During the pandemic, construction is continuing across Portland’s city center. This includes property on Southwest Alder Street, between 15th and 16th avenues – a few blocks east of Providence Park. There, general contractor Andersen Construction is steadily adding floors to the Alta Art Tower.

“We just poured level eight last Thursday, so right now we’re four down and eight up,” Andersen Construction Superintendent Glenn Whitefield said, in reference to four levels of below-grade parking. “We’re 21 floors plus the roof … so we’re a third of the way up.”

Designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects for the Portland office of Atlanta-based Wood Partners, the mixed-use Alta Art Tower will occupy a half-block site next to the Artists Repertory Theatre. The building will feature 314 apartment units over ground-floor commercial space and a unique lobby space that will contain a performance stage and art gallery.

Additional amenities will include a rooftop club room with two outdoor terraces, co-working and meeting space and a fitness studio.

Each apartment will feature quartz kitchen countertops, stainless-steel Energy Star appliances, a gas range, vinyl-wood flooring and more.

The project received the Portland Design Commission‘s approval in November 2018, and crews broke ground in July 2019. Completion is expected sometime next year.

All 21 stories of commercial and residential space are being built with post-tensioned concrete decks and columns.

Right now, companies representing a full slate of trades are on site working from the ground up. Andersen Structural Inc., Andersen Construction’s in-house concrete and carpentry unit, is performing all structural concrete work. Also, Bergelectric is carrying out all interior electrical work, Viking Automatic Sprinkler Company is installing fire protection systems, and Ocean Park Mechanical is handling HVAC systems. Further, Eastern Steel Erectors is performing structural steel work and Vancouver, Washington-based Bratton Masonry is installing concrete masonry. Tapani Plumbing also is working on the building.

Western Partitions Inc. recently started installing more than 1,500 prefabricated wall panels that incorporate everything from steel-stud framing to a rain-screen façade system designed specifically for buildings as tall as the Alta Art Tower.

“The exterior is all prefab, so WPI is pre-building all the panels off-site,” Whitefield said. “They’re waterproofed, and then there’s a system called Corium over the top of it. When it comes out, the panel is 100 percent done.”

Despite some delayed shipments from Germany of the thin brick product used on the exterior, the panel installation schedule has largely remained on track.

“They’re installed in place and then we’ll start on the windows,” Whitefield said. “We’ll start on the windows right behind them … and then we’ll just chase up the building.”

Not only does this method save significant time and on-site storage space, it heightens safety for workers, Whitefield said.

“The other nice thing is we don’t have to get on the outside of the building,” he said. “Normally we’d have to put up scaffolding or put up Fracos on the outside of the building. Doing it in this way we don’t have to get on the outside, which is a huge money-saver and time-saver too.”

It’s a similar arrangement to the one being used for the high-rise project Andersen is building at 140 S.W. Columbia St.

Once the Alta Art Tower is completed, Andersen Construction plans to explore the possibility of converting the mockup into a full tiny home for donation to the Kenton Women’s Village in North Portland.

For now, Whitefield and his crew are just happy to still be working and sticking to the schedule, despite ongoing difficulties in securing needed materials.

“One thing that just came up not too long ago was a PVC conduit,” he said. “Normally you can get that off the shelf pretty much at any point. But now we had to order it five to six weeks in advance – never before. Everything is being impacted to a point.”

Still, there are always work-arounds and solutions.

“It just takes more effort on our part to find ways to re-sequence and redo things,” Whitefield said. “Or we have to order things ahead of time and figure out ways to store it on site so that we actually have it on time. It’s been a struggle.”

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In Portland’s Goose Hollow neighborhood, crews are already in deep working on what will be a 21-story mixed-use building.

Andersen Construction is building the Alta Art Tower for developer Wood Partners on a half-block site at 1516 S.W. Alder St., adjacent to the Artists Repertory Theatre. Ankrom Moisan Architects designed the building to hold 314 apartment units over ground-floor commercial space. Four stories of below-grade parking will be included as well.

A unique lobby space will include a performance stage and art gallery. Other amenities will include a rooftop club room with two outdoor terraces, co-working and meeting space, and a fitness studio. The apartments will feature quartz kitchen countertops, stainless-steel Energy Star appliances, gas ranges, vinyl-wood flooring, master bathrooms en suite and more.

The Portland Design Commission approved plans in December 2018 and ground was broken in July 2019.

“The existing lot contained an L-shaped building … a portion was demolished to make room for the Art Tower apartment building,” said Eric Sprague, a senior project manager with Andersen Construction. “And now we’re in the process of excavation activities, going down four stories before we’ll get back up to grade, and then we’ll go 21 levels up.”

In many respects the Alta Art Tower will be a fairly conventional high-rise structure. Above grade, the building will have post-tensioned concrete decks and columns. Pile drivers and operating engineers with Pacific Foundation are drilling tiebacks and building lagging walls for the below-grade parking, while excavation work is being done by Westech Construction.

Plans call for use of prefabricated wall panels with brick masonry cladding manufactured by subcontractor Western Partitions Inc. It’s an arrangement similar to the one being used by Andersen Construction for a high-rise at Southwest First Avenue and Columbia Street.

“Andersen is the regional pioneer in fully prefabricated exterior systems,” Sprague said. “Art Tower is another example of leveraging multiple prefabricated systems to create an efficiency, both in the shop and in the field, and to minimize costs for our clients. There is a substantial dollar savings to not having any type of exterior scaffolding, as well as eliminating a separate trade to install the brick cladding.”

The prefabricated panels will be set from the inside of the building by a team of Western Partitions Inc. carpenters.

“The panels will be staged and set from the floor, utilizing a small crane from the floor above to lift and swing them into place,” Sprague said. “This process allows the tower crane to remain focused on the structure, and yet the exterior progress will follow right behind the shoring removal. We have been working closely with the subcontractors and design team to detail connections and transitions for a watertight assembly that omits sealants being placed from the exterior, as we wanted to come up with a way where everything could be set from the inside.”

Another unique aspect of this project is not actually on-site: A full two-story mockup is being used to test the exterior wall panels to ensure quality and fit. Much effort is being invested in quality control and assurance prior to the first panel being shipped to the jobsite.

“The panels have to be fabricated correctly, because we have very limited options if they show up on site and something isn’t correct,” Andersen Construction project superintendent Glenn Whitefield said. “This is why we focus so much attention to the pre-planning and the mock-up process.”

Sprague added: “Specific to Art Tower exterior, we are approaching near a thousand framed panels for this project and can’t afford to have them built incorrectly, or be unsure of how the transition between the framed panels and window wall system will tie together.”

This includes WRB (weather resistive barrier) membranes, metal flashings, attachments to post-tensioned concrete decks and more. The full-scale mock-up provides the team an opportunity to review, test and make adjustments as needed – prior to the start of full production.

“In addition to an exterior mock-up, we’ll be doing a full interior mock-up in the basement for a few purposes,” Sprague said. “It will ensure that the sequencing and fit and finish of the materials will work, to provide owner and the design team an opportunity to make any adjustments to the product selection and to establish the expected level of quality that can be replicated in the field. There’s a heavy emphasis here on making sure that this is a great plan.”

Once the project is completed, Andersen Construction plans to explore the possibility of converting the mock-up into a full tiny home for donation to the Kenton Women’s Village in North Portland.

“Whatever we can salvage to use or don’t have to throw away we’re good with,” Whitefield said.

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Ankrom Moisan Architects‘ design for a 21-story mixed-use tower in Goose Hollow won unanimous approval from the Portland Design Commission on Thursday, clearing the way for construction adjacent to the Artists Repertory Theatre.

The ART Tower project sailed through design review after two previous design advice hearings. Commissioners rejected a condition of approval suggested by Bureau of Development Services staff that would have required balconies on the building’s north side. The south side will still have balconies.

Commissioners were complimentary of the project, which features a clean, simple design from Ankrom Moisan Architects.

“This building from the beginning has had such a beautiful concept,” Commissioner Zari Santner said. “I think it’s going to be a very distinguished building.”

Wood Partners of Atlanta is the developer. The project at 1515 S.W. Morrison St. will have 314 apartments (an increase from previous iterations), ranging from one to three bedrooms; 5,500 square feet off ground-floor retail space and 215 parking spaces in four underground levels.

Two retail suites on the ground floor are envisioned to be a restaurant and a small bar, although that could change.

“It could be anything, really,” said Michael Nagy, vice president of development for Wood Partners in Portland. “It depends on who wants to lease the space.”

A courtyard will separate the tower from the theater next door. The project will be built on the northern half of the block, replacing surface parking and a portion of the theater building that will be demolished. The remaining theater on the southern half-block will be remodeled.

The ART Tower will rise to a height of 224 feet, making it one of the tallest buildings in the fast-changing Goose Hollow neighborhood. The maximum allowed height on the property is 250 feet, with a 9-to-1 floor-area ratio.

The design is marked by repeating features on the ground floor and top floor. Both have a sawtooth design, with the façade alternately jutting out and cutting in. Mirrored soffits also appear on the building’s floor and rooftop, replacing an earlier mural concept.

In addition to the restaurant and bar, a large lobby able to host performances will add life to the ground floor, said Paul Jeffreys, an Ankrom Moisan Architects senior associate.

“We’re promoting a very active base and an active top to the building,” he said.

The project evolved primarily with changes to the ground floor and top floor. No fundamental changes were needed from the initial proposal.

“I think you’ve come through with a good, strong concept from day one, which is pretty unusual,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

A bar was added to the alleyway to provide activity there. At the first design advice hearing in June, some commissioners had said a closed alleyway would be unsafe and unwelcome to visitors. The top floor was made taller from earlier designs.

Also, the team had to negotiate an 18-foot slope on the site. MAX light-rail trains run westbound on Morrison Street next to the property.

Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston did not attend the meeting, but did submit written comments. The building has a “charm consistent with the Goose Hollow neighborhood,” she stated. She also called it “one of the most thoughtful and thorough designs during my three years on the commission.”

Commissioner Andrew Clarke was also absent Thursday.

The project is subject to Portland’s inclusionary housing rules that require a portion of the units to be affordable to low-income renters. Nagy said he wanted to keep the project’s options open for how to meet inclusionary housing requirements until a building permit application is submitted.

Wood Partners first came to the Portland market with the Block 17 Apartments in the Pearl District. That building was constructed in 2014.

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A proposed 20-story tower that would rise adjacent to Artists Repertory Theatre in Goose Hollow won praise Thursday from the Portland Design Commission as an elegant and handsome building – but one that faces significant questions as to how the ground floor will work.

The proposal, from developer Wood Partners of Atlanta and Ankrom Moisan Architects, is for a 304-unit residential tower with 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and three levels of underground parking with 215 spaces.

Wood Partners proposes to demolish a portion of the theater on the north half of the block at Southwest 15^th and 16^th avenues and Alder and Morrison streets. The remaining portion of the theater building would be remodeled by the theater group. The 305,000-square-foot tower project is valued at $80 million by the Bureau of Development Services.

The residential building – known as ART Tower – and the theater will be subject to separate design review hearings. At a design advice meeting for the tower Thursday, design commissioners struggled to envision how the two buildings would work together.

Ankrom Moisan’s design, presented by senior associate Paul Jeffreys, included an alleyway between the two buildings that would be used by residents coming and going and for service access.

Some commissioners said a one-sided alley ending in a wall wouldn’t work. “Pedaling home, I’m not going to go into that space alone,” Chair Julie Livingston said. “It’s a scary space.”

The commissioners said if they alley is one-sided, it should be gated. Jeffreys said there could be alternatives, including splitting the alley into two courtyards.

“The alleyway is the only weak part of this design,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said. “The rest of it is working great.”

Development is booming in Goose Hollow, led by the Press Blocks, a massive project from Security Properties and Urban Renaissance Group that includes a 24-story mixed-use apartment tower and an eight-story office building. (City building permits for the Press Blocks are under review). Other projects in the neighborhood include the expansion of Providence Park, an eight-story replacement for Lincoln High School and a seven-story mixed-use multifamily building at 1440 S.W. Taylor St.

Design elements on ART Tower included similar designs for the ground floor and rooftop canopy, creating a mirror effect. A sawtooth window configuration repeats at both levels.

Design commissioners criticized the unusual number of curb cuts – three each on Southwest 15^th and 16^th avenues, for a total of six. That’s a problem for meeting several guidelines, and would disrupt the pedestrian experience, commissioners said.

“My expectation is (the Portland Bureau of Transportation) will not allow this to happen,” Livingston said.

Design commissioners differed on whether the residential units should have balconies. Tad Savinar favored balconies, saying residents would need fresh air without having to walk outside. If balconies are included, Savinar said they should be recessed and not hung off the side of the building.

Livingston said the design looked like an office building. “I think this reads like a very professional building,” she said.

Commissioners Zari Santner and Sam Rodriguez both suggested balconies would not necessarily improve the design. “Maybe it doesn’t look super residential, but I don’t have a problem with that,” Rodriguez said.

The project is tentatively set to return to the Design Commission on Aug. 2.

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