Hotel construction is red-hot in Portland these days, and one of the projects under way is the sizable Hyatt Centric Portland in the West End of downtown, at the corner of Southwest 11th Avenue and Alder Street.

The 15-story, 215-room hotel is being built on a quarter-block parcel that formerly held a three-story office building occupied by the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. Mortenson, the design-build contractor and lead developer, purchased the property in 2017 after it was declared surplus by United Way.

Construction has moved quickly since demolition of the office building in March 2018.

“It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago, no,” Mortenson Construction project manager Angie Helfert said. “We’re topped off, we’ve got enclosure basically run up through 13 and we should be enclosed on three through 15 in the next week and a half or two.”

Now, the construction site is swarming with up to 80 craft workers daily, Helfert said. Substantial completion is expected in approximately six months.

“We’ve got our elevators starting in the next month, we’ve got curtain wall starting in the next month, and the GFRC (glass-fiber-reinforced cement panels) on most of the elevations of the building, those are starting next month as well,” she said. “Rough-in is in pretty much every phase from starting tile and all the way through. It’s all over the boards; some of the (mechanical) equipment is already set, so we’re moving.”

On nearly all floors as well as the rooftop, where a mechanical penthouse is being constructed, carpenters from Anning-Johnson, Mortenson’s crews and workers from other firms are installing metal framing. Meanwhile, ironworkers are installing steel staircases and other elements, and electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians are installing mechanical equipment. Also, glaziers are installing windows on floors 13 and higher.

SERA Architects designed the hotel to hold more than 131,000 square feet, including some 3,000 square feet of meeting space. The Hyatt Centric is intended to appeal to younger businesspeople interested in exploring the city instead of hunkering down in their rooms.

A destination restaurant will operate on the ground floor, in a space facing Alder Street.

“There’s an operator on board, but they’re probably about a month out from announcing,” Helfert said. “We are super excited once the restaurant operator announces. They’re a local, and we finished the design for that space, so that will open at the same time as the hotel.”

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Staton Cos. crews are demolishing a quarter-block office building in downtown Portland to make way for a new 15-story hotel. The 90-year-old, three-story building at the southwest corner of Southwest 11th Avenue and Alder Street formerly was occupied by the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette; it has consolidated its office space into an adjoining building on the southeast quarter of the block. The new building will be a 220-room Hyatt Centric hotel designed by SERA Architects. Mortenson is the design-build contractor and lead developer of the project.

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Mortenson Construction started the year with 20 people in Portland and says it’s on track to finish with 70.

Since 2012, when just three staffers worked in Portland, the national firm has delivered local projects for AC Hotel and the Port of Portland. The firm last year contributed to the local building boom by handling construction�� of its own 9,000-square-foot office in the Crane Building in the Pearl District. The location was in part selected to appeal to current and prospective employees, Portland general manager Dan Mehls said. Adaptive reuse techniques were used to show off preferred building methods.

“We never thought about doing it any other way,” Mehls said.

Minnesota-based Mortenson has been active in the Pacific Northwest since it opened its Seattle office in the early 1980s. Expansion into the Portland market was strongly boosted with the award of a major hotel project at the Oregon Convention Center.

Mehls acknowledges the company has an advantage in that it can pull staff from other Mortenson offices around the country to meet project needs.

Storyline Apartments

The Storyline is a 14-story, 147-unit market rate apartment building at 1133 S.W. Market St. in downtown near Portland State University.

Amenities include a dog-wash station, fitness center, common room, lounge, rooftop viewing area, and bicycle storage and a cleaning station. The design by SERA Architects is described as modern with original touches such as white stucco, black vinyl windows, a glass canopy and an aluminum storefront system.

Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center

Mortenson is preparing to start heavy work just north of the Oregon Convention Center on the 600-room Hyatt Regency hotel. The $240 million project will add 440,000 square feet to the Lloyd District, one of Portland’s fastest-growing neighborhoods. Mortenson is the project’s design-builder as well as the developer.

Coos Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant

Mortenson was recently selected by the city of Coos Bay as construction manager-general contractor to build a new wastewater treatment plant and tie it to the existing plant across the street. The new plant will include an influent pump station, headworks, sequence batch reactor system, equalization basin, ultraviolet disinfection system, an office/laboratory and shop/garage. The project team also includes CH2M.

United Way Hotel Project

The 15-story hotel will add 221 rooms to downtown Portland. The United Way of Columbia-Willamette is developing the project in partnership with Mortenson and Melvin Mark Brokerage. The lobby will include retail space and multimedia art displays. Work is expected to start at the end of the year and conclude by summer 2019.

Mortenson Portland headquarters

Mortenson’s fast-growing Portland office recently relocated to a custom space in the Crane Building at 710 N.W. 14th Ave. in the Pearl District. To provide the lumber used in the office, Mortenson purchased and deconstructed a 100-year-old barn in Colton. The reclaimed Douglas fir was used on workspaces and for trim around the 9,000-square foot office. Other authentic touches include an antique refrigerator used as a decorative piece on a stair cap and a conference room table fashioned from an 1890s-era door from an East Portland estate.

Builder’s Choice is a 91��Ƶ feature offering a look at the projects being tackled by local architecture, engineering and construction firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91��Ƶ construction reporter Garrett Andrews at 503-802-7226 or gandrews@djcOregon.com.

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Plans for a new 15-story, 221-room hotel at the corner of Southwest 11th Avenue and Alder Street won conditional approval from the Portland Design Commission by a 4-3 vote��on Thursday.

Despite the close vote, there was widespread agreement among the commissioners that SERA Architects had made major strides with the design since its first appearance in July 2016. The major point of contention was whether remaining issues with Mortenson Development‘s project should be addressed via the Design Commission’s involvement.

Jeff Roberts, a SERA Architects associate, contended that major design progress had been made and that the remaining issues didn’t warrant another meeting before the commission. He said he believes the team can address the issues by working with city staff under conditional approval.

“I am completely respectful of the commission’s opinion,” he said. “I think we have shown you a very extreme, modern (side) and a very conservative side. I think we have made a very good faith effort to find a middle ground and advance the building a long way.”

The main problem remaining, commissioners said, lies with the design of two sides of the structure. While they liked window-heavy plans for the north and east sides, they decidedly disliked designs for the south and west facades.

“It looks like nobody’s home,” Commissioner��Tad Savinar said. “I think it deserves one last pass.”

Commissioners said they want to see the walls modified in a way that distinguishes the structure because they will be prominently visible aspects.

“They have come a long way,” Commissioner��Don Vallaster said of the project’s designers. “Why not take it over the finish line instead of stopping 10 yards back. It’s also (an) important location and important part of the city.”

Design Commission Chairman David Wark added, “Given the fact that this is a 100-year building, I think the two facades on the street could use that one last push to get that energy and have more to them and not have so much repetition.”

Roberts agreed that the two walls in question could be improved.

“We need to go back and work through that with staff and advance it in a meaningful way,” he said, “but to spend another month going back through and getting back on the calendar to look at those two elevations, I would prefer to keep moving.”

Other commissioners agreed that needed changes could be handled by city staff with conditional approval.

“I do have some reservations,” Commissioner��Julie Livingston said. “Does it merit a trip back?”

Commissioner Jessica Molinar��said conditional approval was appropriate.

“This is already adding quite a lot,” she said. “Maybe it’s not in the design that we would necessarily think is the optimum design, but it is already adding a lot more than most of the buildings in the neighborhood, so I feel comfortable.”

In the end, Wark, Vallaster and Savinar voted against issuing project approval. However, four of the commissioners – Sam Rodriguez, Andrew Clarke, Livingston and Molinar – decided that the issues could be addressed with conditional approval. The conditions included changing the type of wood used on benches along Southwest 11th Avenue as well as modifications to the south and west walls. Additional minor conditions involved floor area ratio and the extensions of canopies from the wall on the ground floor.

Also on Thursday:

1825 N.W. 23rd Avenue

Works Progress Architecture‘s revised design for a five-story mixed-use building received approval by a 5-0 vote of the commission. Developer Parker McNulty’s plan calls for 64 market-rate apartment units, parking for 55 cars and ground-level retail space.

City staff had recommended approval; however, commissioners attached conditions that included lowering the header on the garage door on the west side of the building as much as possible. Commissioners also required a cutoff on the light fixtures in the ceiling in order to prevent light from spilling into neighbors’ yards.

1440 S.W. Taylor St.

The commission voted 7-0 to approve Leeb Architects‘ design for a seven-story mixed-use building. Eric Evans Shelter Holdings‘ plans call for 107 residential units, 21 parking stalls, 95 bike spaces, a rooftop amenity deck and ground-floor retail space.

The commission added several conditions, including relocation of the door of the northernmost live-work unit as well as a change of the garage’s east wall to brick where visible and block where not. Also, metal panels within that wall must be changed to a perforated metal.

Southwest Park Avenue and Columbia Street

GBD Architects‘ design for a seven-story mixed-use building at the corner of Southwest Park and Columbia was approved 5-0 by commissioners, with two abstentions. The Downtown Development Group, through Front & Pine LLC, is planning to put 73 residential units in the 85-foot-tall, one-quarter-block structure.

The only conditions are that glazing be added to the bike room and that the sill of a window near live-work units be lowered.

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The final documents have yet to be signed on the dotted line, but United Way of the Columbia-Willamette may have found a buyer for part of its property at 619 S.W. 11^th Avenue.

Marcie Willms, United Way’s director of marketing and communications, said the agency is in talks with a buyer. However, Willms said she couldn’t comment on the pending sale because it hasn’t been finalized.

“Earlier this spring we started receiving unsolicited offers for the space, something United Way has considered over the years,” she said.

The United Way office is actually two buildings joined by a common façade, she said. One building was built in 1928; ��the other was built in 1979. The combined buildings have the same address.

Although Willms ��doesn’t know the prospective buyer’s plans for the property, she did say that if the older building is demolished, United Way would move all of its offices into the newer building.

The nonprofit agency also in negotiations with a different buyer for a 10,000-square-foot parking lot it owns at Southwest 13^th Avenue and Southwest Washington Street, she added.

The sale of the properties in no way reflects United Way’s financial status, Willms said.

“We are in great standing right now,” she said.

United Way currently occupies the entire third floor of the two joined buildings. About 10 other tenants fill up the bottom two floors and the basement, Willms said.

“Our plan, should the sale go through, is to occupy multiple floors,” she said.

Several years ago, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette formed a subcommittee to explore the possibility of selling its property.

“The time wasn’t right, but when we began to get offers this spring, it caused the subcommittee to reconvene,” she said.

Melvin Mark Brokerage is handling the sale.

“Both parties have said ‘no comment’ while the final sale is being negotiated,” Peter Andrews, a Melvin Mark broker, said.

Last month, an application for a pre-application conference for the Southwest 11^th Avenue site was submitted to the city by Mortenson Development Inc. The application, submitted by Nate Gundrum of Mortenson on July 31, calls for the demolition of a one-quarter block building to be replaced with a new 221-room, 15-story hotel.

Gundrum did not return phone alls regarding the application.

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