An aging office building in Portland’s Buckman neighborhood recently was revitalized via an extensive tenant improvement for Living Room Realty.

SUM Design Studio + Architecture designed the renovation of the two-story building at 421 S.E. 10th Ave., and Deform NW served as the general contractor. S. Baird Design worked in partnership with Deform NW to manage the project.

The scope of work included creation of a new restroom and seven new offices, reconfiguration of existing restrooms and break rooms, and creation of new, accessible motor vehicle parking and bike parking on the building’s north side.

“We’re dedicated to communities in every corner of Portland and our new, inspiring space in Southeast Portland with its convenient location and additional space will enable us to further connect with our community through even more initiatives, workshops, events and services,” Living Room Realty owner Jenelle Isaacson stated in a press release.

The building, designed in the Northwest Regional style by architects John Reese and Frank Blachly and constructed in 1962, originally served as a Postal Employees Credit Union branch and most recently as a Multnomah County community corrections office. Officials are seeking to add the building to the National Register of Historic Places.

Living Room Realty purchased the property in 2018 for $628,938, and a building permit for the renovation was issued in 2019.

Upon completion, Living Room Realty relocated its Division/Clinton office to the 8,321-square-foot space. It will serve as the firm’s headquarters for both real estate sales and property management and maintenance.

The new finishes, fixtures and treatments are much different from what existed previously, S. Baird Design owner Shannon Baird said. One exception is the curved wood ceiling and a few remaining original elements that had to be restored for the property to be eligible for a historic listing.

S. Baird Design selected tile, carpet, wood walls and ceilings, sound-absorbing ceiling tiles, polished concrete, restored wood doors and aluminum accents, in addition to interior furnishings.

“The biggest change was in altering the perception and mood of the spaces,” Baird said. “Having been a correctional facility for so long, there was a sterile, depressed, cold, institutional feeling that permeated the entire structure.”

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Maletis Beverage, a distributor of beer, cider, wine and soft drinks, has renovated its Swan Island office space and added a refrigerated building with capacity for several thousand kegs. R&H Construction recently completed the 12-month project, which was designed by Holst Architecture.

Work on the project was completed in three phases, the first of which involved reconfiguration of a truck route through the property to allow movement in a single direction and improve transportation efficiency. The project’s second phase was the renovation of Maletis’ office space, which it has occupied since 1993. Previously, most desk space in the two-story building was on the ground floor, while storage and meeting space primarily occupied the upper level. The remodel has shifted work space upstairs, and the ground level has been outfitted with a variety of public and hospitality space.

The building’s ground floor now features a beer hall with a full kitchen that opens up to an outdoor patio area, as well as a sales room with capacity for up to 100 people that can be used for group events, meetings and presentations. Also on the first floor are a retail space for dock sales, an amenity room for delivery drivers, a will-call space for sales staff and a full-service graphics department.

The upstairs office space features an open desk layout and a variety of meeting and breakout rooms, including single-person phone booths and meeting rooms ranging in size from one-on-one space to board rooms. Custom steel and glass storefronts were designed and built by Deform NW, providing a classic industrial feel. Brick, copper and reclaimed pallets were also used throughout.

“We wanted something that was fitting for an industrial area,” said Rob Maletis, the company’s president. “We’re a warehouse – we sell kegs and cases, and we’ve got forklifts and racking and big trucks and small trucks. So we wanted the office space to reflect and complement the business that we’re in.”

The project’s third phase involved construction of an approximately 20,000-square-foot keg storage warehouse, which was tied in to an existing refrigerated area. A solar array on the building’s roof will offset about 15 percent of refrigeration costs.

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