As nearly a billion dollars of bond money was invested in affordable housing projects in the Portland-metro area, architects found paths to success. Don Sowieja, a principal with Ankrom Moisan Architects, and Trish Nixon, president and managing principal of LRS Architects, shared their thoughts on how different approaches to the design process can help push multifamily projects toward construction.

The city of Portland has taken major steps to encourage development, Sowieja said. One of these steps was consolidating permitting functions into a single bureau: Portland Permitting & Development.

“Prior to that shift in policy organization, you might expect three to four months before you go your first round of (plan review),” Sowieja said, adding that it now takes around six weeks.

Also, the Portland City Council last year passed its Housing Regulatory Relief Project, which temporarily suspended development and process standards that apply to building projects, such as bike parking, bird-safe glazing, and landscape standards. State legislation also has provided relief from requirements and contributed to the success of LRS Architects’ projects, Nixon stated in an email.

When it comes to the overall timeline for a project, Sowieja said the design process is critical.

“One of the things we’ve found is to keep it simple,” he said.

Keeping a layout and overall composition basic allows a project to move through the process more quickly, Sowieja said. Oftentimes a proposal’s details may be unclear to city staffers, so it’s important to keep an open line of dialogue with them, he added, to navigate the approval process. Communicating early with city staff ensures there are no surprises during the design review and permitting processes, Nixon stated.

The simpler the design, the simpler the compliance, Sowieja said. For multifamily housing, unit size and type matter.

“If you have three unit types – studios, one bedroom and two bedroom – and you have one each of those types of unit plans, that’s as easy as it gets for the city to understand, as well as for the developer to demonstrate in compliance,” Sowieja said.

Designing projects that require a minimal number of requests for modifications or variances helps improve timelines and overall efficiency, Nixon stated. Before starting to design a project, LRS Architects works diligently with clients to understand all requirements and minimize adverse impacts, she added.

For projects subject to design review, Sowieja said teams should know the rules and follow them.

“It’s right there on the page,” he said. “Reading what it says and doing what it says is the best way to move quickly through a subjective process.”

Although inclusionary housing is relatively new to Portland, many cities on the West Coast have similar criteria. In Portland, inclusionary housing requires all residential buildings proposing 20 or more new units to provide a percentage of them at rents or sale prices affordable to households at 80 percent of the median family income or below, the city’s website states.

Development teams should embrace the fact that it is a requirement for multifamily projects, Sowieja said. While there was consternation at the outset, most of the development community has figured out that it is a financial and organizational impact, he added.

Meanwhile, all LRS Architects apartment projects within the city of Portland in the past five years have been 100 percent affordable, Nixon said.

Demand for multifamily projects has declined in the past 2.5 years, Sowieja said, following a roller coaster of economic cycles, including the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and interest rate increases. However, that has begun to change in 2025, he added.

“The design side is really picking up,” he said. “That takes a while to translate into construction starts, and construction is the big money and the larger economic driver.”

On the other hand, LRS Architects reports something different.

“We are seeing more exploratory activity, but not necessarily project starts,” Nixon stated, adding that such activity is taking place in the suburbs and not in the city of Portland.

LRS has seen a decrease in market-rate projects, according to Nixon. But the firm is involved in several active affordable housing projects in Portland. These include Garden Park Estates, which includes renovation and new construction (LMC Construction is the contractor), Jamii Court (O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders is the contractor), and Barbur Apartments (Todd Construction is the contractor).

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Portland-based architecture, interior design and planning firm Ankrom Moisan Architects has announced Murray Jenkins as its next president, effective July 1. He will lead the firm from its Portland office.

Ankrom Moisan’s current president, Dave Heater, will transition into a new business development role. He will be based in the San Francisco office. Jenkins will carry forward the legacy established by Heater, according to an Ankrom Moisan press release, by maintaining the team structures, operational continuity, and collaborative culture that have shaped the firm’s identity.

“As president, my goal is to create an environment where our staff feel inspired and empowered, so they can, in turn, inspire our clients through exceptional design and service,” Jenkins stated in the press release.

Over nearly 25 years with Ankrom Moisan, Jenkins has grown through every level of the firm, from architectural intern to vice president of architecture and secretary of the board. His leadership is distinguished by deep institutional knowledge, a steady hand during transitions, and an unwavering commitment to the firm’s values, according to the press release. One of those values is ensuring every employee has a meaningful stake in the firm’s success via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

As president, Jenkins will lead the firm in deepening its expertise across its core strengths in housing, urban living, office, retail, community, health care, higher education, hospitality and senior communities. The firm will continue to expand its leadership in sustainability and mass timber, while exploring strategic opportunities in emerging markets.

Jenkins also plans to champion innovation across the firm, including the integration of artificial intelligence and other technologies to enhance creativity, efficiency, and impact.

“We see AI as one of the most transformative changes facing the architecture and design industry, and we are approaching it with both curiosity and care,” Jenkins stated in an email. “We’re actively exploring how AI can support our work — both through language and visual models, in-app tools, and emerging platforms.”

The firm’s goal is not only speed but also improving how it designs, documents and makes decisions, Jenkins stated. The firm sees AI as a tool and is actively running pilots and encouraging teams to experiment, while being thoughtful about quality and long-term impact.

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