Construction of one of the final projects within the Con-way master plan has begun in the Slabtown neighborhood of Northwest Portland.

Freewell, a 265,000-square-foot development, is being brought to market by Cairn Pacific LLC and Prometheus Real Estate Group. A seven-story building will host 192 apartments, ground-floor retail space and underground parking. A bridge will connect to a two-story pavilion building with amenities.

The project site is Block 291 East, at 2030 N.W. Raleigh St. Freewell will front a future park to be developed by the city of Portland.

The Portland Bureau of Development Services last week issued a $44 million construction permit for Freewell. However, construction costs have increased so much since a permit was sought nearly a year ago that they’re expected to be around $60 million, Cairn Pacific principal Tom DiChiara said.

Freewell is the eighth project for Cairn Pacific in Slabtown. SERA Architects designed the development – the firm’s third for Cairn Pacific in the neighborhood; Saltwood and Saltwood North are the others.

SERA also designed Greystar‘s Slabtown Savier, which was approved by the Design Commission in December 2021. That project will occupy blocks 261 and 262.

“T��� Con-way master plan provided a blank slate to design and develop an entire neighborhood from the ground up,” SERA Architects principal Kurt Schultz stated in a press release. “Our approach when designing at neighborhood scale is to design buildings that are unique but also in harmony with the surrounding context.”

Freewell will feature brick, wood and natural materials, and the pavilion building will be constructed of mass-timber. Materials were chosen as an ode to the neighborhood’s past, when it was filled with warehouses, Schultz stated.

The 20-acre neighborhood previously was owned by the Con-way trucking company. The master plan called for creation of a 24-7, mixed-use area for people to live, work and play.

There are 17 development parcels within the Con-way master plan, and projects for 16 of them are completed or in development. The remaining block, 292 East, is a Prometheus Real Estate Group property. At this point there is no project planned for 292 East, DiChiara said, but developers are hoping it will become senior housing or something other than multifamily.

Over the past nine years, Cairn Pacific and Prometheus Real Estate Group have partnered on five mixed-use projects in the neighborhood. Freewell, their sixth joint venture, will “add a finishing touch to the district,” DiChiara stated.

R&H Construction is the general contractor. Construction is expected to finish in spring 2024.

The post Crews break ground on Slabtown project appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A new apartment complex weaves into the Con-way master-planned area of Northwest Portland. The seven-story apartment building, planned for Block 291 east, will live adjacent to the neighborhood park.

“This park is meant to be the heart of the neighborhood,” Kurt Schultz, principal at SERA Architects, said.

Prometheus Real Estate Group and Cairn Pacific are the property owners. SERA Architects is the designer and R&H Construction Co. is the contractor.

Project Freewell‘s site has two buildings on it designed to respond to the park next to it. The stand-alone two-story pavilion building lends as a step stool for the 192-unit apartment complex down to the park.

The pavilion building will be constructed out of mass-timber wood and host a fitness studio, community room and a maker’s studio. It’ll also have an art gallery, which will be open to the public on the first Thursday of each month.

The design’s goal is to “let the park roll into the buildings,” Schultz said.

The apartment complex is a 5-2 with wood framing over concrete — the seventh-floor sets-back to open up to the park. The building is 235,000 square feet, including a 120-lot basement parking garage.

The complex’s ground floor will have retail spaces, a lobby, building amenities, and a few residential units. Live-work units will also be available facing the park.

Schultz said the challenge was creating a building that meshed with the park and addressed the neighborhood association’s needs.

The neighborhood association suggested that the two-story amenities building would give the park light and help keep the space open.

Construction on the project plans to start in December 2021 and will be finished by 2023.

“It’s really hard to create a new neighborhood from scratch but it’s a great opportunity,” Schultz said.

On the Boards is a 91��Ƶ feature offering a look at the projects in Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact Alex Jensen at ajensen@djcoregon.com.

The post On the Boards: Freewell Con-way Master-Planned Project appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.