The Portland Design Commission on Thursday got its first look at plans for an affordable housing development at 1701 S.E. Water Ave., in the OMSI District. Approximately 100 residential units are proposed for the five-story Los Colibris (“The Hummingbirds”) building.

This is the first project within the OMSI Central City Master Plan, which was adopted in 2023. The project site, tract A, is in the Central Eastside Industrial District, between the main Oregon Museum of Science and Industry building and the Pepco workshop/warehouse. The Marquam Bridge looms to the immediate west.

Holst Architecture is designing the project for owner/co-developer Hacienda CDC and co-developer Edlen & Co. OMSI is the landowner. The project team also includes civil engineer KPFF, landscape architect PLACE, and general contractor Colas Construction.

The project is valued at $36 million, according to Portland Permitting & Development.

The proposal moves the site’s existing parking and loading access point to the north of the tract and places additional separation between the Los Colibris building and the master plan’s Open Space-2, where the OMSI waterfront education park is planned.

While the project is still in conceptual design, Holst Architecture is eyeing cross-laminated timber (CLT) for the building. The team is also looking to meet passive house standards for energy efficiency, focus on quality of light, and include vibrant colors.

Active ground-level uses would be mainly in the building’s middle and northern portions. They would include meeting rooms, a multipurpose community room with a kitchen, a lobby with mail space, office space for resident services, and property management offices. The project team proposes to keep the community room at the center of the building.

There is not enough programming to fill the entire ground floor, said Dustin Furseth, a Holst Architecture senior associate.

“I’m totally OK with having that community facility in the middle (of the ground floor) as long as there is floor-to-ceiling windows, so pedestrians have a visual connection to the greenway,” Commissioner Zari Santner said.

Some residential units are proposed for the southern end of the ground floor. Most would be situated on the west elevation, facing a garden and play area. However, two would face the Bull Run public right-of-way connecting to the greenway, four would face Water Avenue, and a two-bedroom unit would be at the corner of Water Avenue and the Bull Run area, a staff report states.

The Bull Run path is about 30 feet wide and runs along the south side of tract A, according to city spokesman Elliott Kozuch. The Portland Water Bureau owns the Bull Run, and beneath the path there is a pipe used to move water from the Bull Run watershed on Mount Hood to the Washington Park reservoir.

Commission Chair Brian McCarter suggested flipping the ground floor’s layout so the early learning center would be where the two-bedroom unit is currently. Then the early learning center would be on the more pedestrian-accessible side of the building.

“I do have a lot of concern about … the sequencing of Bull Run and the units (planned near) the property line,” Commissioner Joe Swank said.

Commissioners suggested a five-foot setback or elevation change. The design team agreed to examine how high the first floor could be constructed in accounting for the residential units situated near the Bull Run path. Landscaping would also provide a buffer for the units.

Active ground-floor space on the east elevation would be set behind an arcade – a series of arches supported by columns that create a covered walkway. The commissioners suggested a wrap-around canopy as an alternative.

The design includes an outdoor courtyard in front of the building and outdoor communal space in the back. This courtyard allows space for residents and their guests to gather and be partly sheltered from the noise of Marquam Bridge traffic.

“I think the courtyard is essential,” Commissioner Joe Swank said.

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Project name: Washington School for the Deaf Divine Academic and Hunter Gym

Location: Vancouver, Washington

Completion: August 2024

Size: 50,527 square feet

Cost: $53 million

Owner/Developer: Washington School for the Deaf, Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth (CDHY)

Owner’s Representative: Washington State Department of Enterprise Services

Architect: Mithun

Interior Designer: Mithun

Engineers: PCS Structural Solutions, Mithun (landscape), JH Kelly (electrical)

General Contractor: Skanska USA Building

Submitting Company: Skanska USA Building

Other Associates/Key Consultants: A3 Acoustics (acoustic specialist), Kalesnikoff Mass Timber (mass timber supplier), HB/A+P: DeafSpace Consultants Hansel Bauman and Robert T. Sirvage

Subcontractors: Anderson Roofing, Archaeological Investigations Northwest, B&B Tile and Masonry, Bargreen Ellingson, Bedrock Commercial Concrete Cutting, Blind Depot, Brandsen Hardwood Floors, Brundage-Bone Concrete Pumping, Cache Valley Electric, Camblin Steel Service, Carlson Testing, CMC Steel Fabricators dba CMC Rebar, Coast to Coast Turf, Coffman Excavation, Commercial Metals, Consurco, Damac and Associates Clean, DeaMor Associates, Dennis Seven Dees Landscaping, Ednetics, Elmer’s Flag and Banner, Faithful Fence, Ground Penetrating Radar Systems, Halliday Associates, Harper Houf Peterson Righellis, Hercon Rebar & Post Tension, Inter Technology, Ironmark Surveying & Engineering, Klinger Masonry, KONE, Legend Custom Woodworking, McKinstry, Ness & Campbell Crane, Northwest Control, Northwest Geotech, Northwest Playground Equipment, NW Flooring Solutions, Performance Abatement Services, Performance Contracting, Pioneer Waterproofing, Polygon US, Precision Test & Balance, Prestige Tile & Stone, Pro-Bel Enterprises, QED Lab, Silex Investments dba Yakima Steel, Soriano Floor Finishing, Steel Encounters, Tim Lawrence dba Digital Works Production, Town & Country Fence Co. of Oregon, Town Inc. dba South Town Glass, TrailB Technologies, TT&L Sheet Metal, Ultra Quiet Floors, Vancouver Sign, W.E. Given Contracting, Western Partitions

The Washington School for the Deaf (WSD) Divine Academic and Hunter Gymnasium stands as a landmark achievement in accessible educational design, incorporating DeafSpace principles that prioritize the unique needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

The project, delivered through a progressive design-build approach by Skanska and Mithun, leveraged early collaboration with DeafSpace consultants to create spaces specifically engineered for deaf communication and learning. The warm, homelike environment fosters a sense of belonging and pride among students and staff.

Key building innovations include 8-foot-wide hallways that allow for sign language conversations while walking, and classrooms providing approximately 60 square feet per learner – twice the industry standard – arranged in horseshoe configurations that maximize visual communication.

The building’s innovative mass timber construction features exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT) decks that enhance acoustic vibrations essential for spatial awareness. This structural system, installed in just 19 days, contributes to the project’s low embodied carbon emissions.

The team noted that mass timber not only met aesthetic requirements but also provided functional benefits crucial for deaf communication. The materials preserve vibrations that allow students to sense footfalls and movements throughout the building.

The front entrance of the school features an ASL Finger Spell Art Fence, which also acts as a security gate. The whole campus is fenced in for security reasons, so the team designed a welcoming inclusive art piece without making the occupants feel institutionalized.

Jobsite safety innovations included custom site fencing with viewing holes, which allowed students to safely observe the construction activities while maintaining secure separation between school operations and work zones.

The project team engaged students directly in the design process through workshops using visual learning tools. Students used color-coded blocks to outline their ideal campus, directly influencing the final design.

Sustainability achievements include targeting LEED Gold certification, achieving an Energy Use Intensity of 32.1, and utilizing an existing geothermal wellfield system combined with a highly efficient building envelope.

The project exceeded Minority and Women Business Enterprise targets, hitting 13 percent participation. Apprentice labor hit 23 percent, helping develop future skilled workers knowledgeable in mass timber construction and deaf-inclusive building practices.

Beyond serving students, the project raises public awareness of Deaf culture through campus openness to neighbors and visitors, making it a model for future educational environments that prioritize accessibility, sustainability and community connection.

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Founded in 2020 and based in the Eugene/Springfield area, CedarStone offers mass timber homes, including the first cross-laminated timber home preapproved as an accessory dwelling unit in Eugene. It specializes in prefabricated flat pack and volumetric mass timber buildings.

Adrienne Fainman, CEO and design director, and Cueyo Cataldo, founder and construction director, started working with mass timber in Canada and knew early on they wanted to let indigenous values guide and inform how they do business.

“When we moved back to Oregon, we realized that the best way to do this work with an inspired and welcoming team would be to start our own company,” she said. “A home that is healing and healthy has a remarkable impact on a family and it makes all the work so worthwhile.”

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Sturgeon Development Partners is reshaping Oregon’s real estate landscape with a focus on innovative, sustainable spaces that foster vibrant communities. With a diverse portfolio spanning mixed-use, residential, and commercial developments, the company has built a reputation for transforming underutilized properties into community-centered spaces.

A prime example of this is the redevelopment of the Premier Gear and Machine Works Building in Portland’s Slabtown district. Acquired in 2017, the 68,646-square-foot industrial site was converted into Class A office space, enhancing the area’s commercial appeal. Sturgeon also demonstrates its commitment to sustainability through the Flatworks Building, one of the tallest cross-laminated timber structures in the western United States.

This eight-story, 130,000-square-foot office building on Southeast Grand Avenue incorporates energy-efficient features and green building practices, reflecting the company’s focus on long-term value.

Sturgeon’s approach goes beyond development, emphasizing community engagement. The company proposed transforming the Premier Gear Building into a mental health crisis center with housing, underscoring its dedication to addressing local challenges. Sturgeon’s inclusive approach ensures that each project reflects the needs of residents, making it a leading force in creating positive change.

Through thoughtful development and sustainable practices, Sturgeon Development Partners is making a lasting impact on neighborhoods and communities across Oregon.

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Founded more than 75 years ago, ZGF has made a concerted effort to effect positive change in its communities and beyond. With origins in Oregon, ZGF has expanded to seven offices across North America while maintaining its Pacific Northwest environmental ethos. The firm’s approach earned it the American Institute of Architects’ Architectural Firm Award for its “high standards, humanistic concerns, and unique ability to capture the spirit of a place and the aspirations of its inhabitants.”

ZGF designed the main terminal expansion at Portland International Airport, setting new standards for sustainability and passenger experience in aviation. The expansion features an innovative nine-acre mass timber roof – making PDX the first major U.S. airport to utilize this sustainable material on such a scale. The locally sourced timber comes from within a 300-mile radius of the airport, including small landowners, tribal lands and community forests practicing sustainable forestry.

ZGF continues expanding its mass timber expertise to other regions, including the Boulder Western City Campus – Colorado’s first commercial building using locally-grown fiber for structural CLT.

In the past five years, ZGF has donated nearly 10,000 hours of professional services with the goal of leveraging the design of the built environment to strengthen communities and work toward resolution of chronic societal problems.

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Portland’s Bureau of Development Services recently issued building permits for an eight-story, mixed-use development in the outskirts of the Gateway Plan District.

TimberView, previously named Glisan Tower, will provide 105 affordable housing units and a ground-floor food hall with four vendor spots. Apartments will be offered to people earning 60 percent of the area median income or less.

Access Architecture designed the project at 9919 N.E. Glisan St. Truebeck Construction is the general contractor.

The new name more adequately describes “what we are doing,” said Curtis Rystadt, the project’s developer. TimberView will have a mass-timber frame with glulam columns and beams and cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor panels. It will be the tallest CLT affordable housing development in Portland (possibly in Oregon), according to Access Architecture principal Brendan Sanchez.

The project is Access Architecture’s first to feature mass timber. Affordable housing developments like this one typically use “five-over-two” construction featuring concrete and light wood framing, Sanchez said. However, Rystadt wanted all timber, he said.

“When you look at building materials and their effect on the planet, steel and concrete are much more disruptive than wood,” he added. “Wood is the best building material that we have.”

Portland permitting

TimberView landed in the new, sparsely navigated waters of Type IV building classification. A statewide alternate method (SAM) for CLT – the first in the country – was introduced in 2018 and further adopted into the Oregon Structural Specialty Code (OSSC)��a year later.

Only a handful of projects in Portland, including Central Lofts and the Chiles House, have been permitted under the Type IV C classification that allows a timber building up to nine stories (85 feet) to leave all the structure exposed as interior finishes. Only one other building as tall as eight stories, Minnesota Places (a mass-plywood-panel affordable housing development), has been permitted under it in Portland.

In fact, the most recent eight-story CLT project to receive building permits in Portland was Carbon 12. It became a catalyst for new building classifications.

On track to be the nation’s tallest timber building at the time, Carbon 12 had to go through a special permitting process that involved the state looking at the structural and fire and life safety aspects and the city of Portland reviewing the nonstructural components.

The only other mass-timber project taller than eight stories to receive building permits in Portland was Framework – a 12-story mixed-use development that was halted in 2018 due to escalating construction costs. The project team, however, has a redemptive building on track – Sandy Pine.

Now, projects like TimberView can enter Portland’s building permit process like any standard building – though review is a bit different, particularly for the fire rating. Like Carbon 12, TimberView is using a char layer for its main fire rating. In an event of a fire an outer layer of wood is designed to char but leave the structural core untouched.

Kevin White, a structural engineer for the city of Portland, said he spends much of his time double-checking the char layer calculations submitted by projects’ engineering teams to confirm whether: a) the building’s loads can be supported as is, and b) in the event of a fire, the remaining non-charred sections of the structure can still support the loads.

All buildings with Type IV classification must have a minimum two-hour fire rating. The taller the timber building, the more there is a need to encapsulate the structural frame by a fire-resistant material like gypsum board or steel.

Rystadt initially wanted TimberView to be 11 stories, he said, but use of an all-timber frame above 85 feet would’ve required more materials to achieve the fire rating. That would’ve increased the project cost.

Timber expression

Keeping the Type IV C classification for TimberView was important, Sanchez said, because the team could then expose as much of the mass timber as it wanted.

“One of the main drivers for the exterior concept was to express the structural frame of the building as well as the mass-timber components,” he said.

The building’s main body is clad in metal panels, while the commercial spaces and residential entry on the ground floor have wood-panel siding and exposed timber. Along the south face toward Northeast Glisan Street, a timber line carves up the building to the eighth-floor amenity deck where the metal panels disappear to reveal the timber structure.

A similar effect occurs on the ground floor to reveal the glulam columns and create little nooks by the food hall at the corner of Glisan Street and 99th Avenue where people will be able to eat outside without feeling like they are in the street, Sanchez said.

TimberView will be the tallest building in the area, which includes other apartments buildings.

Truebeck Construction recently completed Chiles House, Portland’s first affordable housing project to be constructed entirely of CLT. That is a main reason why Truebeck was selected as general contractor, Sanchez said.

Innovative elements

In addition to mass timber, TimberView will have radiant floor heating; neither feature is typically included in affordable housing projects.

Rystadt, who grew up in the Pacific Northwest with radiant floor heating, said it always felt like a luxury to come in from the cold, take off his shoes and feel a warm floor. He wanted the same for TimberView residents, he said.

Currently, the project is on track to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum standards. The building will have extra exterior wall insulation, high-performance windows, and all-electric systems – and be solar-ready, Sanchez said.

“I’d say the fact that we are trying to do multiple innovative design elements to this makes it more challenging,” he said. “Usually, you try to do one or two innovative things per project, so you are not biting off more than you can chew.”

With building permits issued, the project team is set to break ground soon.

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From start to finish in the pandemic, The Sunrise Water Authority’s new office building is the first project designed by FFA Architecture and Interiors while entirely remote.

Ian Gelbrich, a principal, said the firm landed the project the week after everybody started working from home in spring 2020 and it was an adjustment at first.

When you have a team of five people in an office, he added, the communication is pretty fluid. But when you have to jump on a remote call to talk about it – it changes things.

Sunrise Water Authority will move from its current facility on S.E. 129th Avenue in Happy Valley to a 5-acre parcel of land at the northeast corner of Southeast 172nd Avenues and Southeast Armstrong Circle, also in Happy Valley.

The campus will centralize the company with a new administrative and shop building. The complex will also include a staff courtyard, parking areas, materials storage and a fuel island.

The Sunrise Water Authority is the clean water supplier for Happy Valley, Damascus and Clackamas County. Gelbrich said because of this a lot of the positioning of the buildings and design is tied to the expression of water. For instance, a slopped site is typically a flaw that needs to be corrected, but instead FFA incorporates it into the design.

All of the water that hits the building’s roof will spill onto a lower roof basin, routed to scuppers, then cascade down the side of the buildings in a waterfall. The water then runs over to the rain gardens, where it is soaked into the soil or directed to an existing wetland at the bottom of the site. Even with a little rainfall, Gelbrich said people will see the water be collected and flow down to the wetland.

FFA has also designed the main 15,000-square-foot administrative building to reach a low Energy Utilization Index of 15 and readied the 5,700-square-foot Shop Building to eventually be net-zero.

The main building’s orientation, plus Cross Laminated Timber and concrete structure, is designed to reduce heat gain. These measures — combined with an efficient VRF mechanical system, LED light fixtures and a large photovoltaic array on the roof — will allow the building to reach the low EUI. In the future, the PV array can also be expanded to the one-story Shop Building that has a CLT structure.

The project will go out to bid on Jan. 5 and work is expected to be complete in 2023.

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PROJECT: The Annex Apartments

LOCATION: 2720 S.E. Powell Blvd., Portland

SIZE:��16,700 square feet

COST:��$4.66 million

START DATE: August 2021

ANTICIPATED END DATE: June 2022

OWNER: Catholic Charities of Oregon

DEVELOPERS: Caritas Housing Initiatives, Sister City

ARCHITECT: All Hands Architecture

ENGINEERS: Holmes Structures, Froelich Engineers, Alentur LLC, Squires Electric, Red Hawk Fire Protection, Piper Mechanical

CONTRACTOR:��Truebeck Construction

OTHER ASSOCIATES/SUBCONTRACTORS: Kalesnikoff Lumber

SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT: Portland is gaining its first affordable housing development to feature cross-laminated timber (CLT) in its design and structure. The benefits of using CLT include faster construction and creation of a more natural environment than a traditional concrete-filled interior.

The Annex was guided by trauma- and pandemic-informed design principles. The layout balances opportunities for community-building with privacy and security for residents. The four-story building will have 27 housing units – 18 studios, seven one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments – and two ground-floor office spaces.

Other amenities will include gathering places, including a landscaped courtyard with stadium-style seating that gives way to the main circulation staircase. Not only will the Annex be affordable, but it also will be one of the finer living places at such price points.

“Building Blocks” spotlights noteworthy projects either under construction or approaching the start of construction. To submit a project for consideration, please visit: djcoregon.com/building-blocks.

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In Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District, construction of a six-story mixed-use building is progressing quickly.

District Office will have 90,400 square feet – five stories of creative office space above ground-floor retail space. There will also be one level of below-grade parking. Work began in May 2018 with . Then Timberland Inc. carpentry crews flew the first cross-laminated timber panel into place a year later, and the building was topped out barely three months after that.

Beam Development and Urban Development + Partners are developing the project, which was designed by Hacker. The general contractor is Andersen Construction.

A pair of concrete building cores will house elevators and stairwells as well as mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Glulam beams and columns are being used, along with CLT floor panels manufactured by DR Johnson. A 3-inch topping slab on each floor will provide additional horizontal shear strength, while floor-to-ceiling glazing will let in generous amounts of natural light.

“The timber structure is fully up, the topping slabs are done, framing is up and going on all elevations two through the roof, and the roof starts going in today,” Andersen Construction project manager Katie Hoyt said late last month. “Fiberglass windows are done on the east elevation, they are a good portion of the way done on the south and they’ll be starting on the north side today, as well.”

The exterior will feature brick cladding, fiberglass windows and aluminum storefronts. The main entry will front Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Upon delivery, Hacker will occupy space on the sixth floor and part of the fifth; other tenants have not been named. Much of the building, at 525 S.E. MLK Jr. Blvd., will be shell space initially.

Power issues have complicated the project.

“Everywhere you look we’ve got live power lines,” Hoyt said. “And our temp power line for the job is coming across the street.”

There is a streetcar line on the east side of the project site, power lines on the north and south sides, and two buildings on the west side.

“When we’re done, our power into the building will go under Stark (Street); they’ve already done the excavation for that,” Hoyt said. “It will go into a switch vault and then into the building. So when we’re able to turn the live power on, then they can disconnect the temp power.��But live power is predicated on having the electrical rooms done and signed off and lockable – all that good stuff.”

The project’s tower crane is set to be dismantled in November. Project completion is expected by the end of the year.

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