A 135,000-square-foot transit-oriented affordable housing development is in the works for property at TriMet‘s Willow Creek Transit Center, at 235 S.E. Edgeway Drive in Hillsboro.

Mercy Housing’s Northwest office and the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) are co-developing Willow Creek Family Housing and Early Learning Center – a project that gained the Hillsboro City Council’s approval late last month.

In February, the city and TriMet entered an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to spur development of affordable housing at the transit center. The parties agreed to work together to solicit development proposals for a 2.89-acre parcel on the undeveloped portion of the park-and-ride facility at the north end of the property. Pursuant to the IGA, TriMet will make the subject property available for purchase by Mercy Housing at a discounted price of $1.25 million.

Currently, the total project cost estimate is $66.5 million, according to the city.

The city will dedicate an allocation of Metro affordable housing bond funds, estimated at $15.5 million, to support the project. Mercy Housing plans to invest $3.5 million.

Carleton Hart Architecture is the project architect. Neither a general contractor nor subcontractors have been selected yet. A general contractor will likely be selected in June 2026, according to a city of Hillsboro staff report.

Plans call for a five-story building with 118 units – 29 with one bedroom, 68 with two bedrooms, 16 with three bedrooms, and five with four bedrooms. Forty-one units will be for occupants earning up to 30 percent of the area median income. Some units will be for people earning up to 50 percent of AMI and others will be for those earning up to 60 percent of AMI. Also, 18 permanent supportive housing units will serve people exiting homelessness. There will be one manager’s unit.

Amenities will include a fully accessible community room with a kitchen, a tech center, a children’s area, and smaller meeting spaces. A smart screen in the lobby will provide transit information. Each floor will feature a laundry/lounge space and secure indoor bike storage.

“The design intent will connect residents with each other, the community, and nature with a forecourt plaza, walking path,��gardening (space), and play areas,” Mercy Housing developer Justine Ealy stated in an email.

Mercy Housing will partner with IRCO to provide an on-site, 3,500-square-foot early learning center on the ground floor.��The center will hold two preschool classrooms each able to accommodate up to 20 students.

Resident services, led by IRCO, will include health and wellness programs, meals for seniors, after-school activities, career coaching, workforce development, and more, the city’s staff report states.

The design plan calls for construction of 59 parking spaces, including 30 tucked under the building, according to the staff report. Parallel parking spaces will be included along the public street to the south, so that early learning center attendees can be dropped off and picked up.

Design details may change during the land use and permitting process.

Construction is anticipated to start as soon as late 2026 and require approximately 20 months to complete.

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Each year, the 91��Ƶ editorial staff compiles a list of the contractors, engineers and architects that are shaping skylines and redefining the industry through their outstanding work. This year’s Power Lists features 20 companies that are leading the AEC industry into 2023 (in no particular order).

GBD Architects

GBD Architects is behind some of Portland’s most recent mega-projects. Highlights include Block 216, a 35-story giant rising out of the city’s downtown; the eight-acre RiverPlace master plan development near the South Waterfront District; and the 30-story RiverPlace tower. The firm’s most recent large-scale work is a proposed 22-story tower in the Pearl District.

Andersen Construction

Andersen Construction has served as the contractor for several of Portland’s recent tall multifamily developments. Projects include Alta Art Tower, a 21-story, 314-unit mixed-use tower; the Sutton (previously “Fremont Place”), a 17-story apartment building; and the Alamo Manhattan Blocks that include a 23-story mixed-use tower and a six-story mixed-use building.

LEVER Architecture

LEVER Architecture is one of Portland’s leading architecture firms in mass timber with projects such as Albina Yard and Redfox Commons. Now it is turning this early innovation into a maturing excellence. The firm hit a significant milestone in 2022 when Portland’s Design Commission approved Sandy Pine, a planned 12-story mass-timber tower. If built, Sandy Pine will be the city’s tallest timber development.

ZGF Architects

As the largest architecture firm in Portland, ZGF Architects has taken on some of the city’s most high-profile projects. Recent highlights include the ongoing $1.95 billion Portland International Airport Main Terminal Core project that features a nine-acre timber roof as well as the PAE Living Building – poised to be the world’s largest commercial living building.

Carleton Hart Architecture

Carleton Hart Architecture is one of Portland’s most prominent firms for designing affordable housing developments. It is a cornerstone of the firm’s mission-driven focus. Projects in recent years have included Nesika Illahee, Mamook Tokatee and Red Rock Creek Commons. One of the firm’s most recent endeavors consists of the complete renovation of the Joyce Hotel in downtown Portland into permanent supportive housing.

PAE Engineers

PAE Engineers is the “brain” behind the recently completed PAE Living Building, which is slated to be the world’s largest living commercial building. Sustainable systems designed by PAE allow the four-story building in Portland to be primarily independent of any city systems. PAE also provided mechanical, electrical, fire protection and technology system design and engineering for the University of Oregon’s modernized Hayward Field, which recently hosted the World Track and Field Championships.

KPFF

KPFF is the engineering firm behind some of Oregon’s largest commercial projects – and more. Work includes Block 216, Oregon State University’s Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building (91��Ƶ Project of the Year 2021), Portland International Airport’s (PDX) Concourse E extension, and the PAE Living Building.

Howard S. Wright

Howard S. Wright is the general contractor behind the largest building in Portland since the U.S. Bancorp Tower – Block 216. At 844,117 square feet, the project will likely become the largest Portland building of its era. It will house 158,000 square feet of office space, a five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel with 215 rooms, and 138 residences.

Walsh ��DzԲ��ٰ��ܳ��پ��Dz���

Walsh Construction is the general contractor for many sustainable and complex projects and myriad affordable housing developments. The contractor recently constructed the four-story PAE Living Building, which required that every item be thoroughly researched and approved against a list containing the “worst in class” materials, chemicals and elements concerning human health and the ecosystem. More than 2,700 materials were vetted for the project.

LMC Construction��

Affordable housing has become a cornerstone of the Portland-metro development market. Many general contractors tackle such projects, but LMC Construction is behind most. More than two-thirds of the contractors’ work is building affordable homes. Projects include Red Rock Creek Commons, Nesika Illahee and Cathedral Village Apartments.

Hoffman Skanska JV

Hoffman-Skanska is the joint venture contractor formed to partly undertake the $2 billion modernization of Portland International Airport. At the heart of this endeavor is the $1.95 billion main terminal project that involves a new nine-acre, mostly cross-laminated-timber roof structure. The entire roof will weigh about 18 million pounds. A self-propelled modular transporter capable of carrying a submarine is being used to move each section into position. Officials anticipate the roof being fully installed soon and the entire terminal updated in 2025.

Kiewit

Kiewit Corp. is known for tackling projects that would be described as large, massive, and complex. All three terms represent the general contractor’s current undertaking with the Abernethy Bridge project that spans the Willamette River. The venture involves drilling more than 200 feet into the earth below the water to place new bridge foundations capable of withstanding a significant seismic event. It is the first major interstate freeway construction project in Oregon in nearly 45 years.

TVA Architects

TVA Architects is one of Oregon’s most high-profile firms, and few others have placed as large a stamp on the state. Projects include Park Avenue West, Fox Tower, and the University of Oregon’s basketball palace – Matthew Knight Arena. Most recently, the firm designed the Sutton (previously called “Fremont Tower”) – a 17-story residential tower under construction on the banks of the Willamette River.

R&H Construction

R&H Construction is building some of Portland’s largest multifamily developments. Projects include Freewell, Saltwood South and Tiller Terrace – a six-story, a 214-unit development in the Goose Hollow neighborhood. Recently, R&H broke ground on Splash Apartments – the first phase of the five-acre Pop Blocks development.

David Evans Enterprises

Oregon’s largest engineering firm, David Evans and Associates, has worked on a wide range of notable projects in the state. Recent highlights include the Newberg-Dundee Bypass, in which the firm designed two new bridges and seven support structures. DEA’s work on the Oneonta Tunnel rehabilitation project also earned . The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire severely damaged the tunnel and rendered it unusable until DEA’s work allowed it to reopen in spring 2021.

Harper Houf Peterson Righellis

Regarding transportation infrastructure improvements in Oregon, Harper Houf Peterson Righellis is one of the key players. The firm is behind the Clackamas Regional Center improvements, which involved widening a bridge that spans Interstate 205 at Sunnyside Road, as well as the Willamette Falls Drive streetscape improvements project that topped the transportation category for the 2022 ACEC Oregon Engineering Excellence Awards.

��Mortenson��

Mortenson is a general contractor with a long reputation in Oregon for building challenging and unique projects. Recently, the contractor has undertaken a significant renovation of the Multnomah County Behavioral Health Resource Center – a 116-year-old building in downtown Portland.

SERA Architects

SERA Architects has worked on some of Portland’s largest multifamily developments in recent years. Projects include Freewell, the Saltwoods, Tiller Terrace and more. Most recently, SERA drew up Slabtown Savier, a two-building multifamily project under construction in Northwest Portland.

BORA Architects

BORA Architects is behind several notable projects in Oregon, including the Cosmopolitan – a 28-story residential tower in Portland’s Pearl District and the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact on the University of Oregon’s Eugene campus. One of the firm’s most recent undertakings is the modernization of Lincoln High School in Portland; It is one of the first high-rise schools west of the Mississippi River.

Swinerton��

Swinerton is a leading general contractor for mass-timber innovation in Oregon. Recent projects include the Wingspan Event and Conference Center in Hillsboro, Steeplejack Brewing in Portland, and Oregon State University-Cascades’ Edward J. Ray Hall in Bend.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story implied an incorrect association for Swinerton to the Beaverton Public Safety Center project. Swinerton was the mass-timber subcontractor for the project.

The post 91��Ƶ Power List 2023 appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

ARCHITECTURE

Emily Waldinger has joined Carleton Hart Architecture as design staff. She is working on multifamily affordable housing projects. Waldinger has a master’s degree in architecture from Portland State University and a bachelor’s in architecture from Miami University. She holds a graduate certificate in public interest design.

Please send your announcements for 91��Ƶ People to djcpeople@djcOregon.com.

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ARCHITECTURE

Ryan Dunn has joined Carleton Hart Architecture as design staff. Dunn’s background includes 3D modeling, design and animation. He is in his final year at Portland Community College’s architectural design and drafting program. Dunn has a bachelor of fine arts degree in digital art with a minor in sculpture from Dominican University of California.

Please send your announcements for 91��Ƶ People to djcpeople@djcOregon.com.

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A development dream is in the making for the Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhood of Portland.

Grace Commons is planned for an entire city block surrounded by Northeast 16th and 17th avenues and Weidler and Halsey streets. The existing Grace Memorial Episcopal Church, on the block’s northeast corner, will remain; all other existing buildings will be demolished. New construction will include a seven-story affordable housing building, a three-story community arts center and a courtyard.

Carleton Hart Architecture is designing the project, and Walsh Construction will serve as the general contractor.

Brian Carleton, principal at Carleton Hart Architecture, said construction of a community arts center has long been a dream for the owners involved: Grace Memorial Episcopal Church, Grace Institute (a secular arm of the church), and PHAME (a nonprofit arts academy serving adults with disabilities). Then, in response to growth of the homeless population in Portland, affordable housing was added to the project; Northwest Housing Alternatives is serving as the developer for that portion.

The team is still in the early stages of designing Grace Commons, but Carleton expects it to produce “a really incredible, vibrant community.”

The residential building is planned as a 78,800-square-foot structure with 90 units holding either one or two bedrooms. There will be shared common spaces as well as a private courtyard.

The community arts center will include a theater and a recording studio. All building spaces, from theater walkways to the control room, will be accessible, Carleton said. In fact, the entire campus will be accessible not only by individuals in wheelchairs but also by those with other disabilities, said Julia Mollner, an architect at Carleton Hart Architecture.

“It’s about accessibility, inclusivity, and a place for people to call home,” she said.

The project team has submitted an application for early assistance from the city regarding utility and zoning specifications. Meanwhile, a capital funding campaign is being formed.

Final design of Grace Commons might require two more years, Carleton said.

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Carleton Hart Architecture may be losing one of its co-founders, but certainly not its focus.

Bill Hart, who with Brian Carleton started the Portland firm in 1994, is set to step down as principal at the end of this month and then form a real estate development and consulting firm. Meanwhile, the path for Carleton Hart remains clear.

“I don’t want to diminish on focusing on Bill, but that’s the first thing he’d want; he hates being the center of attention,” said Michelle Black, a Carleton Hart principal, and one of the leaders who will continue steering the firm forward. “Bill and Brian established a firm that had a really clear vision from the beginning. It was community-focused; it was about how do you use architecture in a vision-driven way, whether that’s affordable housing or commercial or community engagement. That was so clear from the beginning, and we’re still in that same zone, which is a testament to what their vision was in the beginning.”

Hart, one of only a handful of licensed Black architects in Portland, is eager to tackle different challenges via a new venture – Hart Development.

“It will be a little bit of real estate and consulting in the African-American community,” he said. “A lot of folks of color who have had property are lost in what to do, and getting to an architect is a big step for them. I can prepare them for the dialogue in talking in development and real estate, and just to get them in tune, and they can start to have those conversations.”

Hart started thinking about a change a decade ago, he said.

“I think it was both recognizing there’s a need and recognizing in the city that’s trying to do something that there are resources available that folks don’t know about,” he said.

Hart figured he could use his contacts in the architecture, construction and engineering fields to connect the dots for people interested in development as ordinary as a single-family home.

“It’s about understanding over time the development world, the marketing and financial elements, and figuring out what roles they have, and which firms and personalities fit working with the public,” he said. “It takes time for them to understand it’s a different path.”

Carleton Hart’s staff recognizes what it’s losing, but also appreciates the difference Hart will make in the years ahead.

“There is no replacing that; there just isn’t,” Black said of Hart’s experience. “He brings experience from the architecture side of things, but also being a true citizen of the world. There is a big loss there, but at the same time, you hear him talk about what is to come and that is so super exciting. You already know he’s going to have an impact in the community.”

Over decades, Carleton Hart has focused on tackling community-minded projects and building leaders from within, Carleton said. That won’t change, he added.

“Bill and I built this together and spent over 25 years together in building this, so it’s just become the DNA of the firm,” he said. “If I were to leave tomorrow, which I’m not doing, it would continue on that way. Those are the people we’ve attracted. That’s how we’ve trained our folks. It would just continue on.”

Job Captain Sean Bolden, another of the few Black architects in Portland, said he applied to work at Carleton Hart after stops at several other local firms specifically because of one person.

“It was Bill,” Bolden said. “And I think that also goes along with the office culture. Being there are only four licensed Black architects in the city, I sought out who they were. Bill was very visible, and I was able to run into him one day. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out fast enough, but it was mostly just trying to get under Bill as fast as I could to advance whatever his missions were when it came to architecture.”

Carleton Hart’s marketing manager, Robin Moodie, named one of the most important things she has learned from Hart.

“He’s got a tremendous capacity to listen,” she said. “He took me aside and sat me down and wanted to know what my approach to the job was. I was used to being told what my job should be. He appreciates people’s knowledge and experience, and it’s really about listening and empowering and collaboration.”

One of the strongest images of Hart for Bolden, he said, is him standing in a conference room for hours at a time with a phone to his ear simply listening.

“When he does things, he doesn’t broadcast it,” Bolden said. “There are lots of occasions where he’s a part of panels or there’s heavy work behind the scenes. That’s really beneficial to a person who’s not only trying to connect to the community but also trying to bring up the future generation of architects.”

By engaging in countless conversations, Hart has not only learned more about others’ work, but also developed valuable professional relationships.

“I think it’s good to know a little about the various firms and the work they do and various contractors – all those things kind of filter into it,” he said. “At this point I think I have a pretty good network to tap into.”

Currently, Hart’s development work is “more visions than anything else,” he said.

“I can see nice mixed-use, multigenerational, urban development,” he said. “And then I’m also into a lot of renovation work. I’m talking to a couple of folks now who have underutilized buildings. Now would be a good time to consider, when interest rates are low, to look at what do you do next.”

The global pandemic obviously has impacted many people and businesses. Hart believes there will be a lot of change.

“Unfortunately, those who have the resources to weather the conditions the longest will probably recover better than others,” he said. “Lease rates are changing. Where people want to be is changing, and it’s not so much downtown as in neighborhoods. I can see a lot of transition and adaptive reuse as firms and companies go from one location to another.

“A lot of things could happen. And with the younger generation like Michelle and Robin, there will be new ideas happening. There are ideas coming that I don’t have a clue about.”

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Mamook Tokatee may seem like an odd name for a new affordable housing structure rising in Northeast Portland. But its meaning – “make beautiful” in Chinook Wawa – will surely be important to its future residents.

Community Development Partners and the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) have joined forces for their second housing project in the Cully neighborhood. Carleton Hart Architecture designed the project, and it’s being built by LMC Construction.

The four-story, 56-unit building is being constructed at 4636 N.E. 42nd Avenue, at the intersection with Northeast Going Street. By the end of this week, the long shoring pillars supporting the recently poured concrete deck will be removed, marking completion of the four-month concrete phase.

Currently, rods upon rods are laid out, waiting for construction crews to come by to posttension the concrete. Forty truckloads of concrete were used to fill the deck, LMC Construction Senior Project Manager Ken Bello said.

The structure will be three stories of stick framing over concrete. Timeframe Inc. is doing the wood framing. Crews plan to begin in early March, and finish in three months – one month per floor.

The building will feature studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units as well as a community room and an art studio.

LMC Construction is using an old bakery storefront as its on-site office. Afterward, the plan is to turn the space into an art gallery for the residents to display their artwork.

Mamook Tokatee is one of three affordable housing projects that Community Development Partners and NAYA are bringing to the neighborhood. The first was Nesika Illahee, at 6370 N.E. 42nd Ave. Work on a third building, Hayu Tilixam, is expected to begin in mid-March near the intersection of Northeast Prescott Street and Cully Boulevard.

The team’s focus is to house the urban Native American population in Portland, “which has been an underserved community for years,” Bello said.

The goal, Community Development Partners Development Manager Lucy Corbett said, was to locate the buildings near each other and the NAYA campus so residents can easily access services there.

The new housing will provide affordable options in Cully, where home prices have risen to around $400,000.

“I think Cully used to be one of the more affordable neighborhoods close to the core of Portland,” NAYA Director of Community Development Oscar Arana said. “(It’s) no longer affordable to the average Native American … just because the prices are so high.”

Creation of affordable housing has become really important to NAYA, Arana added, so Native Americans aren’t pushed out of the city.

Bello has witnessed a demographic change in Cully. He moved to the neighborhood in 1994, when it was inhabited mostly by working-class people, but has since seen it become more gentrified. He has focused his career on affordable housing projects, he said, and by chance was selected to work on these three projects near his home.

“(I) consider it a privilege and absolute joy to be part of the neighborhood,” Bello said.

LMC Construction is working with Zavala Corporation (concrete), Solid Form (structural steel), Union Drywall, MSI (plumbing), Andersen (HVAC systems) and Cox Electrical. The site was excavated by Lauzon Contracting.

The project team broke ground in August 2020 and is expected to finish in December.

Financing was provided from the sale of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and $2.36 million from Oregon Housing and Community Services. The Siletz Tribe contributed a $1 million Indian Housing Block Grant, which will secure 20 of the building’s units for Native households. Also, Metro provided a $300,000 Transit-Oriented Development grant.

“(It’s) really important for the Native American community to have housing that’s designed and created by and for them because that’s how we will effectively reach the population that we’re trying to serve and that’s tailored for their needs,” Arana said.

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Construction mock-ups oftentimes have short lives. But increasing numbers of people in Portland’s building industry are finding constructive ways to reuse them.

Most recently, a mock-up used for the Wy’East Plaza affordable housing project in East Portland was built out and then donated to the Creating Conscious Communities with People Outside – aka C(3)PO – houseless community that spans two full blocks near Water Avenue in inner Southeast Portland. The idea of converting the former mock-up into a livable shelter was developed by REACH Community Development Corp. and then completed by Walsh Construction.

“It was in the planning from day one of construction that this would be developed in this way,” said Peter Clements, a REACH CDC project manager. “It’s such a well-conceived idea. The fundamental materials and cost of doing a mock-up is part of the project in every case. And the waste of that is kind of heartbreaking.”

The mock-up was delivered to C(3)P0 last week. A Walsh Construction crew donated its time and equipment to build out the pod and deliver it. The shelter used the same windows, siding and exterior paint used at Wy’East Plaza. Meanwhile, the interior was built out with drywall and paint paid for by REACH CDC. The unit was wired for electricity; two power outlets and a wall heater are inside.

“We do this on every project; we spend tens of thousands of dollars and we throw it away when we’re done,” Walsh Construction Superintendent Jay Nees said. “So, why not finish the other two sides and do something with it? REACH paid for it. They paid for us to finish it. It’s got power and heat. It doesn’t take long.”

In Portland, Carleton Hart Architecture Job Captain Julia Mollner in 2017 came up with a concept of converting construction mock-ups into shelters for the houseless community. She created the Useful Waste Initiative in collaboration with Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design.

“People are excited about having another option other than throwing the material in the trash,” Mollner said. “The thing that is slow is the awareness of having that option and not throwing it in the trash.”

Wy’East Plaza, a four-story, 175-unit apartment building, was designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects. This mock-up is the second one the firm has donated to the Useful Waste Initiative.

“They donated a mock-up before this one,” Mollner said. “That’s the specific connection on this mock-up.”

Eight converted mock-ups have been donated to the Useful Waste Initiative so far, and others are in the works, Mollner said. One of the first came from Andersen Construction‘s Fourth and Montgomery project completed last year.

“There’s a lot of need,” she said. “This is the first mock-up Walsh was involved in. They showed a lot of excitement for continuing on with the program.”

Mollner has been busy touting the program – even on her own time – to metro-area architecture and construction firms. Now it’s starting to produce results. And people like Dana Louis, who works with the C(3)PO community via her nonprofit Gather:Make:Shelter, are thrilled.

“Julia and I were talking, and there are so many steps between today and getting everyone into affordable housing, so this is part of that process,” Louis said. “So, we’re just really grateful for everyone who is helping us out. It’s really great.”

Louis helped oversee delivery of the Wy’East Plaza mock-up-turned-shelter to the C(3)PO site. The Walsh Construction crew needed extra time to figure out how to make the drop after finding Southeast Main Street blocked at Water Avenue by a Portland Bureau of Transportation crew tearing up pavement in order to perform work on new sidewalks. But that delay was only temporary. Around a dozen C(3)PO residents were on hand to watch Walsh Construction employees Darren Anstein and Roger Williams use a telescopic handler to carefully place the shelter. Grins spread across observers’ faces.

“People are so thankful for these steps, and it’s really been a huge game-changer,” said Louis, who noted that Multnomah County recently paid for the acquisition of 100 additional prefabricated shelters made by Seattle-based Pallet.

“People are getting jobs; people are productive; people are doing all kinds of things just with this amount of money,” Louis said. “So, everything else we get, it just makes everyone feel more respected. It ranges from people donating holey sweaters to construction materials. It’s really great when people understand that we all want this.”

Ankrom Moisan project architect Tonia Feliciano said it definitely won’t be the last mock-up the firm donates. Plans are to follow suit with affordable housing mock-ups in the works in Beaverton and other locations, she said.

“Mock-ups are useful for us not only for aesthetics and performance, but it’s great we can size them so it works for donations,” she said.

The post From construction waste to valuable shelter appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Portland Design Commission voted 6-0 during a hearing on Thursday to approve plans for the Multnomah County Behavioral Health Resource Center, setting aside concerns from downtown business interests.

The project planned at 333 S.W. Park Ave. will combine a homeless shelter and transitional housing with services such as laundry, showers and restrooms.

Not all parties have welcomed the project, at a time when homelessness has become a top political issue and downtown businesses have had to deal with pandemic-related closures and destructive protests.

Jordan Schnitzer, president of Harsch Investment Properties, wrote a letter dated Nov. 4 asking the city to prohibit “tents, ancillary items and street activity” outside the site. Schnitzer expressed concern about activity “that will negatively impact the surrounding business district, tenants and staff surrounding the site.”

Patricia Gardner, a local resident who said she represented neighboring property owners, said at Thursday’s hearing that the county had made little progress toward a “good neighbor” agreement.

Multnomah County project manager Brett Taute acknowledged the county had not initiated a good neighbor agreement for the downtown shelter, blaming pandemic-related delays. However, the county “remains committed” to reaching an agreement with neighbors, he added.

“We intend to continue that into next year,” he said.

The Design Commission is limited in its ability to regulate what happens outside of a site, Chairwoman Julie Livingston said.

Project plans call for adaptive reuse of a four-story structure that was completed in 1905. Carleton Hart Architecture is designing the project, and Mortensen Construction will serve as general contractor. The building will essentially be gutted, and a seismic retrofit will be done.

The county acquired the property from developer Tom Cody for $4.34 million in 2019. The county also purchased an adjacent parking lot for $1.5 million.

Thursday marked the third time design commissioners had considered the project. Corey Morris, a senior associate at Carleton Hart, responded to earlier criticism by folding two proposed accessory buildings into one.

Commissioners avoided discussing political issues outside of their purview, instead delving deeply into an extended discussion of landscaping.

Commissioner Brian McCarter, a ZGF Architects principal and landscape architect, pushed to amend a condition proposed in the staff report that “at least one evergreen huckleberry or highbush cranberry shall be planted in the stormwater planter for every two linear feet of stormwater planter, as measured along the sidewalk edges of the planter.”

McCarter successfully lobbied to require two highbush cranberry viburnum shrubs per planter space.

Some commissioners fretted that the planters would be put to use as benches or restrooms.

“The planters – they’re pretty much at urinal height,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said. “So either make it taller or make it shorter.”

None of the issues raised prevented a unanimous vote (Commissioner Jessica Molinar was absent).

With the viburnum coverage and planter height decided, Vallaster said he was satisfied.

“We’ve worked it pretty hard,” he said. “From my perspective, I’m willing to give it a rest and move on to the next project.”

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The first new development to be completed in the Tigard Triangle Urban Renewal Area has its first tenants.

Even while cleanup was taking place and finishes were being applied, the first two residents of the 48-unit Red Rock Creek Commons affordable housing complex were moving in. The new building is at 11090 S.W. 68th Parkway, slightly south of the intersection with Oregon Route 99W. The project was built by general contractor LMC Construction and designed by Carleton Hart Architecture for Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH).

Ground was broken in summer 2019, but this year LMC Construction faced last-minute design changes, COVID-19 and wildfire smoke. Recently, the team attained a temporary certificate of occupancy.

“These guys worked very hard to bring this in pretty much ahead of schedule despite the COVID challenges that hit, the wildfires that shut us down for a couple of days and the smoke,” LMC Construction Vice President Kyle Anderson said. “It went surprisingly well, considering it was 2020.”

Each apartment has one bedroom. A large community room with a kitchen and other community spaces allow residents to gather for events. Also, access was created to the natural area around Red Rock Creek.

A lounge on the ground floor is designed as a doorless extension of the corridor, but exists as a separate space. It hosts mailboxes, bicycle storage and a lending library as well as provides access to an outdoor deck that overlooks the natural area.

The exterior is marked by cedar siding at ground level, along with composite siding for the upper three floors. Metal-panel accents feature under each window, while architectural metal sunshades are affixed to the edges of south-facing windows to prevent interior heat buildup.

Construction did not take place without difficulty, according to LMC project manager Aaron McGuire.

“Originally, with the design of the building, we were going to have a crawl space, not a slab on grade,” he said. “Right before we started construction we changed that and did a slab on grade. But the topography of the site meant that we had to bring so much rock back in to get us to that point. We ran into some grading issues along the way because of it. It was a very challenging grade, but it was a fun challenge to get through that process.”

That was true, McGuire added, not only from a design and engineering standpoint, but from a management one as well.

“With challenges obviously comes the financial piece that plays into it, and the project schedule and budget,” he said. “Again, with the climate, the fire and smoke delays and COVID, we were able to get it done on time and get these residents in relatively quickly.”

Anderson and McGuire both noted that the fact LMC has worked with both Carleton Hart and CPAH in the past made these things easier to surmount.

“We lost six days alone to the wildfires and smoke, but we were able to recoup that time,” McGuire said. “We were in the finishes stage working the exterior of the building, trying to get the rest of the cladding up, working the irrigation and starting site work, so a lot of the outdoor activities could not be achieved because of that.”

Some subcontractors couldn’t even get their crews on site during that time, Anderson added. But perseverance prevailed.

“It was a great team out here,” McGuire said. “Everyone came together and realized if we have obstacles we need to address them quickly and then figure out another avenue or a design change that they’re willing to accept within a good time frame to achieve that schedule.”

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