The Portland Design Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to approve plans for the Lincoln High School replacement project, which will transform a historic institution in the Central City. Commissioners showered praise on all aspects of the design, including its context, public realm elements, and quality and permanence.

Designed by Bora Architects and landscape architect Mayer/Reed, the replacement consists of a six-story, 102-foot-tall building providing 281,000 square feet of educational and support space, a new athletic track and field, and a teen/parent center.

During design advice sessions previously, commissioners asked for activation of the ground floor, and the design team responded. A walkway lined with stream-like pebbles will cut between the school building and the track on a north-south axis. On the side of the track and field, trees will be cut back to allow pedestrians to view any activities that might be taking place, further engaging the surrounding community with the school’s sports teams.

The new building itself will have red concrete panels meant to resemble the original building’s bricks, keeping a historic look for a very modern building. Large glass windows will enclose a staircase at the school’s northwest corner, at Southwest Salmon Street and 18th Avenue. This will give a transparent and active feel to the area, as people on the street step in unison with those climbing stairs inside the school.

“It’s masterfully done,” Commissioner Samuel Rodriguez said. “It really walks the line between what was and what is, and it’s a building of its time.”

The project will have an eco-roof, which is required by the city for buildings of this size. However, the surface area has been reduced from 60 percent to 28 percent. The design team compensated by providing more than 60,000 square feet of plantings at ground level to serve the same purpose. Commissioners said the green space is better used at ground level, and will add to the public realm, which is an important aspect of such a project.

The roof will instead feature maintenance machinery, which neighborhood residents previously stated would be a bit of an eyesore. Testimony from one resident led the Design Commission to delay a vote until the design team decided to go forward with a screen that will hide the rooftop mechanical units from public view.

With public attendees swayed in favor of the project, commissioners decided to vote whether to approve the land use application – and all six in attendance affirmed the design.

“Context and public realm are so well integrated in this proposal,” Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. “It definitely is the best response for the kids.”

Ground will be broken on the project in February 2020, according to the design team.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story erroneously described both the building’s exterior and its roof.

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A $245 million modernization of Lincoln High School in Portland is in the works, even though construction won’t technically start for nearly a year.

Hoffman Construction is seeking sub-bids for installation of aggregate piers, one of the first steps in carrying out site work for the project. The deadline for submissions is 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 2. There is no pre-bid meeting scheduled.

According to Portland Public Schools, design and permitting for the project will continue through fall 2019, with the first of two phases of construction planned to last from summer 2020 through summer 2022. This would see the construction of the new high school building on the west side of the campus. It will be crowned by a multi-story tower that will house the main entrance to the school and a host of academic programs.

The project is considered a full rebuild of the existing school, and students would move to the new facility in fall 2022. The project would continue until fall 2023, with construction of new athletic fields and demolition of the old school building.

Bora Architects is the designer for the Lincoln High project, while Hoffman Construction is working with the school district under a Construction Manager/General Contractor contract.

Primary features of the new school will include a new commons and outdoor plaza at the main entrance. Specialized classrooms for 2D and 3D fine arts and adjacent flex spaces are included, along with STEM labs and a maker space.

New athletic facilities will include a 1,700 seat main gym, auxiliary gym, weight room, wrestling/dance room, and a new track and field.

Further, a new 500-seat auditorium, black box theatre, dedicated band and choir classrooms and associated practice rooms will be built, along with a dedicated career technical education space intended for computer science, product design, mass communications, culinary arts, and business management programs.

To find information on this project, or others like it, join the 91��Ƶ Project Center. It’s a searchable and trackable database of thousands of construction projects in the Pacific Northwest. Discover projects ranging from civil transportation work to private multifamily housing, and gain access to all the contact information and project documents you will need to bid on the project. Sign up for a free trial today by contacting Sharlene Richard at 503-802-7252 or SRichard@djcOregon.com.

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The Portland Design Commission on Thursday praised the architectural evolution of Portland Public Schools‘ replacement for Lincoln High School, saying it has advanced toward meeting city design guidelines.

The six-floor, 281,000-square-foot building would shift the school on its existing site to Southwest 18th Avenue and Salmon Street. Much of the commission’s discussion focused on how the building would look from that key intersection and other public vantages.

The building design from Bora Architects features glass on the corner of 18th and Salmon, with a sawtooth-shaped façade on upper floors. The glass is meant to create a lantern effect at night when viewed from Providence Park or the Multnomah Athletic Club. The façade would use a reddish-brown ribbed panel contrasted with a lighter-colored panel.

The building would have a large, boxy classroom bar at the north end and a gym at the south end, connected by a lower-slung structure. Canopies extend along the 18th Avenue frontage.

“There’s been some changes to the project that have created an active and strong architectural expression,” BDS staffer Staci Monroe said.

Commissioners praised the overall architecture, although they pushed for minor changes of some aspects.

“It looks good,” Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. “You’ve made remarkable progress on the architecture since you were in (a previous meeting).”

A large mural would front the building as Main Street terminates at 18th Avenue. Bora is working with Portland’s Regional Arts and Culture Council on the mural. The mural’s theme may reflect Tanner Creek and the Chinese gardens that once covered Goose Hollow, said Chris Linn, a Bora principal.

Commissioners seemed poised to bless two modifications, or exceptions, to design guidelines. One concerns the eco-roof, which is supposed to be 60 percent covered by foliage or related features. The Bora Architects design has 28 percent eco-roof coverage.

To compensate, the design team is proposing to install ground-level landscaped areas totaling 63,600 square feet. Ground cover is more environmentally friendly as a heat and carbon sink, and requires less maintenance, Linn said.

“I think we have a proposal that better meets the intent of the guidelines than putting planting on the roof,” he said.

PPS’ large site will enable the design to provide plenty of ground cover. Commissioners noted the eco-roof guideline was written with more densely built sites in mind.

Bora’s design also must contend with a competing requirement for schools to have rooftop solar panels (the existing Lincoln High has a 1-kilowatt solar array installed in 2005). Installing a green roof underneath the solar panels would pose obstacles, Linn said.

Commissioners seemed amenable to the exceptions.

“I’m OK on the (green roof) modification,” Commissioner Sam Rodriguez said. “I believe it is meeting the intent to some extent.”

Bora is also requesting an exception to bike parking standards. Linn said few students bike to the school, and more bike parking could be provided at a later date if necessary. No commissioner objected.

Lincoln High enrolled 1,698 students in October 2018, according to Portland Public Schools. Lincoln is one of three high school being rebuilt with dollars from a May 2017 bond. BDS valued the project at $124.5 million.

The meeting was the fourth time the Lincoln High proposal has been in front of the Design Commission. The project will return for a land-use review, possibly in August, Linn said.

Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2020.

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The long-awaited renovation of Lincoln High School, in Portland’s Goose Hollow neighborhood, isn’t supposed to start until next year, but general contractor Hoffman Construction is already seeking subcontractors for the job.

Lincoln is one of three high schools being modernized or rebuilt with money from a Portland Public Schools bond approved by voters in 2017. Bora Architects‘ design calls for the complete reconfiguration and update of learning spaces with a “focus on indoor environmental quality, sustainability and historic preservation,” according to Portland Public Schools.

A pre-bid meeting for mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors is scheduled for 10 a.m. on April 5, at Lincoln High School, at 1600 S.W. Salmon St. This work will include plumbing, HVAC, electrical, communications, and electronic safety and security. All bids are due by 2 p.m. on April 22.

Construction is planned in two phases, according to the district, and will begin in summer 2020. Expectations are for students to move into the new building at the beginning of the 2022 school year, and new athletic facilities to be ready at the beginning of the 2023 school year.

Documents for the first phase of work are available at www.hoffmancorp.com/subcontractors. Prospective bidders can learn more by calling 503-221-8811 or emailing bids@hoffmancorp.com.

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Portland Public Schools and Bora Architects have work to do to ensure the proposed replacement of Lincoln High School meets design guidelines, design commissioners said.

The seven-story project, funded by a bond approved by voters in 2017, is estimated to be 280,000 to 290,000 square feet. The Portland Design Commission on Thursday weighed in on project plans for the first time. At least two more design advice meetings will be needed before the project proceeds to design review, said Chris Linn, a Bora architect who is leading the design team.

Design commissioners expressed concern about grade changes at the Goose Hollow site and what they would mean for the school’s interaction with the sidewalk.

“That relationship between interior space and sidewalk is crucial,” Design Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. “Five feet (of grade change), whether it’s up or down, doesn’t create a relationship.”

Unlike commercial projects, the school can’t simply stick retail space on the ground floor to activate the area and satisfy design guidelines. The public bond dollars can’t be used for private purposes.

“This is going to be really tough to meet the guidelines for public realm,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

Linn and Bora are working to move interesting parts of the school program to the sidewalk-facing portions of the building, including a robotics lab that passers-by could see into.

Designers evaluated a low-slung horizontal massing for the high school, but rejected it. The horizontal configuration would have required classrooms to be put on top of facilities such as the cafeteria and gyms, creating noise issues, Linn said. Multiple buildings are also more expensive to build than a single building, he said.

Instead, the project will be a vertical mid-rise tower, with other facilities – such as one for track and field – off to the side. The 11-acre site will essentially be flipped, with the school moving to the corner of Southwest 18th Avenue and Salmon Street.

“We opted to hug – to really define – Salmon,” Linn said.

That will enable students to continue to use the existing Lincoln High building while construction proceeds on the new school.

“Logistically, there’s no other way to do it,” Linn said.

The short sides of the building will be oriented toward the West Hills to preserve views as much as possible, Linn said.

Design commissioners were optimistic the new school will form an attractive gateway to downtown along with an eight-story apartment building that is proposed to be built atop a surface parking lot across Salmon Street. Linn said he had discussed with the apartment building’s designer, Kurt Schultz of SERA Architects, how to make the two buildings aesthetically compatible.

“We want to create a threshold as you come down from the West Hills,” Linn said. “That’s going to be our approach – to have these buildings talk to each other in some way.”

Commissioners urged the project team to come up with a solution for morning traffic snarls around the school. Some suggested a drop-off spot or turnaround for parents driving their kids to school.

Commissioner Tad Savinar expressed frustration that the project team hadn’t considered the issue.

“Next time, you’ll have a plan and you’ll tell us what it is,” he said.

Eric Gerding, senior project manager for Portland Public Schools, said it would be discussed.

“We’ll go back to the school board and talk about this issue,” he said. “It wasn’t on our plate before today.”

The project is scheduled to return for a second design advice hearing on Sept. 20.

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A majority of Portland Public Schools board members back a plan to ask voters in May to support a construction bond valued between $745 million and $790 million.

All board members earlier this week attended a bond work session where options were discussed, and all appeared to support floating the bond in May, as opposed to November.

PPS’ previous bond measure, passed by voters in November 2012, was for $482 million. Prior to that, a bond measure in May 2011 failed.

The board recently wrapped up listening sessions with the public. Two options remain: one covering $745 million of work, and the other covering $790 million.

A consultant contracted by PPS confirmed that two options are being considered.

With enrollment growing, the district’s facilities are at crowding levels. Deferred maintenance is another issue. PPS has only two buildings younger than 50 years old. Some are older than 100. The average age is 76.

But the district’s first priority is to upgrade its high schools.

Under all plans now being considered, a new Lincoln High School would be built. Benson Polytechnic High School would get a total remodel. Madison High School would receive considerable remodels to separate sections of campus.

Much of the bond total would go toward efforts to address health and safety issues. Lead found in PPS schools’ fixtures has been a major issue, and ultimately led to the resignation of former board president Carole Smith.

Lead paint, radon and asbestos have been found at all PPS schools. Many facilities require seismic remediation. The bond money also would cover improvements tied to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Several questions remain, and their answers will affect which option the board eventually selects. The district is considering re-drawing school boundaries, in which case it may need to reopen the shuttered Kellogg Middle School. The school would require considerable upgrades, partly due to sitting idle with a leaky roof for more than a decade. It’s also possible that the district would opt to build a new middle school, which would cost around $47 million.

A May ballot measure has the board’s support.

“We need to get at the health safety piece,” board member Steve Buel said. “We need to fix the lead in the water. We need to get at the lead paint. We need to get at the radon. We need to take care of the asbestos. We need to do it – it’d be great to do all that tomorrow.”

A public survey closed Friday afternoon. The board will hold a work session Monday to consider its remaining options.

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