When developers Wylie Gibbins and Taylor Kaplan were searching for an underserved multifamily market, they looked to Gresham.

The east Portland suburb had several factors in its favor. Rents were rising to the point that new development could be supported, and job growth was surging – in part because of the arrival of an Amazon warehouse in Troutdale and Vista Logistics Park in Gresham.

Gibbins and Kaplan, who met while working at Williams & Dame Development, formed Gibbins Kaplan Development in 2017. The business partners found they had complementary skill sets, with Gibbins focusing on finance and investor relations, and Kaplan working with architects, contractors and city officials to launch multifamily projects.

Having found a suitable market, the developers next needed access to capital, so they turned to some bigger fish in the business.

Like many industries, real estate development faces a generational gap. Older, established developers enjoy many advantages – typically a long record of successful projects, deep relationships with investors, architects and contractors, and more resources to marshal bigger and more profitable projects.

Younger developers like Gibbins, 42, and Kaplan, 34, sometimes must become a bit scrappy to find opportunities. Enter the older, more established developers.

Gibbins Kaplan Development partnered with Urban Asset Advisors on two multifamily projects in Gresham: The Archibald and Douglas Grove.

“We basically rode shotgun with them on the project,” said Tim O’Brien, president of Urban Asset Advisors. “We helped them where we could, and otherwise stayed out of the way.”

O’Brien introduced Gibbins and Kaplan to one of UAA’s longtime lenders, helping the newer developers access debt.

“We helped raise the equity for the project from local, private investors. Then we went and signed on the bank loan with them,” O’Brien said.

Gibbins Kaplan Development this past summer completed Twelve Mile Crossing, an 82-unit complex in Gresham, in partnership with McKenzie River Company. The complex has 10 three-bedroom units in addition to one- and two-bedroom units. All are occupied.

“There’s a big demand for that (unit size) and a lack of that in Gresham,” Gibbins said.

Now, Gibbins Kaplan Development has forged a partnership with another Portland developer, Capstone Partners. They plan to break ground in June on Arts Plaza Apartments, a 97-unit project in the heart of downtown Gresham expected to be completed in summer 2023. Then construction of West Powell Apartments, a 48-unit complex, is slated to begin in late summer, with completion scheduled for fall 2023.

“Part of my interest is to help promote a good project, but also to help smaller developers,” said Chris Nelson, president of Capstone Partners.

For Gibbins and Kaplan, the partnerships have enabled them to get rolling on projects and establish their firm as a player in the workforce multifamily market.

“We’ve been very fortunate with both Tim and Chris that they’ve provided a lot of mentorship in addition to partnership,” Kaplan said.

Gibbins Kaplan Development does not plan to rely on other developers for long, however. The firm recently closed on another property at 405 N. Third St., that they envision holding their first solo development. The Gresham Arts Plaza property will have approximately 20 units.

The firm has also kept projects moving by using a small roster of industry firms. MWA Architects has designed every Gibbins Kaplan Development project to date, which helps the design process run smoothly, Kaplan said.

“We know we’re not going to have a big surprise,” she said. “Everybody’s done this a few times.”

Douglas Grove and The Archibald were built by LMC Construction. Team Construction, based in Vancouver, Washington, built Twelve Mile Crossing and is performing preconstruction for the projects with Capstone Partners.

Rents in Gresham do not yet support podium construction, Kaplan said, unlike in Beaverton and Hillsboro. To make the Gresham projects financially feasible, the buildings are designed with a minimal amount of steel on the first floor.

“Not only are steel costs going up, but the lead times are going up as well,” Kaplan said. “Designing projects that are responsive to materials’ (cost) increases is increasingly important for controlling your (total) costs.”

Douglas Grove and The Archibald were envisioned as short-term holds. They were put on the market on Jan. 27 by JLL.

All of Gibbins Kaplan Development’s subsequent projects are in an Opportunity Zone and are part of Opportunity Zone funds. As such, they are expected to be 10-year holds to reach the threshold that allows investors to forego paying tax on the capital gains.

Gresham has five contiguous Opportunity Zones. The tax break has helped get Gibbins Kaplan Development’s multifamily projects off the ground, Gibbins said.

“Out here, I think it’s spurring development as the program is intended to do and producing workforce housing,” he said.

Opportunity Zones have attracted criticism for encouraging investment in areas that already had attracted developers’ interest, including Portland’s West End, where a 35-story Ritz-Carlton tower is under construction, and fast-gentrifying areas of West Oakland, California, and San Francisco.

Other developers, including Palindrome Communities and Wood Partners, have targeted Gresham for multifamily development.

“There continues to be a lot of interest in Gresham as a whole, but certainly multifamily,” said Eric Schmidt, assistant city manager for the city of Gresham.

Gibbins and Kaplan have learned how to smoothly navigate the city’s approval processes, Schmidt said.

“They’ve been a great partner with the city,” he said.

The multifamily projects align with the city’s need for more housing, Schmidt said.

“They do great work,” he said. “Each project is just getting continually more dialed in.”

Gibbins and Kaplan said Gresham had been supportive.

“She’s able to key decision makers in Gresham on the phone on the weekend,” Gibbins said of Kaplan, “which doesn’t happen in every jurisdiction.”

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In east Multnomah County, near the edge of the Columbia River Gorge, winds can sometimes become especially strong. The city of Gresham accounts for that in its development code.

The team building Archibald Grove Apartments, a 37-unit complex at Southeast Stark Street and 202nd Avenue, now knows that.

“There’s a 135 miles per hour wind load zone out here,” LMC Construction Superintendent Cameron Grieb said. “One block down it’s 120, so we had to completely re-engineer everything at a huge cost to the owners.”

LMC Construction is serving as general contractor for the project; it’s being led by Gibbins Kaplan Development, a relatively new firm founded by a pair of former executives from Williams/Dame & Associates. MWA Architects designed the complex.

Footings measuring 4 feet wide and 18 inches thick – far larger than the usual 18-inch-wide and 12-inch-thick footings used for three-story buildings of this type – were used for Archibald Grove.

“There’s a lot more hardware, a lot more hold-downs, a lot more straps,” Grieb added. “Even inside the floor system, I’ve never had to put hurricane clips and blocks on the floor joists before.”

Breezeways will connect the seven buildings at Archibald Grove and host apartment entrances, which will be shielded from surrounding street frontages. Wood framing is being used over slab-on-grade concrete foundations. Glass-fiber-reinforced concrete wall panels and metal panels are planned for the exterior.

On Monday, Precision Truss & Lumber began delivering roof trusses to Archibald Grove as a contingent of carpenters from Wood Mechanix continued to frame and sheath the buildings.

“Right now it’s just the framers,” Grieb said. “The plumbers want to work from the top and work down, and they should be in here soon.”

Grieb noted that Gibbins Kaplan Development did not necessarily choose the cheapest design or look to excessively value-engineer the project. He cited the roof as an example.

“It has huge gable ends,” he said. “If they went to a hipped roof type they would have saved themselves a lot of money. It’s a lot more lumber, a lot more braces, a lot more hardware. It’s going to give it a good look, but they could have saved a lot of money.”

Slightly north of the Archibald Grove project site, Gibbins Kaplan Development is working on a similar project – the 25-unit Douglas Grove Apartments. Both projects are expected to be completed by February 2020.

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