After nearly three years of construction, Multnomah County is ready to open the $163 million East County Library.

The library branch is the flagship project of the $387 million library bond that voters approved in November 2020. Located in downtown Gresham, the library is meant to bring services to East County residents who live far from the Central Library in downtown Portland.

“This is a palace for the people,” said Katie O’Dell, the library system’s capital bond deputy director.

At 95,000 square feet, the facility is the county’s second-largest branch, behind only the Central Library, which occupies about 120,000 square feet. East County Library will offer 200,000 books, CDs, DVDs and other materials to the public when it opens on Saturday.

It’s the largest of 18 library projects funded by the 2020 bond, which also produced six new libraries, 11 renovations and an operations center. Two projects — in the St. Johns and Belmont neighborhoods —remain to be completed.

Fortis Construction served as general contractor for East County Library, with a design by Holst Architecture of Portland and Adjaye Associates (the international firm left the project in 2023 after founder David Adjaye was accused of sexual misconduct).

The design relies heavily on mass timber, including 1,200 glulam beams and 3,000 cross-laminated timber panels sourced from around the Pacific Northwest.

The project arrives on time and on budget, county officials said.

“Construction went so, so smoothly,” library bond spokeswoman Liz Sauer said.

A TriMet park-and-ride facility formerly occupied the new library’s site at 475 N.W. Division St., pinched between Gresham City Hall and the Gresham Station shopping complex. TriMet still owns a 25,000-square-foot parcel on which it intends to build a transit-oriented project.

The new library branch has ample mass transit access, with a MAX Blue Line station slightly north of the building, and a TriMet Frequent Express bus line on its Division Street frontage.

The East County Library is more than four times larger than the former Gresham branch, with a collection to match. The city of Gresham purchased the former library branch site at 385 N.W. Miller Ave. after a public process.

The East County Library has a diverse collection featuring materials in Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Vietnamese — all languages commonly spoken in the Gresham area. A world languages section includes books in many more languages.

“I would say we have a more diverse collection than our other library branches,” Director of Libraries Annie Lewis said.

The new library also has state-of-the art technology, including the Intelligent Material Management System, or IMMS, from Utah company SirsiDynix. The system tracks bookshelf offerings and zips books around the library using an extensive conveyor belt.

Other facilities include an auditorium for events and a maker space that offers a laser printer and cutter, sewing machines and more.

Tucked in a sunlit corner, a recording studio features high-end Fender and Yamaha guitars, a drum set and a mixing board.

“Everything in there is gear industry professionals would use,” said Jody Redifer, audio-video program specialist.

The library will open at 10 a.m. on Saturday, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m.

The post Photos: New East County Library arrives in Gresham appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Several bond-funded Portland Community College campus improvement projects are progressing. The efforts are intended to modernize instructional spaces, improve wayfinding, address deferred maintenance needs, and enhance accessibility.

Voters in 2022 approved a $450 million bond measure. Currently, four major projects include a renovation of the Communications Technology (CT) Building at the Sylvania campus, a renovation of the west side of the Health Technology (HT West) Building at Sylvania, construction of a new building to hold automotive and construction technology programs and a renovation of Building 2 at the Rock Creek campus, and construction of a new health center in downtown Hillsboro.

“We also have accessibility, IT upgrades, safety upgrades, deferred maintenance, and a roof budget line item,” said Rebecca Ocken, director of planning and capital construction at PCC.

The CT Building will be fully renovated. As part of permanent relocation of “swing spaces,” the work will involve renovating the second floor of the Technology Classroom Building, renovating the Social Science Building, and remodeling select areas of the South Classroom Building.

Also, the Performing Arts Center plaza, bookstore plaza, and other common gathering areas will be revitalized to create a more accessible and vibrant campus.

The Sylvania campus entryway will also gain better accessibility, safety and wayfinding. Other improvements are planned for the area north of the CT Building, and the P11 parking lot.

“This year, we tried ‘Future Sylvania’ as an all-encompassing name to talk about not only CT, but HT West, swing spaces, the improvements to the campus entry, and all the deferred maintenance,” Ocken said. “There’s a lot going on.”

The CT Building project team includes architects BRIC Architecture and Studio Petretti, civil engineer KPFF, structural engineer VALAR Engineering of Clackamas, and general contractor Lease Crutcher Lewis. The project budget is about $65 million.

PCC officials expect construction of the CT Building project to start this fall and finish in about two years.

Meanwhile, crews are wrapping up the HT West renovation at Sylvania. Existing spaces are being enhanced to create a welcoming environment. Common spaces��are being updated to ensure accessibility and foster collaboration. Three��health care classrooms, and four��physical education rooms are being added.

Also, an inclusive locker room is being added, and the building’s��mechanical, electrical and roofing systems are being updated for greater energy efficiency.

The HT West project team includes Woofter Bolch Architecture and general contractor Fortis Construction. The project budget is around $30 million.

HT West is scheduled to reopen late this month for the spring quarter.

The construction of an approximately 14,000-square-foot building and the renovation of Building 2 at Rock Creek is in schematic design. The building currently houses career technical education (CTE) programs such as building construction, welding, and automotive collision repair as well as computer labs, general academic programs, student resource centers, collaboration spaces, and staff office and meeting areas. PCC plans to seek a land use permit to allow construction of a new building for automotive programs and construction technologies programs.

“(Those programs) will be pulled out of Building 2 and will give other CTE programs more space, and then we’ll renovate the existing building,” Ocken said.

The work will include enhancing views of the surrounding natural environment while providing more equitable spaces to support learning, and increasing wayfinding, accessibility, safety, and stormwater mitigation.

The Building 2 project team includes Bora Architecture & Interiors and general contractor Fortis Construction. DAO Architecture is designing the new building. The project budget is approximately $85 million.

Construction is expected to start in late 2027 and finish in spring 2032.

For the health center (focusing on health education and workforce development) on Block 56 in downtown Hillsboro, PCC is partnering with Hillsboro School District and Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center. The school district will own the land and PCC and VGMHC will lease classrooms and clinic space, respectively, in the building.

“We’re excited to have both Hillsboro (School District) and Virginia Garcia be such strong and collaborative partners with us with both the building and the programming that we’re offering students,” Ocken said. “We’ve had discussions for years, so finally bringing it to fruition is an exciting moment for everyone.”

The project’s budget is $20 million, with a plan for the team to seek additional funds to account for cost escalation. The budget will be revisited as the project progresses, Ocken stated in an email.

A request for bids from design firms will be issued this month and one could be selected by the summer. A request for proposals from general contractors is expected to be issued this fall.

The post PCC bond-funded upgrades advance at multiple campuses appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A health recovery facility is coming to Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District. The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved the Sobering and Crisis Stabilization Center project team to proceed with construction.

Multnomah County purchased the property, located at 1901 S.E. Grand Ave., in April 2025. The existing building will be renovated and gain a new entrance, around the corner, at 440 S.E. Stephens St.

The temporary Coordinated Care Pathway Center, at 980 S.E. Pine St., has been offering services since last year. It has 13 sobering stations, according to Multnomah County’s website. But that facility will close once the new one opens with 47 stations.

The total project cost is $29.8 million. The project team includes architect Scott Edwards Architecture and construction manager/general contractor Fortis Construction.

The facility will receive people transported by law enforcement personnel, first responders, and referral partners. Community Bridges Inc. of Mesa, Arizona, will operate the center. Services will include sobering, withdrawal management, medication-assisted treatment, deflection, and sheltering. There will be three main areas: intake, sobering, and withdrawal management. Care in the sobering area (18 stations) will be provided for up to 24 hours. Care in the withdrawal management area (29 stations) will be provided longer than 24 hours.

Trauma-informed design is being used for the 26,053-square-foot center, Multnomah County Health Department strategic initiatives manager Marc Harris said during Thursday’s meeting.

“This includes low-barrier walls (to allow) caregivers to monitor individuals,” said Greg Hockery, assistant director for planning, design and construction for the county.

The renovation will include interior demolition, beginning with the wood-framed mezzanine level. Crews will then complete a seismic upgrade to meet current building codes, install new flooring, perform an interior build-out, and install new building systems. Also, the building envelope will be upgraded with a new roof and enhanced insulation to meet Oregon energy code requirements.

Site upgrades will include adding an enclosed outdoor patio for program participants and accessible parking, regrading all drivable surfaces, and adding separate entrances for staff, law enforcement and the public.

Last year, the Oregon Legislature, via House bills 5204 and 5701, allocated $35 million to Multnomah County to support construction of a permanent sobering center able to receive behavioral health drop-offs. Some of the money went toward a building renovation for the temporary Coordinated Care Pathway Center and the rest went toward the acquisition and renovation of the permanent facility.

Approximately $14.2 million more is needed to fully fund the Sobering and Crisis Stabilization Center project. That amount will be requested from the county via its general fund over the course of fiscal years 2027 and 2028.

Construction crews are expected to be mobilized within the next few weeks. Work is scheduled to wrap up in September 2027.

The post Multnomah County advances $29.8M project in Portland appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A weekly list of the most notable commercial building and facility permits issued and received in Portland by Permitting & Development in the prior week.

Building Permits Issued:

$693,891 �� ��
Address: 6430 NE 27th Ave.��
Applicant: Dan Williams of Faster Permits��
Owner: University of Oregon
Contractor: Steve Paschal (Balfour Beatty Construction of Dallas, Texas)

Plans call for renovating a locker room to create an accessible all-user locker room. Work will involve installing an exterior vertical platform lift.

$510,000��
Address: Portland Art Museum, at 1219 SW Park Ave.��
Applicant: Carlee Quiles of Mortenson��
Owner: Portland Art Museum
Contractor: Nate Gundrum (Mortenson)

Plans call for interior and exterior guardrails, glass smoke baffles and glass walls.

$3,100,000 ��
Address: 1818 SE 82nd Ave.��
Applicant: Sermin Yesilada of Sosyal Architecture and Community Development
Owner: Multnomah County
Contractor: Buildskape LLC of Beaverton

Plans call for construction of a new temporary outdoor shelter and associated site improvements, including state certified prefabricated structures for restrooms, laundry, kitchen, offices, trash and storage. Two carport structures to provide covered space are deferred.

Building Permit Intakes:

None for any project with a value of $500,000 or greater.

Facility Permits Issued:

$1,500,000 ��
Address: 321 SW Salmon St.��
Applicant: Caitlin Hutton of LRS Architects��
Owner: Standard Insurance Co.��
Contractor: Kevin Kelly (Fortis Construction Inc.)

Plans call for landlord work on amenity space on the first floor. Work will involve demolition of walls and adding new walls to create a fitness room, a yoga room, a cycle room, ceiling, flooring, finishes, plumbing and electrical.

$970,000 ��
Address: Peter O. Kohler Pavilion in OHSU Hospital, at 808 SW Campus Drive
Applicant: Thomas Cowan of OHSU
Owner: ��Oregon State Board of Higher Education
Contractor: Kevin Kelly (Fortis Construction Inc.)

A tenant improvement on the 16th floor will involve minor demolition, remodel of operating room 15 and installation of new equipment, ceiling, flooring, finishes, medical gas, plumbing and electrical. A $963,000 alteration permit was also issued for a tenant improvement on the sixth floor. Work will involve minor demolition, remodel of operating room 15, installation of new equipment, ceiling, flooring, finishes, medical gas, plumbing and electrical. A $731,000 alteration permit was also issued for a remodel of operating room 20 on the sixth floor. Work will involve minor demolition, remodel of operating room 20, installation of equipment, ceiling, flooring, finishes, medical gas, plumbing and electrical. A $731,000 alteration permit was also issued for a remodel of operating room 21 on the sixth floor. Work will involve minor demolition, remodel of operating room 21, installation of equipment, ceiling, flooring, finishes, medical gas, plumbing and electrical.

$2,555,000
Address: 1120 NW Couch St.��
Applicant: Martha Wassweiler of GBD Architects
Owner: MEPT Brewery Block 2 LLC of Southlake, Texas
Contractor: Adan Vazquez (Swinerton Builders Inc. of Concord, California)

Landlord work will involve common-area upgrades on the second, third and ninth floors. Work will involve demolition of walls and adding new walls. The second floor will include restrooms, shower rooms, conference rooms, a break/​lounge area, a fitness center, concrete stairs with​ handrails and a concrete landing with a​ guardrail. The third floor will include restrooms. The ninth floor will include restrooms. A remodel of the third floor and ninth floors will involve the elevator lobby, hallways, ceiling, flooring, finishes, plumbing and electrical.

Facility Permit Intakes:

UNDER REVIEW
$2,165,520��
Address: Port of Portland, at 7200 NE Airport Way
Applicant: Bradlee Hersey of Faster Permits��
Owner: Port of Portland
Contractor: out to bid

Landlord work for the Portland International Airport’s headquarters and parking garage project calls for an HVAC upgrade. Work would involve minor demolition and installation of new housekeeping pads. Level 6 will include a new chain link fence with a gate. Level 7 will include a new curb and grating, ceiling, flooring, finishes, plumbing and electrical. A $942,336 alteration permit is also under review for the project and would involve installing an air handling unit, a heat recovery chiller, an air-cooled water chiller, a pump, plate heat exchangers, piping, plumbing and electrical.

UNDER REVIEW
$900,000 ��
Address: 5030 N. Greeley Ave.��
Applicant: Tim Manzella of Total Mechanical Inc. of Camas, Washington
Owner: Adidas Village Corp.
Contractor: not listed

A tenant improvement for the third floor of the Adidas Beijing/Red Building would involve mechanical seismic bracing.

UNDER REVIEW
$2,169,500 ��
Address: Kaiser Permanente Northwest Regional Laboratory, at 13705 NE Airport Way
Applicant: Breeze Griffin of Anderson Dabrowski Architects��
Owner: Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest
Contractor: Steve Paschal (Balfour Beatty Construction of Dallas, Texas)

A core line replacement on the first floor would involve demolition of walls and adding new walls to create a lab, a work area and a control area. It would also involve installing structural anchorage for new equipment, ceiling, flooring, finishes, medical gas, plumbing and electrical.

UNDER REVIEW
$790,000 ����
Address: Portland International Airport, at 7000 NE Airport Way
Applicant: Neil Lee of LEEKA Architecture��
Owner: Port of Portland
Contractor: out to bid

Plans call for a tenant improvement of Lola’s Café on the enplaning and deplaning levels. Work would involve minor demolition and adding new walls. The enplaning level would include a restaurant service area, a kitchen and a walk-in cooler. The deplaning level would include concession storage, ceiling, flooring, finishes, plumbing and electrical.

Source: Portland Permitting & Development��

See also:

• Health facility in Portland land use review intakes | July 21, 2025

The post $3.1 million outdoor shelter in Portland building permits | July 21, 2025 appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

“My biggest dream in life is that the DEI support as a job is no longer needed, but that’s a pretty big reach so I really hope that no matter what I do it supports communities in need for generations to come,” she said.

Page said she appreciates being part of a team that drives innovative DEI programs, both internal and external, for small businesses. Her goal is to grow Fortis’ small business development programs for companies they already partner with as well as ones they don’t yet.

“We have programs at job sites across the country and I would like to expand those so that the communities we reach can be greater, and we can cast a wide net and support every community that we can within it,” she said, adding, “In the world of DEI, there is nothing that any of us do alone. It truly takes a village and it feels like supportive communities building communities.”

The post Amber Page appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

It came as a bit of a surprise to SERA Architects officials that they signed the largest commercial office lease in Portland since the pandemic began. In fact, for years they sought to build, not lease, a new showcase office.

“We got serious in a few locations,” said Stuart Colby, a SERA principal who leads the firm’s workplace studio. “It’s just that there were a number of barriers.”

Instead, SERA agreed earlier this year to a lease with Galleria owner Unico Properties for the entire 42,000-square-foot top floor of the historic downtown building between Southwest Alder and Morrison streets, and Ninth and 10th avenues.

“The firm has a long history of preservation and adaptive reuse,” Colby said. “These older buildings offer a lot of richness.”

The Galleria building, completed in 1910, offers a number of other advantages. As a full-block building, it has a floor plate among the largest available in urban Portland.

“In general, a full-floor-plate building is certainly ideal,” Colby said. “Large floor plates are scarce.”

After the move, all of SERA’s Portland employees will be able to work on one floor – something that is not possible within the firm’s current space at 338 N.W. Fifth Ave. in Old Town Chinatown. SERA has approximately 150 employees in Portland (30 additional employees work in an office in Oakland, California, where the firm has done work for Google and other tech companies).

In Portland, SERA currently occupies five floors in two buildings. The firm first moved into the former Minnesota Hotel building in 2004.

Environmental reasons also led SERA to lease existing space rather than build new, Colby said.

“It’s also a sustainability issue,” he said. “Reusing these existing buildings is a huge piece of keeping your carbon use down.”

Another point in the Galleria building’s favor, Colby said, is that it received a major seismic retrofit in recent years.

“We wanted seismic safety,” he said. “Most of these cool, old buildings in Portland, most of the developers didn’t want to do a full seismic upgrade.”

The Galleria office will have more space for collaboration and creative endeavors, Colby said. The tenant improvement is meant to be something of a demonstration project for SERA.

“We’re certifying everything under the sun, at great financial and labor cost,” he said.

Separately, SERA is designing core and shell improvements for Unico Properties on all five floors, Colby said.

“We did not commingle any financial interest between the two (projects),” he said.

Fortis Construction is building out SERA’s tenant improvements. A main goal is to showcase the original skylight, while upgrading it with modern materials. The primary steel structure will remain, but the glazing frames and clear glass will be replaced with insulating glass that will feature tinting and a ceramic frit, or small dot pattern, to maintain consistent temperatures.

“Given the property’s historic significance, the overall appearance both from the inside and outside will maintain fidelity to the original skylight design,” Colby stated in an email.

SERA plans to welcome employees to the new space in June 2022. The firm is also adapting to remote work, with the expectation that employees will return to the office on some days.

“We’re working out the details,” said Cristian Asher, senior director of business development.

Firm executives are discussing the possibility of asking employees to work in the office three days a week, but no decisions have been made, Asher said.

“Again, this is a work in progress,” he said.

The post Refreshment on tap for 111-year-old Galleria appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Facebook is addressing the construction industry’s skilled labor shortage one data center at a time.

Following completion of two successful pilot programs, the tech company expanded its Hardhat in Hand job training program nationwide. One such program started in Prineville earlier this week in partnership with Central Oregon Community College (COCC) and Fortis Construction.

Thirteen people are participating in the eight-week training program. The first four weeks will be classroom instruction (provided by COCC) that covers construction basics such as using math and reading blueprints. Then participants will receive on-site training in the trade of their choice. Those who successfully complete the course will be offered a job with the general contractor or subcontractor with which they trained.

Facebook has active, multiyear data center construction projects under way in several states, said Amber Tillman, community development manager for the company. The work requires thousands of workers, so the hope is that Hardhat in Hand helps meet that need and increase the construction industry workforce.

So far, 30 to 35 participants have completed the program, Tillman estimated.

One participant, April Beatty, 44, completed Hardhat in Hand over the summer with Turner Construction in New Albany, Ohio. She had worked in a glass factory for some time before deciding to make a career change. Then, while talking to a friend in the construction industry, Beatty learned about the Hardhat in Hand program. She said she had seen construction workers driving nice cars and working consistently.

“I started asking questions about the trades,” Beatty said. “How do you get in? Do you have to buy a seat? I had a lot of questions because that isn’t information people just know.”

Though a switch to construction meant taking a pay cut initially, the industry aligned with her goals for dependable employment and higher wages eventually, she said.

The eight-week program is paid. However, it’s typically minimum wage – depending on the location, Tillman said.

No previous construction experience is required for someone to apply for Hardhat in Hand, Tillman said. Participants must be age 18 or older, possess photo identification and a high school diploma (or GED equivalent), and live close to the site location.

“I had some doubts and some thoughts that maybe I am too old, and I am a woman,” Beatty said. “There was a lot of factors that go out on a limb.”

However, participation was a supportive experience, she added.

After completing the program, Beatty entered a pre-apprenticeship with the subcontractor she trained under – Cupertino Electric.

Hardhat in Hand might be less exploratory than other workforce trainings, but its focus is really on the career path, said Tim Johnson, workforce development manager for Fortis Construction.

Prior to the program’s start in Prineville, officials offered a series of information sessions (with representatives of various trade partners present) in Central Oregon. Individuals could select a path they wanted to pursue, Johnson said, and then interview with the corresponding trade partner working on the data center. Those subcontractors then essentially became sponsors of Hardhat in Hand participants, he added.

If participants experience any issues like car trouble, insufficient gas money or a lack of appropriate work clothes, program partner East Cascades Works (Worksource East Cascades) is available to help.

The construction industry hasn’t done a great job of promoting itself to a diverse population in the past two decades, Johnson said. Now Central Oregon is seeing a construction boom, so finding skilled labor has been a challenge, he added.

“We’re just really excited for this launch and these 13 folks getting this opportunity,” he said.

The post Stakeholders open doors to construction careers appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

For DLR Group, designing its new office space in Portland became a case study.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit three months into the design phase, the firm paused and readjusted its plans.

“Because of COVID, the main reason people would go back (to the office) is to collaborate and socialize,” said Tim Ganey, principal and lead designer of the project.

The firm is relocating from the Commonwealth Building to a two-story building (with a basement) at 110 S.W. Yamhill St. A 16,000-square-foot tenant improvement is being performed by Fortis Construction.

Collaboration became the primary focus of the design, in large part because officials noticed that something has been missing from virtual collaboration meetings, Ganey said. Staffers spent months discussing the central values they wanted the new space to reflect: a culture of sharing, a culture of making, and connection to place.

The focal point will be a three-story, daylit atrium with a roof deck and an open mezzanine. It will be a place for gathering and presenting ideas.

Acoustical fins will hang from the atrium, and echo voices while dampening background noises. The fins also will divert direct sunlight, cooling and lighting the space.

The office’s layout was chosen to represent Portland via three components: the river, neighborhoods, and the grid network.

The ground floor breaks up into “neighborhoods,” where desks and small hubs are clumped together. This consolidates resources and creates multiple connection points for collaboration. But the neighborhood approach also allows work spaces to be scaled down and avoids large groups of people in one area.

Initially, the collaboration hubs were designed to have walls around them, but the pandemic shifted the design to leave them open.

“It’s lucky,” Ganey said. “Had we designed and built before COVID, then all these enclosed spaces wouldn’t be able to be used.”

The hubs are designed to be able to accommodate walls around them in the future if needed.

A main diagonal pathway representing the Willamette River runs across the office, uniting all neighborhoods and collaboration spaces. Through there, the firm will be able to display some of its work on walls.

“Being able to connect the space from front to the back was a highlight in the design process,” said Abbey Cwiek-Garrett, principal and lead interior designer.

By chance, the structure is at an angle and has a natural tectonic shift to the river, Ganey said. The neighborhoods could be positioned in a grid that shifts around the main diagonal pathway.

A motive behind the river, neighborhood and grid approach is to create movement around the office and get people up and moving. In a study with the University of California, Berkeley, DLR Group found movement in an office lends to serendipitous moments where impromptu encounters can spark new ideas.

Creating a design for the space was “a little funky,” Ganey said. There were two levels, an atrium, and no ADA accessibility.

The project turned into a design laboratory of sorts, Cwiek-Garrett said. Staffers were challenged to design better features.

A universally accessible ramp was designed to curve along the back wall and around the design library to the second floor.

DLR Group’s Portland staff also has an outdoorsy culture, which designers wanted to reflect. A vertical bicycle was built into the back corner of the office because at least 25 percent of employees ride a bike to work. A spot was also created for yoga on the mezzanine.

The new location sits along the MAX light-rail line, which is one reason the building was chosen. More than 70 percent of DLR Group employees don’t drive to work.

The project team is aiming to achieve both Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold and International WELL Building Institute certification.

“Anything that we can impact in this design to improve energy and impact on the environment, we did,” Ganey said.

Work is expected to finish in February.

The post A design firm’s new space for a new world appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A massive $790 million capital bond measure approved by voters in 2017 is paying for a lot of improvements at facilities operated by Portland Public Schools. One construction project that began this past summer is the modernization and expansion of Madison High School, at 2735 N.E. 82nd Ave.

The 62-year-old school is being mostly demolished, save for a pair of two-story classroom wings. The remainder will be renovated into modern educational space (including Career Technical Education space), while a new 1,700-seat gymnasium, new commons and new performing arts center will be built by general contractor/construction manager Fortis Construction.

Opsis Architecture and DAO Architecture collaborated on the design.

In total, the renovated school will hold 292,000 square feet of usable space and be able to accommodate as many as 1,700 students. Over 170,000 square feet will be new construction.

Recently, crews from NorthStar, Finish Line Concrete Cutting��and other subcontractors utilized an array of machinery to take down the reinforced concrete structures that comprised former gymnasium, auditorium and administrative spaces.

Project completion is scheduled for summer 2021, in time for the facility to be used for the 2021-22 school year.

The post Out with the old to prepare for the new appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

At first glance, a new $34 million building at the University of Portland doesn’t stand out from nearby structures that are well over a century old.��School officials and the building’s architects consider that a success.

Dundon-Berchtold Hall, the first new academic building to open on the North Portland campus in over two decades, was designed to be aesthetically similar to historic buildings in the vicinity.

“When driving up our main drive and seeing the building for the first time, we wanted it to seem like it had always been here,” said Jim Ravelli, the school’s vice president for university operations. “We wanted to have a classic, traditional look, yet have the features of a modern building.”

University leaders and the buildings’ donors were looking to echo design elements of older buildings across campus built in the Collegiate Gothic style, which is more typical of East Coast universities and less common of those west of the Rockies.

To achieve that goal, the university hired the design team of Robert A.M. Stern Architects, a New York-based firm with a portfolio including buildings at Harvard, Princeton and Notre Dame, and Soderstrom Architects, a Portland-based firm that has designed multiple buildings on the campus and has experience with education and faith-based design.

The building is clad in distressed brick and variegated Indiana limestone, while large oak doors in arched, recessed entries as well as a 58-foot clock tower and copper downspouts contribute to the classic look. Inside, a cathedral-like entrance, extensive use of wood molding and wainscoting, classic light fixtures and other details contribute to the sophisticated academic feel.

“This is something you would see at Yale or Harvard,” said Dan Danielson, president of Soderstrom Architects. “This is a very unique piece of architecture for Oregon.”

The L-shaped building footprint creates a large, open quad between Dundon-Berchtold Hall and Waldschmidt Hall, a 128-year-old administrative building. In order to create a cohesive aesthetic between the structures, the architects used tumbled brick on the new building for a more rustic, warm feel.

A classic appearance belies what is a thoroughly modern building equipped with high-tech features. Its 17 classrooms are equipped with drop-down projection screens and true-color laser projection, touch screen controls, digital white boards, and options for recording lectures. An 80-inch high-definition planar touch screen display is mounted in the lobby, and a student lounge has four collaboration areas with digital displays for presentations and content sharing. High-speed internet connectivity is delivered by 60 interior and six exterior wireless access points.

Green features include LED lighting, occupancy sensors to ensure lighting and air conditioning are on only in rooms that are in use, automatic window shades, and roofing materials designed to reflect sunlight and reduce the heat island effect. The university is targeting a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating.

The 65,616-square-foot building contains two stories of above-grade steel-framed space over one below-grade level. Each classroom has a capacity ranging from 40 students to over 90; some have tiered arrangements and installed furniture, and others have podiums, desks and chairs that can easily be moved and rearranged to facilitate collaboration and discussion. The building also has a 146-seat multipurpose auditorium, faculty offices, a large study lounge with a red marble fireplace, 12 formal and informal gathering areas, and the Dundon-Berchtold Institute for Moral Formation & Applied Ethics.

Dundon-Berchtold Hall opened to students in late August after 17 months of construction by contractor Fortis Construction; a formal blessing and dedication took place Sept. 26. The site formerly held Howard Hall, a gymnasium that was built in 1927 and then demolished following completion of a new recreation center in 2015.

The building’s design was formulated in part through a lengthy due diligence and study process. A steering committee co-led by the design team spent about 18 months engaging with faculty and students to discuss programming needs. Soderstrom Architects served as the prime architect, and Robert A.M. Stern was the project’s design architect.

The project team also included KPFF Consulting Engineers (structural and civil engineering), Interface Engineering (mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering) and PLACE Studio (landscape architecture).

Ravelli offered high praise for the architects, Fortis Construction, and the subcontractors and skilled tradespeople who collaborated on the building.

“They took immense pride in this project,” he said, “and many of them have described it as a once-in-a-career opportunity.”

The post Studying the classics at a university campus appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.