Construction of a new, 59,900-square-foot indoor aquatic center at Northgate Park in Portland is on track to begin next year. The design calls for a 35-meter, approximately 8,600-square-foot competition pool and an approximately 5,500-square-foot recreation pool.

The North Portland Aquatic Center will be built in the park’s northwest area, and parking will be built in the northeast area. The park is at 9415 N. Geneva Ave.

Scott Edwards Architecture designed the approximately $91.5 million project for Portland Parks & Recreation. The project team also includes civil engineer Vega Civil Engineering, structural engineer WDY Inc., landscape architect Mayer/Reed, and construction manager/general contractor Howard S. Wright. Interface Engineering is the HVAC and fire protection engineer; it also provided energy modeling. Reyes Engineering is the electrical engineer.

Approximately 70,000 people will be served by the aquatic center, according to Portland Parks & Recreation projections. Of that population, 24 percent are Black, Indigenous, or people of color, and 14 percent live below the federal poverty line, the project’s website states. The facility’s programming will include swimming lessons, water fitness classes, lap swimming, competitive swimming, training classes, and open play.

The competition pool will have 13 lap lanes, and the recreation pool will have a slide, a lazy river, and some play equipment, Scott Edwards Architecture principal Jesse Graden said. There will be some spectator seating on the mezzanine level overlooking the competition pool. Also on that level, overlooking the recreation pool there will be rentable rooms for parties and other events.

Other indoor amenities will include multi-gender and non-gender locker rooms, and family changing rooms.

There will be covered bike parking at the front entrance and bus stops at the facility.

The main entry will connect to North Fessenden Street, north of Northgate Park, Graden said. That entry will feature a paved plaza space providing pathways for people walking, biking or traveling by bus on Fessenden Street or by car or LIFT bus via the parking lot, Portland Parks & Recreation spokesperson Mark Ross stated in an email. The plaza will include native plantings, new trees, seating areas and views of public art installations outside of the center.

A secondary entrance on North Geneva Avenue will be dedicated to staff and athletes.

“School buses that might be arriving for a swim meet would go to that separate entrance,” Graden said.

A major goal for the project team was to reach underserved communities that have historically been excluded from public pools or felt unwelcome in public spaces. Via community engagement, the team sought to create a welcoming facility for everyone, Graden said.

In response to community members’ comments, the design team is working with the Regional Arts and Culture Council to engage local artists in different design opportunities for the building. The team is still developing a strategy for locating artwork.

The building’s arrival will reduce the park’s green space, Graden said, but there will be new landscaping, including trees and plantings. Some existing trees will be preserved. Also, other park amenities in the area — a soccer field, a playground, a tennis court, walking paths and restrooms — will remain.

Building materials for the facility’s interior will include exposed wood elements as well as a mass-timber roof, Graden said.

The exterior will be composed of metal siding as well as masonry. There will also be some rooftop solar panels.

“There will be a lot of windows — some high windows, clerestory windows in the natatorium in particular for natural lighting,” Graden said.

The estimated start date for construction is fall 2027. Crews are expected to finish work sometime in 2029.

On the Boards is a 91��Ƶ feature offering a look at projects in Oregon and Southwest Washington being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91��Ƶ reporter Hilary Dorsey at hdorsey@djcOregon.com.

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All Classical Radio completed an ambitious transformation of its new home on the third floor of downtown Portland’s KOIN Tower, creating a facility that seamlessly integrates broadcasting studios, office space and a performance venue.

The project involved demolishing existing spaces in the Class A office building to create new offices, open work areas, production studios, a breakroom, reception area and performance space. The renovation extended beyond the third floor, with installation of a new roof antenna, generator and basement condensing unit.

Acoustic isolation proved a central challenge for the project team. The performance space and studios feature cutting-edge technology, including spring isolators, resilient channels and strategically layered materials to prevent sound transfer through walls, floors and ceilings.

The performance space’s orientation, dimensions and shape were calculated to enhance acoustics. The design integrates absorptive, diffusive and reflective panels alongside carefully selected finish materials to achieve ideal sound balance.

State-of-the-art recording studios located at the back of the performance room allow All Classical Radio to record and live-stream audio and video of weekly performances. A 16-foot by 9-foot LED screen surrounded by maple wood paneling creates an immersive experience for virtual audiences. There is a dedicated recording studio specifically for ICAN (All Classical’s International Children’s Art Network) where children centered radio is programmed and recorded.

Each studio features Sound Transmission Class rated walls, doors and windows to ensure complete sound isolation. The Terminal Operations Center houses the radio station’s broadcast capabilities, including over 30 miles of cabling connecting to roof-mounted antennas.

The project team faced significant coordination challenges working within an occupied building. Howard S. Wright meticulously coordinated mechanical, electrical and plumbing pathways with existing systems and structure to minimize disruption.

“All Classical Radio’s new media arts center offers increased opportunities to uplift the arts community and stimulate the regional economy, and its downtown location is helping to revitalize the city of Portland,” said Suzanne Nance, president and CEO of All Classical Radio, in the project nomination form. “The unique and complex scope of this buildout is a stunning example of all that can be accomplished through bold imagination, creative collaboration, and grit!”

M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust of Vancouver, Washington, provided a $750,000 grant for the project – the station’s largest in more than 40 years of operations.

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An approximately 6,000-square-foot Multnomah County Library branch will soon receive improvements and grow to around 15,000 square feet.

Bora Architecture & Interiors designed the $28 million project for the Belmont Library, in Portland at 1038 S.E. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. It’s one of several library upgrades made possible by voters’ approval of a $387 million bond measure in 2020.

Plans call for fully renovating the original, 100-year-old brick building and constructing a two-story addition to the north, along Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard. The building footprint will extend into the existing parking lot, but some short-term parking will be preserved.

The project team also includes structural engineer��Valar Consulting Engineering, civil engineer��Vega Civil Engineering and general contractor��Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty company. Construction is set to begin next month.

The Belmont Library is served by public transportation and lies along a bicycle route in a greenway on Southeast Taylor Street, Bora Architecture & Interiors principal Jeanie Lai said. As part of the project, bike parking will be increased. Also, the sidewalk along Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard will be widened to 15 feet to improve pedestrian access.

The original building’s exterior will be preserved, and wood trim will be repainted. Also, the building will be seismically upgraded to current building codes with all new systems. Interiors will be refreshed in accordance with the building’s original character.

“Belmont Library is a community gem, uniquely reflecting the vibrant spirit of Southeast Portland,” reads Bora’s design concept statement for the project. “Like a geode, its coppery-textured addition harmonizes with the exterior of the original 1924 building, while the light-filled, warm interior fosters well-being, creativity, and connection.”

The addition’s exterior will have reddish-copper-colored custom metal panels, while its interior will feature engineered glulam columns and beams, as well as cross-laminated timber panels.

Currently, the library does not have a lot of seating areas and is popular for holds. The design calls for increasing both seating areas and flexible community spaces to accommodate library programming, Lai said.

The original building will house the children’s collection, with an expanded interactive play area and a middle readers annex. The building will also include a public lactation room and an all-ages restroom.

The addition’s ground floor will feature a main entry leading into an open lobby envisioned as a community “living room,” Lai said. It will include staff areas and an automated book sorting machine. The second floor will house a large, open reading room with the library’s main collection, open computer stations, flexible community rooms, study spaces, various kinds of seating and a dedicated teen area.

“The west façade will showcase window seats and perches, a design feature that was inspired by community feedback,” Lai said.

The project went through an extensive community engagement process that involved 3,000 participants, Lai said. As with other Multnomah County Library projects, the organization hired community design advocates to connect with other community members and learn how the library could represent them. Focus groups, public meetings and surveys provided community input as well.

The library will close to the public on Sept. 7 so that construction can start. While work takes place, a temporary location at 3557 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. will serve the community. Beginning Sept. 9, this branch will offer limited services, including holds/pickups, Lucky Day items, 24/7 book returns and free wireless printing.

The expanded library is scheduled to reopen in late 2025 or early 2026.

On the Boards is a 91��Ƶ feature offering a look at projects in Oregon and Southwest Washington being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91��Ƶ reporter Hilary Dorsey at hdorsey@djcOregon.com.

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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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Howard S. Wright has announced a new president of the Northwest Division. Troy Dickson, a Portland-based executive, will replace Dan Peyovich.

“I am honored to follow in Dan Peyovich’s footsteps and continue his outstanding leadership and performance for our operations in the Northwest,” Dickson said in a statement.

Balfour Beatty operates as Howard S. Wright in the Northwest.

Dickson will provide oversight for the Oregon and Washington offices. He will work alongside the local leadership teams in both offices to help leverage collaboration.

“Troy has been instrumental in expanding the Portland business and a leader in the Northwest for the past 23 years,” Leon Blondin, Balfour Beatty’s U.S. executive officer, said in a statement. “He is a known advocate who supports and mentors our top talent and shares our company’s people-first mentality. We are excited to support and welcome Troy in his role with full support of our leadership teams across the nation.”

Dickson is known for his hands-on leadership that provides local team members with direction and support to ensure each project’s successful delivery.

He helped direct the pursuit and delivery of the Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building’s renovation and modernization, which was named one of AIA COTE top-10 examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions in 2014. His resume also includes The Portland Building reconstruction, Broadway Tower, Museum Place South Development, Eliot Tower, the Elizabeth, and ODS Tower.

Dickson is a graduate of the University of Alberta with a degree in Civil Engineering and is a licensed Professional Engineer and LEED Accredited.

“I look forward to being a part of Balfour Beatty’s national executive leadership team in providing strategic oversight and support to our team members, clients and partners,” Dickson said in a statement. “With safety, operational excellence and our people-first commitment as our focus, I am proud to serve our teams locally and nationally in the successful and essential delivery of projects across our community.”

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It was at a national company meeting in Miami that Skanska USA Building‘s Steve Clem heard of a program to save the lives of opioid abusers in the construction industry.

A manager in the construction giant’s Boston office talked about opioid addiction and how it affects the construction industry in that city. He also explained naloxone, a potentially life-saving drug that can reverse opioid overdoes if properly administered.

“For some reason it just resonated with me,” said Clem, who serves as a senior vice president for project planning services and sustainability in Skanska’s Portland office.

He brought his concern about opioid overdoses to the SafeBuild Alliance, a nonprofit based in Gresham that provides construction safety education and training. Clem serves on SafeBuild’s board.

SafeBuild Alliance soon launched a program in partnership with the Oregon Health Authority, which provides kits for administering the medication but not the drug itself. Member companies are responsible for supplying the naloxone, administered as a nasal spray, at a cost of about $75 per two-pack. SafeBuild Alliance conducts training with construction workers and works with a Multnomah County physician to provide naloxone, which is also known by the brand names Narcan and Evzio.

Clem said he’s not aware of any local incidents of jobsite opioid overdoses. Nevertheless, Skanska has placed the antidote at jobsites since last summer.

It makes sense to get ahead of the problem, said Karen Blythe, executive director of the SafeBuild Alliance.

“There have been overdose situations I’ve heard of — not necessarily in the Portland area — but we know there’s an opioid epidemic here. So it’s just a matter of time, and we want people to be aware and know how to respond,” Blythe said.

Besides Skanska, other major contractors including Mortenson Construction and Howard S. Wright have participated in the opioid overdose training program.

Opioid addiction has hit the construction industry particularly hard as doctors overprescribed the medications for muscular-skeletal injuries and chronic pain, which are common among construction workers, said Cal Beyer, director of risk management for Lakeside Industries in Issaquah, Washington.

Prescriptions for opioids such as oxycodone and hydrocodone surged in the U.S. Abusers found the drugs could be crushed and snorted.

The drugs have been a key element in the “deaths of despair” that have lowered life spans around the nation, Beyer said. “Opioids made the existing issue with mental health and suicides a perfect storm,” he said.

The stigma around mental health issues extended to opioids, while illegal drugs still attracted far more public attention, Beyer said. More recently, awareness has improved, leading many doctors to tighten their opioid prescription practices and to more treatment and prevention programs.

SafeBuild launched its program earlier this year, and the plan is to make it an ongoing effort. “We have every intention of providing more training in 2020 and to raise more awareness,” Blythe said.

Training materials tell responders to first check for breathing and attempt to awaken the person who may be overdosing. After that, they’re instructed to call 911, begin chest compressions and then use naloxone if the victim has not responded.

Blythe compared naloxone to the automated external defibrillator units that many workplaces keep on hand in case of heart attacks.

“It’s part of their first aid, like they would use an AED,” she said. “It’s part of their first aid training.”

Responders won’t do any harm by using naloxone, even if the person is not overdosing, said Clem. “It’s another tool,” he said.

Naloxone’s shelf life is about 18 months. Skanska will donate any unused doses to clinics, allowing them to use it before it expires, Clem said.

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Work was halted for a couple of hours Tuesday at the Block 216 construction site in downtown Portland after a crew hit a natural gas line, a fire bureau official said.

The gas line was on Southwest Alder Street between Ninth and 10th avenues, next to the Galleria building, Battalion Chief Scott Beyers said.

No injuries were reported.

Crews were attempting to access a vault that contains a valve to shut off the gas, Beyers said. Emergency responders were waiting on keys to access the vault.

The gas line break occurred at about 11 a.m. on Tuesday. Alder and Washington streets were closed to vehicle traffic. None of the nearby buildings were evacuated, Beyers said.

“From everything we can tell, (the gas) is escaping into the atmosphere,” he said. “It’s not migrating as best we can tell.”

Fire and NW Natural officials were monitoring the airborne gas reading in neighboring buildings.

Work resumed around 1 p.m., and streets were reopened.

Construction crews are performing shoring and excavation work for the Block 216 tower, a 35-story building for BPM Real Estate Group. Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty company, is the general contractor.

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A shoring and excavation permit was issued Tuesday for the Block 216 project, allowing work to begin on the 35-story, 460-foot-tall tower in downtown Portland.

Excavators will have to go deep enough to make room for five floors of underground parking.

Block 216 will be the tallest building constructed in Portland since 460-foot-tall Park Avenue West was completed in 2016. The only taller buildings in the city will be the Wells Fargo Center, U.S. Bancorp Tower and KOIN Center.

The $600 million modern concrete and glass tower will have approximately 844,117 square feet of interior space, including Ritz-Carlton hotel rooms and condominiums, and offices. A food hall is planned for the ground floor along Southwest Ninth Avenue, where the Green Loop is expected to materialize eventually.

A spokesman for developer Walt Bowen’s BPM Real Estate Group could not immediately be reached for comment.

The project team hosted a ceremonial ground-breaking event earlier this month.

The full block at Southwest Ninth and 10th avenues and Alder and Washington streets was until June 30 home to Portland’s largest food-cart pod, with more than 50 carts.

The��Portland Design Commission��approved��GBD Architects‘ design��in December. The project team also includes general contractor��Howard S. Wright, a division of��Balfour Beatty; interior designer��HKS Architects��and landscape architect��PLACE. The Goodman family’s��Downtown Development Group��owns the property, and has agreed to a long-term ground lease.

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An audit of the Portland Building rehabilitation project released Wednesday by city Auditor Mary Hull Caballero found a lack of transparency in the project’s budget amid a 10 percent cost increase. In addition, the audit faults the city for failing to distribute nearly $1 million in funding set aside for minority contractors and falling short of meeting certain goals and aspirations set for the project.

The massive renovation is forecast to be completed ahead of schedule, but costs have grown to an estimated $214 million, 10 percent more than the initial $195 million budget. The design/build/relocate team of Howard S. Wright and DLR Group began work on the three-year project in late 2017.

According to , the project team in late 2016 began eliminating elements from the scope of work in order to stay within the allotted $195 million budget. Those exclusions included tenant improvements on two and a half floors of office space and a first-floor child care center, as well as furnishings and technology equipment. Four months later, the project team began requesting funding to add back those exclusions as separate projects outside the given budget. While the project team was open about the individual funding requests, the audit finds, it was not transparent about the cumulative cost of the add-backs and the resulting escalation of the overall project cost.

The audit also found that the city has yet to disburse about $950,000 in project dollars set aside for equity grants aimed at addressing historical inequities in contracting and improving workforce diversity. In July 2016, City Council approved setting aside $1 million, about 1 percent of the project’s hard construction costs, to be dispersed periodically throughout the project in support of disadvantaged subcontractors and workers. Aside from a $50,000 contribution in late 2018 to a Metro workforce study, no other community benefits grants have been awarded.

A grant opportunity announced in April 2018, using funds from the Portland Building project and two other city projects, drew 39 applications, including 12 Portland Building-specific proposals. Despite available funds and interested applicants, the audit states, the city’s Office of Management and Finance did not award any funds as scheduled by October 2018, and as of the end of the calendar year had not communicated with applicants about the status of their applications or informed them as to why the grants were not awarded.

While the project is on track to meet minimum requirements – including elimination of moisture penetration, seismic upgrades and HVAC replacement – the audit found that discussions were not held with City Council or the project’s oversight committee about what has been done to reach beyond minimum requirements to achieve advanced goals and aspirations set forth in the project charter. Examples provided in the audit include aspirations and goals likely to not be met in the building’s accessibility, sustainability and historic preservation.

A response to the audit issued by Mayor Ted Wheeler and Tom Rinehart, the city’s Chief Administrative Officer, states that the project team has been open about items proposed outside of the budget, and that furnishings, technology equipment and child care center build-out were never part of the project scope. Also, the response states, the undisbursed equity funds will be released once the Community Opportunity and Enhancement Program is established through Prosper Portland, as directed by City Council.

The audit is a follow-up to a 2016 report issued under Caballero while the project was still in its planning stage. That report predicted that the project scope could narrow because of the city placing constraints on the project’s timeline and budget, leaving the scope the only project element open for flexibility.

The Auditor’s office will follow up in one year with recommendations made in the audit. Also, a separate audit of the construction contract is under way, with results due to be reported later this year.

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Peter Meijer lost the battle to preserve the Portland Building‘s façade, but the local architect has been recognized for his efforts.

Docomomo US recently gave Meijer its 2019 Advocacy Award of Excellence. He “played a pivotal role in speaking up and advocating for the sensitive preservation of the Postmodern icon,” the organization stated.

“It’s quite an honor for me to receive it,” Meijer said in an interview. “It’s a bit bittersweet in that it’s an advocacy award for preservation of a building for which the conversation went a different direction.”

The Portland Building was designed by Michael Graves and completed in 1982. A $195 million project is under way to renovate and modernize the city building. Work includes repair and replacement of the exterior.

The imposing concrete-faced building, in the face of criticism, represented a key moment in architectural style, Meijer said. Graves “essentially started the postmodern movement,” he said.

“The local community overwhelmingly hated that building, whereas the national and international community recognized it as a piece of (postmodern) work,” Meijer said.

Postmodernism is a new front for historic preservation advocates as the buildings reach 40 or 50 years old.

“It was trying to start the conversation about the appropriate approach to postmodern buildings when they have reached a time, an age where when they need to be invested in,” Meijer said.

While it’s relatively easy to muster public support for preserving the Pittock Mansion or Pioneer Courthouse, the idea of preserving a building that hadn’t reached its 40th birthday is a tougher task.

“The easiest buildings to justify saving, and putting a lot of effort and treasure into saving, are those that people have loved for a long time,” said Tim Eddy, president of Hennebery Eddy Architects. “They’re buildings that people relate to; there’s seldom any argument there. It’s also important to save buildings that are markers of our past and our architectural legacy.”

Docomomo has continued to document the work to dismantle the Portland Building’s façade as the project has continued.

“Not all preservation advocacy efforts result in a positive outcome, but these efforts would never happen in the first place without one person carrying the banner, holding the megaphone, taking the lead, and Peter has exhibited that strongly in this case and throughout his career,” Docomomo US Director Gunny Harboe stated in announcing Meijer’s award.

Meijer served as the founding president of Docomomo’s Oregon chapter, which was created in 2012. The group has lobbied for the preservation of other architecturally notable Portland buildings, including Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The original Portland Building project was affected by the city’s budget and came as the nation was suffering from an energy crisis.

“It was a public competition and the city had ‘X’ amount of dollars, and it was built for ‘X’ amount of dollars,” Meijer said.

The building was not fully executed according to Graves’ vision, said Peggy Moretti, executive director of Restore Oregon.

“It just presented some very unique challenges and is an example of cutting some corners,” she said.

Restore Oregon has not focused on restoring postmodern buildings, instead favoring midcentury modern ones and those from other architectural periods, Moretti said.

“Every era has its good and its bad examples,” she said. “There are going to be important (postmodern) examples that are definitely worth preserving, and others where choices will be made. It’s something I think we’ll be thinking about the next 10 years.”

Building renovation approaching completion

The Portland Building renovation is on time and on budget, according to a quarterly report from the Community Oversight Committee. However, the project is likely to fall short of meeting goals for participation by minority and emerging small business contractors, according to the committee’s fourth-quarter 2018 report. Overall equity goals were on track.

“Social equity remains a source of concern as it appears that the team’s individual social equity goals for subcontract utilization will not be reached,” the committee stated. “The committee has recommended various forms of outreach to ensure more subcontractors can access the project.”

A spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Finance could not be reached for comment.

Howard S. Wright is the general contractor for the project. The city expects to commission a survey of all subcontractors contacted during the bidding process regarding their experience, according to the report.

City bureaus are expected to move back into the Portland Building in November, with a “soft opening” to the public scheduled for Dec. 16. A grand opening and media day will follow in January 2020. – Chuck Slothower

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