Workers are now renovating the observation deck of the Oregon State Capitol, which offers arguably the best panoramic view in Salem.

A four-man crew from Pioneer Waterproofing Company began removing the terra cotta tile from the circular platform around the pedestal of the Oregon Pioneer on Monday.

Demolition is expected to take about two weeks, and the goal is to finish the project by the end of August, according to general contractor Hoffman Construction.

The flashing along the deck’s inside wall also will be removed. The flashing and the tile will be replaced with similar materials — terra cotta for the floor and stainless steel for the wall — preserving the familiar look when public tower tours eventually resume.

For generations, visitors of all ages have climbed the steep, 121-step spiral staircase to reach the observation deck. But the view from the deck has been essentially limited to construction workers since spring 2022.

Access is limited to guided tours, which pass through unmarked doors and a hidden corridor above the rotunda to reach the summit about 122 feet above the ground — the equivalent of more than 10 stories.

The destination provides an up-close look at the 23-foot-tall, 24-karat gold-leaf covered pioneer statute, aka the Gold Man, one of Oregon’s most recognized and beloved icons.

Just as much of a draw is the breathtaking 360-degree view of Salem and beyond. On clear days, visitors can see for miles, even simultaneously spotting Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams.

Work on the 48-foot-diameter observation deck is overdue. The flooring is more than 30 years old; it was previously replaced in the early 1990s.

The demo crew made quick work of the tile on Day 1 but still had multiple layers of concrete and waterproofing material to get through using a roto hammer.

After demolition, a crane will lower bagged debris from the deck and lift new materials in place, and a new waterproofing membrane will be installed before the tile. The crane is scheduled to be on-site July 28; State Street will be closed that night.

Officials monitored the forecast closely, waiting for a rain-free window to waterproof the area and protect the restored rotunda murals below.

The rotunda underwent structural reinforcement, surface restoration and artistic preservation during the $596 million Capitol Accessibility, Maintenance and Safety (CAMS) project.

The observation deck work is part of the CAMS project and includes new drains and new LED lighting, which already has been installed. The stairwell will be repainted after deck work is complete.

The current four-year pause in public tower tours ranks among the longest in recent Capitol history.

In 1988, tours were suspended over concerns about toxic asbestos insulation and the structural integrity of the upper dome. Before that work was finished, the 5.6-magnitude “Spring Break Quake” in Scotts Mills shook the Capitol in 1993.

The rotunda sustained severe cracking and bulged outward by about three feet. Cracks in the mortar around the Gold Man’s marble base allowed the 17,000-pound statue to shift a fraction of an inch.

By late 1994, crews had completed work to strengthen the rotunda walls and the upper dome below the statue. The Gold Man also was seismically retrofitted.

Tours of the tower resumed in July 1995, after a nearly seven-year absence.

The Capitol’s recent multiyear construction project included additional reinforcements to the rotunda and the connections securing the statue, causing the current pause in tours.

The last school tours of the tower took place in spring 2022 before the Capitol closed for CAMS. Before that, the Capitol was closed for 16 months during the pandemic.

It is unknown when the tours will resume, or if at all this year. The tour season typically wraps up at the end of September. Capitol officials recommend checking the event calendar prior to visiting at Oregoncapitol.com, where tower tours will be listed.

When they resume, reservations will not be required; however, space will be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no ADA access, and tours will be canceled if it is raining or temperatures exceed 85 degrees.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in The Statesman Journal and then was distributed on the USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

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The Portland Design Commission has approved design review of plans to replace the existing Ida B. Wells High School with a new 289,500-square-foot building on the south edge of the 35-acre site. The school is located at 1151 SW Vermont St., Portland.

The design review was approved last week with a conditional of approval that requires four public access easements, two press box options (a one-story and two-story alternative) and two options of either a textured or smooth thin brick for the building’s exterior.

Bora Architecture & Interiors designed the project for Portland Public Schools. The project team also includes Access Architecture of Vancouver, Washington (associate architect, Walker Macy (landscape architect), KPFF (civil and structural engineering), PAE Engineers (MEP), and general contractor Hoffman Construction.

There were three design advice request hearings on the proposal since 2024, with the last held last February.

The new high school building is proposed to be three stories with a fourth level on the west side, as the building form steps down the sloping site, the staff report states.

The new building will be built on the south edge of the site along Vermont Street. It will be constructed while the existing building remains open for students. The project will be developed in phases and some of the features of the site, such as a practice field, baseball field and tennis courts, will be relocated. A new track and field will be developed in the same space as the existing field.

An existing community swimming pool, operated by Portland Parks & Recreation, will remain open on the site. Becca Cavell, associate principal at Bora Architecture & Interiors, said the project will provide a new pool support building because facilities, such as locker rooms and showers, are currently in the existing Ida B. Wells High School. Portland Public Schools plans to coordinate with Portland Parks & Recreation for athletes to use the facilities when the pool is not open.

The final design of the new high school includes a thin brick combined with glass fiber reinforced concrete with both textured and non-textured options. The design team is pursuing the textured brick and keeping the smooth brick as a backup option.

“I think I’ve been convinced about the rough textured brick,” Commissioner Brian McCarter said. “It looks really, really promising in the renderings.”

Chelsea McCann, Walker Macy’s managing principal, said there will be two main outdoor spaces: at the main entry and a student courtyard and terrace on the west side.

“I think the part of the building with the main entry connecting visually and physically to the student terrace beyond is really compelling,” Commissioner Sarah Vaz said.

Pedestrian connections across the site will be improved and will include three north/south connections, including a sidewalk on the east side of the west parking lot between Rieke Elementary and the high school, a mid-campus connection between the football field and the pool facility and a third connection at the far eastern side of the campus.

There will be two crosswalks south of the main entry on each side of the intersection.

On the Rieke side, the design has provided some community access for bicyclists and pedestrians, while keeping safety in mind. Vehicles will not be able to use the Rieke driveway as a cut-through during school hours. For bicycles, there is a bike route around Rieke Elementary School. Outside of school hours, cyclists can either continue to use that route or share the roadway.

“I really appreciate the attention to public realm,” Vice chair Joe Swank said. “And I think the design team’s done a really good job of solving for Rieke Road in particular.”

On the north campus entry, there will be a raised, widened pedestrian crosswalk. There will also be some improvements to the back of the stadium, such as adding seating and signage.

Cavell said the design does not include a cover to the grandstands, due to cost, but is planning for a possible future roof, which would be part of a future land use review process.

There was some concern from Commissioner Sarah Vaz regarding screening of mechanical equipment on the roof and that the equipment might be visible in faraway views. Commissioners Swank and Chair Chandra Robinson felt that the equipment would not be visible.

Up next for the project is a Type III conditional use hearing that is for July 22 by the city’s hearings officer, as the project requires both design review and conditional use review.

Construction is estimated to start in December, with the new building being complete in summer 2029 and the athletic fields in fall 2030, according to Portland Public Schools’ website.

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Skyrocketing diesel prices are reverberating through the construction industry, leading contractors and subcontractors to boost their bids as well as project cost increases.

“It’s significant,” said Mike Salsgiver, CEO of the Associated General Contractors‘ Oregon-Columbia chapter. “(Diesel) prices have effectively doubled or more since March. So, it hits the economy overall and the industry badly.”

For contractors and subcontractors, the costs are unavoidable. Diesel runs nearly everything on a typical jobsite, from backhoes and excavators to dump trucks and cranes. Diesel also powers the cargo ships, trains and trucks that bring building materials to a site.

Diesel fuel in Oregon averaged $6.04 per gallon at retail on Tuesday, according to AAA‘s Fuel Gauge Report. That’s up 46.5 percent from a year ago, when prices hovered close to $4 a gallon. Retail prices have dropped recently, down about 21 cents per gallon in the past month.

There’s little that contractors can do to avoid paying higher diesel costs, Salsgiver said.

“The work is the work,” he said. “We’re always making strides on making equipment more efficient, but (for avoiding costs), the immediate answer is not really.”

Project owners are noticing the effects. In April, the Oregon Department of Transportation paid contractors about 1 percent more than expected if fuel prices had remained unchanged.

ODOT uses a “fuel escalation/de-escalation” clause in its contracts. Contractors do not have to build in extra costs to cover fuel price increases after they submit a bid. Instead, ODOT adjusts payments after a project begins construction based on a monthly fuel price index.

“We expect prices to change, and our contracts make allowances for price fluctuations,” ODOT spokeswoman Katherine Benenati stated in an email message.

ODOT paid $4.66 per gallon in May, up from $2.51 a year earlier — a nearly 86 percent increase.

If prices remain high, the situation could eat into project budgets for major multibillion-dollar projects such as the Interstate 5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, and the efforts to replace the Interstate and Burnside bridges.

Diesel price spikes are likely to hit large road and infrastructure projects the hardest, said Macrina Wilkins, director of market insights for AGC of America. That’s because diesel is used in the manufacturing processes for road materials, in addition to the work itself.

So far, AGC is tracking a modest escalation in costs.

“What we’re seeing is a slight uptick in the price of a bid or project,” she said.

Energy prices grew 10.1 percent in March and 7.8 percent in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics‘ Producer Price Index.

“I would expect — as with any supply shock — you might see it begin to trickle into other areas,” Wilkins said.

Adding to contractors’ caution is the uncertainty of the United States’ ongoing conflict with Iran, industry officials said. It’s not clear when oil will resume flowing through the Strait of Hormuz at normal rates.

Salsgiver said he expects this price spike to endure longer than the 2022 disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This one is dragging out a lot longer,” he said. “Certainly, as long as the situation in Iran is what it is, it’s going to last a while.”

Salsgiver added, “I’m not an economist, but I talk to economists, and they do not see an early end to this price spike.”

Contractors have so far largely taken the increased costs in stride. Dan Drinkward, vice president at Hoffman Construction, said the effects are hard to discern by general contractors. Subcontractors may notice the price spike first, he said.

“I would expect it to be a driver of escalation,” Drinkward said, adding that it’s only one component of increased costs across the industry. “For the most part, it’s a second-degree driver of escalation.”

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Portland’s Historic Landmarks Commission on Monday unanimously approved plans for to alter the two lower levels of the 12-story Selling Building for the James Beard Public Market.

The building is located at 610 S.W. Alder St. The project also includes modifying space in an adjacent building at 622 S.W. Alder St. The entire façade of 622 S.W. Alder St. and the first two stories of the Selling Building are being reconstructed to provide new market entries.

The project team includes lead architect and architect of record BCV Architecture + Interiors of San Francisco, local architect COLAB Architecture + Urban Design, civil engineer Humber Design Group, and general contractor Hoffman Construction.

The project is valued at $1.6 million, according to Portland Permitting & Development.

Market programming will include vendor stalls, prepared food vending spaces, a restaurant anchor tenant, a teaching kitchen/cooking school, common space for community events, common seating areas throughout the market, trash and vendor storage, and a rooftop bar with covered seating.

The Historic Landmarks Commission previously provided the project team with design advice during a hearing in May 2025. The design for the market’s western portion (622 S.W. Alder St.) was approved by staff in late February, said Ben Nielsen, senior city planner for Portland Permitting and Development.

Monday’s hearing was a type III historic resource review for proposed exterior alterations to the market’s eastern half — in the historic Selling Building, which was built in 1910.

“The alterations will essentially restore the lower two levels of the building to their historic states,” Nielsen said.

Alterations include replacing granite cladding, storefronts and windows on the ground floor and second floor with new polished black granite cladding, new aluminum storefronts, and new awnings on the ground floor and with new wood windows and terra cotta cladding on the second floor. Glass fiber reinforced polymer cladding was proposed as an alternate design. A sign band proposed above the new storefronts will be composed of black, back-painted glass with bronze lettering and decorative trim.

The historic storefront at Spella Caffè will remain, as will portions of the lobby entry to the Selling Building.

Hans Baldauf, founding principal at BCV Architecture + Interiors, said the firm is working with a terra cotta manufacturer — Gladding McBean, of Lincoln, California — that provided the original terra cotta for the building. The decision to use an alternate material came down to cost and technical matters, Baldauf said, adding that it looks promising for the team to use terra cotta for the project.

“The resin approach gives us that fallback,” Baldauf said.

The proposal includes two modifications related to signage. One increases the maximum area allowed per sign and the other increases the maximum area allowed for all signs. Ordinarily, total signage cannot exceed 250 square feet; the proposal calls for a total of approximately 282 square feet.

Commissioners voiced support for the proposal, specifically on restoring the two levels of the building, the multiple storefronts, the signage and the conditions of approval.

Construction of the market began this past fall. It’s on track to open next spring.

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When teams from two of the region’s largest construction companies put their heads together, big things happen.

Skanska and Hoffman Construction partnered together in 2017 to deliver the largest public works project in the region’s history: Portland International Airport’s Terminal Core Redevelopment. The project is one of the most complex jobs many construction workers will see in their careers. The firms assembled a team of all-stars with unmatched PDX experience, large project experience and international aviation expertise. A “project first” culture included a strong focus on safety. The $1.75 billion Phase 1 opened in August 2024.

The renovation doubled the ticket lobby size and features a groundbreaking nine-acre mass timber roof, the largest such project in the United States. The roof structure, designed to withstand a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, consists of 14 prefabricated rectangular pieces weighing 18 million pounds total. The project prioritized sustainability, using locally-sourced Douglas fir from within 300 miles of the site. One million of the 3.5 million board feet for beams, lattices and plywood panels came from 13 local landowners, including four Tribal lands.

The renovation, which created 4,700 jobs and 5.5 million work hours, is tracking LEED Gold certification. Some 288 subcontracts were awarded to MWESB certified firms – 20 percent of the total subcontract dollars.

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Hoffman Construction, the largest construction company in the region, is vacating its long-time headquarters office in Portland‘s central business district.

According to a report in the Oregonian on Saturday, the company will depart from its current space in Fox Tower, located at 805 S.W. Broadway, once its lease expires in 2025.

Hoffman Vice President Dan Drinkward did not disclose the new location where the company intends to relocate or the specific reasons for its departure from downtown. He did mention, however, that the company has outgrown its current space, which encompasses an entire floor of Fox Tower along with portions of two others.

“Over the last few years Hoffman has doubled in size and added a significant amount of employees both in our offices and job site,” Drinkward told the Oregonian. “That growth has led us to engage in a review of all of our offices and facilities.”

With approximately $1.8 billion in companywide gross billings in 2021 (including $964.4 million in local gross billings), Hoffman stands as the largest construction firm in the region, employing roughly 660 individuals.

A multimillion-dollar expansion project is underway at Hoffman’s Northeast Portland facility. This location houses several of the firm’s subsidiary and related companies; however, the headquarters will not be relocating to that facility.

Hoffman’s decision to move aligns with a trend of various companies departing from downtown Portland in recent years. Some of these firms have cited safety concerns and the higher costs associated with the city’s core. Another contractor, JE Dunn, declared last year that it would be leaving its Pearl District headquarters to establish new offices in the suburbs.

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Each year, the 91��Ƶ editorial staff compiles a list of the contractors, engineers and architects that are shaping skylines and redefining the industry through their outstanding work. This year’s Power Lists features 20 companies that are leading the AEC industry into 2023 (in no particular order).

GBD Architects

GBD Architects is behind some of Portland‘s most recent mega-projects. Highlights include Block 216, a 35-story giant rising out of the city’s downtown; the eight-acre RiverPlace master plan development near the South Waterfront District; and the 30-story RiverPlace tower. The firm’s most recent large-scale work is a proposed 22-story tower in the Pearl District.

Andersen Construction

Andersen Construction has served as the contractor for several of Portland’s recent tall multifamily developments. Projects include Alta Art Tower, a 21-story, 314-unit mixed-use tower; the Sutton (previously “Fremont Place”), a 17-story apartment building; and the Alamo Manhattan Blocks that include a 23-story mixed-use tower and a six-story mixed-use building.

LEVER Architecture

LEVER Architecture is one of Portland’s leading architecture firms in mass timber with projects such as Albina Yard and Redfox Commons. Now it is turning this early innovation into a maturing excellence. The firm hit a significant milestone in 2022 when Portland’s Design Commission approved Sandy Pine, a planned 12-story mass-timber tower. If built, Sandy Pine will be the city’s tallest timber development.

ZGF Architects

As the largest architecture firm in Portland, ZGF Architects has taken on some of the city’s most high-profile projects. Recent highlights include the ongoing $1.95 billion Portland International Airport Main Terminal Core project that features a nine-acre timber roof as well as the PAE Living Building – poised to be the world’s largest commercial living building.

Carleton Hart Architecture

Carleton Hart Architecture is one of Portland’s most prominent firms for designing affordable housing developments. It is a cornerstone of the firm’s mission-driven focus. Projects in recent years have included Nesika Illahee, Mamook Tokatee and Red Rock Creek Commons. One of the firm’s most recent endeavors consists of the complete renovation of the Joyce Hotel in downtown Portland into permanent supportive housing.

PAE Engineers

PAE Engineers is the “brain” behind the recently completed PAE Living Building, which is slated to be the world’s largest living commercial building. Sustainable systems designed by PAE allow the four-story building in Portland to be primarily independent of any city systems. PAE also provided mechanical, electrical, fire protection and technology system design and engineering for the University of Oregon’s modernized Hayward Field, which recently hosted the World Track and Field Championships.

KPFF

KPFF is the engineering firm behind some of Oregon’s largest commercial projects – and more. Work includes Block 216, Oregon State University’s Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building (91��Ƶ Project of the Year 2021), Portland International Airport’s (PDX) Concourse E extension, and the PAE Living Building.

Howard S. Wright

Howard S. Wright is the general contractor behind the largest building in Portland since the U.S. Bancorp Tower – Block 216. At 844,117 square feet, the project will likely become the largest Portland building of its era. It will house 158,000 square feet of office space, a five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel with 215 rooms, and 138 residences.

Walsh ��DzԲ��ٰ��ܳ��پ��Dz���

Walsh Construction is the general contractor for many sustainable and complex projects and myriad affordable housing developments. The contractor recently constructed the four-story PAE Living Building, which required that every item be thoroughly researched and approved against a list containing the “worst in class” materials, chemicals and elements concerning human health and the ecosystem. More than 2,700 materials were vetted for the project.

LMC Construction��

Affordable housing has become a cornerstone of the Portland-metro development market. Many general contractors tackle such projects, but LMC Construction is behind most. More than two-thirds of the contractors’ work is building affordable homes. Projects include Red Rock Creek Commons, Nesika Illahee and Cathedral Village Apartments.

Hoffman Skanska JV

Hoffman-Skanska is the joint venture contractor formed to partly undertake the $2 billion modernization of Portland International Airport. At the heart of this endeavor is the $1.95 billion main terminal project that involves a new nine-acre, mostly cross-laminated-timber roof structure. The entire roof will weigh about 18 million pounds. A self-propelled modular transporter capable of carrying a submarine is being used to move each section into position. Officials anticipate the roof being fully installed soon and the entire terminal updated in 2025.

Kiewit

Kiewit Corp. is known for tackling projects that would be described as large, massive, and complex. All three terms represent the general contractor’s current undertaking with the Abernethy Bridge project that spans the Willamette River. The venture involves drilling more than 200 feet into the earth below the water to place new bridge foundations capable of withstanding a significant seismic event. It is the first major interstate freeway construction project in Oregon in nearly 45 years.

TVA Architects

TVA Architects is one of Oregon’s most high-profile firms, and few others have placed as large a stamp on the state. Projects include Park Avenue West, Fox Tower, and the University of Oregon’s basketball palace – Matthew Knight Arena. Most recently, the firm designed the Sutton (previously called “Fremont Tower”) – a 17-story residential tower under construction on the banks of the Willamette River.

R&H Construction

R&H Construction is building some of Portland’s largest multifamily developments. Projects include Freewell, Saltwood South and Tiller Terrace – a six-story, a 214-unit development in the Goose Hollow neighborhood. Recently, R&H broke ground on Splash Apartments – the first phase of the five-acre Pop Blocks development.

David Evans Enterprises

Oregon’s largest engineering firm, David Evans and Associates, has worked on a wide range of notable projects in the state. Recent highlights include the Newberg-Dundee Bypass, in which the firm designed two new bridges and seven support structures. DEA’s work on the Oneonta Tunnel rehabilitation project also earned . The 2017 Eagle Creek Fire severely damaged the tunnel and rendered it unusable until DEA’s work allowed it to reopen in spring 2021.

Harper Houf Peterson Righellis

Regarding transportation infrastructure improvements in Oregon, Harper Houf Peterson Righellis is one of the key players. The firm is behind the Clackamas Regional Center improvements, which involved widening a bridge that spans Interstate 205 at Sunnyside Road, as well as the Willamette Falls Drive streetscape improvements project that topped the transportation category for the 2022 ACEC Oregon Engineering Excellence Awards.

��Mortenson��

Mortenson is a general contractor with a long reputation in Oregon for building challenging and unique projects. Recently, the contractor has undertaken a significant renovation of the Multnomah County Behavioral Health Resource Center – a 116-year-old building in downtown Portland.

SERA Architects

SERA Architects has worked on some of Portland’s largest multifamily developments in recent years. Projects include Freewell, the Saltwoods, Tiller Terrace and more. Most recently, SERA drew up Slabtown Savier, a two-building multifamily project under construction in Northwest Portland.

BORA Architects

BORA Architects is behind several notable projects in Oregon, including the Cosmopolitan – a 28-story residential tower in Portland’s Pearl District and the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact on the University of Oregon’s Eugene campus. One of the firm’s most recent undertakings is the modernization of Lincoln High School in Portland; It is one of the first high-rise schools west of the Mississippi River.

Swinerton��

Swinerton is a leading general contractor for mass-timber innovation in Oregon. Recent projects include the Wingspan Event and Conference Center in Hillsboro, Steeplejack Brewing in Portland, and Oregon State University-Cascades’ Edward J. Ray Hall in Bend.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story implied an incorrect association for Swinerton to the Beaverton Public Safety Center project. Swinerton was the mass-timber subcontractor for the project.

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At 7:53 a.m. on Friday, countless eyes focused on the west side of Oregon State University‘s Reser Stadium in Corvallis.

“Five, four, three, two, one … fire in the hole!” a Hoffman Construction crew member yelled. “Let’s do this, coach.”

“Let’s do this!” OSU Athletic Director Scott Barnes replied.

At that moment Barnes turned two switches and ignited explosives laid in the stadium’s base. A series of small blasts and loud pops followed – and the large structure fell backward.

Crowds cheered and dust filled the air.

“The most exciting three and a half seconds of my life,” Barnes was heard saying in the background of the video. It’s viewable online at .

The implosion is part of a $153 million stadium renovation. Friday’s event went exactly as planned, according to Steve Hatch of Dykon Explosive Demolition Corp. The 100-foot-by-120-foot structure was leveled with slightly more than 200 pounds of explosives – a small amount for Dykon, he said.

Crews started loading the explosives days ago after months of preparation. Two different kinds of explosives were used: dynamite and another designed by NASA. The latter ones, used to cut through the stadium’s steel columns, were originally designed to go through bolts on spaces shuttles as they jettison fuel tanks on takeoff.

Shortly after the dust cleared, Staton Cos. crew members began making roadways through the rubble so that recyclable materials could be extracted, Hoffman superintendent Mark Rado said. A week or two will be needed to prepare the site for wider access, he added.

Then K&E Excavating will start excavation on the north end and move south as Staton finishes its work, Rado said.

“Very exciting time,” he said. “I’m still on a high right now; I don’t know about everybody else. But that worked great. We are really happy with the outcome.”

Construction of the stadium’s new west side is scheduled to wrap up before the start of the 2023 football season.

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PDX Next – the ambitious, five-year, $2 billion effort to improve and expand Portland International Airport – is now in full swing. While construction of a new main terminal will surely stand out, some smaller projects – relatively speaking – also are taking place to expand passenger concourses on both the north and south sides of the airport.

Concourse E, home to Southwest Airlines, is complete. And work is moving quickly on Concourse B for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. A Hoffman Construction/Skanska USA Building joint venture is serving as the general contractor for both the main terminal project (“T-Core”) and Concourse B. The latter will feature 11 new passenger gates – five with raised, enclosed walkways connecting to aircraft, and six ground-level ones for smaller commuter planes.

“Normally CCB (Concourse B) would be a giant project for the Port, and it’s dwarfed by T-Core,” said Scott Sparman, a construction manager for the Port of Portland. “It’s a long overdue upgrade for these particular customers.

“The old structure was more of a temporary structure. There were some B gates up here in the existing part of the concourse that served the larger aircraft, but now we’re going to have more capacity here.”

Concourse B was designed by ZGF Architects, and crews broke ground in early 2020. The structure will feature a massive amount of glazing wrapped around a stout, seismically enhanced steel framework erected by ironworkers with By Design Steel. The two-story concourse will largely function as a single story, with a wraparound upper-level walkway on the north side allowing access from the main terminal. From there, people will reach the lower level via stairs or an elevator. Food and drink will be available from businesses such as Screen Door and specialty coffee roaster Good Coffee.

“We’re still going to have the main processing of passengers in the old room there,” Sparman said. “And then passengers are going to flow down here and get on their gates.”

Right now, the new concourse is still open to the elements. But Snyder Roofing is installing the roof and Western Partitions is quickly framing the exterior walls; mechanical, electrical and plumbing work is ongoing throughout the space. Work on the building envelope is expected to finish over the summer. The Port expects the new terminal to be ready for use sometime in November.

The narrow, ground-level gates for Horizon Air that extend eastward almost seem separate from the rest of the project. But those, too, are now enclosed and undergoing MEP work.

“There are a lot of things opening this fall, so we’re going to sequence that,” Sparman said. “It does look like there’s a lot to do, but we have the hard part done. The rest of it is finishes, building envelope, and that’s coming in May. In another month this is going to look like something you could just hang out in.”

Concourse B will eventually have a custom art installation crafted by Ryan Feddersen, a Native American artist based in Tacoma, Washington. Crafted entirely from wood, the installation will cover the concourse’s south wall at ground level.

So far, Sparman said, the most difficult aspect of the Concourse B project is its location. It sits between an active taxiway on the south side and TriMet‘s MAX light-rail infrastructure on the north side. Those transportation corridors have remained in full service during construction.

“Erecting steel (and) bringing in materials through a security checkpoint, that’s the biggest thing,” he said.

“It’s not dissimilar to Concourse E, where it’s between a taxi area and a roadway,” Port of Portland spokeswoman Kama Simonds added. “There are similar constraints, just on the other side of the airport.”

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The main high school in St. Helens, around 35 miles northwest of Portland, consists of four separate buildings built in the 1950s and ’80s – but not for much longer. A large-scale renovation is planned to connect three of the buildings and modernize all four.

Soderstrom Architects is designing the school improvements, which are being paid for with money from a $55 million bond approved by voters last year. Hoffman Construction is the general contractor for the project.

Roughly 12,000 square feet will be added to fill in gaps between three of the school buildings. That new space will hold additional classrooms and administrative offices, and allow enrollment to increase from 850 students to around 1,300.

St. Helens High School sits along Gable Road in a linear arrangement, with covered exterior walkways. The design calls for a single, loaded corridor to run through the buildings in order to unite them. Usually when people think of corridors, they’re not a special place, Soderstrom Architects Associate Andy Bonesz said. But this one will be twice the size of an ordinary one, he added, and become the backbone of the whole school.

One difficulty, Soderstrom Associate Meagan Baker said, is the site’s slope. From Building A to Building B, for example, there is a 12-foot height difference. The challenge, she explained, is ensuring there is a flat surface for doors to open onto. Ramps are being incorporated for areas where there are significant changes in elevation.

“We didn’t want it to make it feel like this narrow passageway and wanted it to make it feel like a big room, Bonesz said.

The corridor, he added, will not only be a way of passage but also a place for students to hang out.

The school’s interior will also be modernized. The three connected buildings, Baker said, will be divided into three different sections based on the surrounding natural resources: water, forest and basalt.

Building A, which houses most of the public spaces – the cafeteria, gyms and auditorium – will have a water theme. The cafeteria’s ceiling, for instance, will feature shades of blues on the acoustic baffles to resemble water flowing.

Then in Building B the theme will transition into a clean, crisp landscape representing a rock quarry. The neutral landscape and color palette will be used for computer science and art classrooms.

Building C holds most of the classrooms and the media center. Its “tree of knowledge” is meant to indicate where the school is rooted. Most of the material in the space will either be wood or look like it. The focal point will be a 16-column circular array with skylights – a design intended to resemble a tree canopy.

Building D, where shop classes take place, will remain separate so students and teachers have more room outside to work on projects. But that building will be updated as well.

The design team is weighing options for ceiling heights in some spaces, including the media center, Bonesz said, to potentially create a warmer and more intimate feel.

“Tall ceilings are good for feeling grand, but you can get lost in them,” he said.

For the interior, Baker and Bonesz said they’re looking to use materials that are durable, require low maintenance and are cost-effective.

The additional sections’ exteriors will have a brick skin that matches the existing buildings.

The team is about 75 percent done with design development, according to Baker. The plan is for builders to break ground in late summer or early fall, she said.

Construction is expected to require approximately two years. At this point, work will take place even if students and staffers occupy the building this fall.

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