blocks are owned by Douglas Bean, a local real estate investor.

An application for the project was submitted June 9, and it appears the development will be subject to Portland’s inclusionary zoning rules.

Kimberly Lan, a development associate with Alamo Manhattan, said it was too early to discuss the project. Bean also declined to comment.

Alamo Manhattan previously developed the Ella, a 199-unit apartment building at 3833 S.W. Bond Ave. in the South Waterfront.

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R&H Construction is building a mixed-use apartment project in the South Waterfront for Dallas, TX-based developer Alamo Manhattan. The 199-unit building features five stories of wood framing over a concrete podium and a subgrade parking garage. The ground floor will contain 1,500 square feet of retail space and walk-up residential units. Dallas, TX-based Hensley Lamkin Rachel, Inc. designed the project, which is slated for turnover in March 2016.

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