TriMet is continuing to improve its MAX light-rail system, and on Monday an overhaul of tracks and infrastructure began in Hillsboro.

Crews with general contractor Stacy & Witbeck Inc. started demolishing asphalt and concrete along Southwest Washington Street in preparation for the replacement of old track, switches and other items. The work is taking place along approximately a mile of the blue line track, from the Hatfield Government Center station to the Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station.

The scope of work in Hillsboro will include upgrading five electrical switches for better functionality in cold weather, and replacing signal equipment and sections of track bed at three crossings.

However, the main focus of the Hillsboro work is the replacement of a switch that allows trains to change tracks as they enter or leave the Hatfield Government Center station at the blue line’s western end. For several weeks, crews will be demolishing old asphalt and concrete around the embedded tracks, as well as preparing for replacement of a curved section of track that leads into the station.

“The track and signal replacement is almost two blocks long,” TriMet project manager David Sauter said. “It’s especially complicated beca

use it’s an embedded double crossover. This is why they’re going to be doing preparatory work over the next four weeks, so when the 15-day shutdown begins they’ll have demo’d all the asphalt and concrete from around the rails.”

Four MAX stations – Hatfield Government Center, Hillsboro Central/SE 3rd Avenue Transit Center, Tuality Hospital/SE 8th Avenue and Washington/SE 12th Avenue will be closed from Oct. 13 through Oct. 27. During this time, the bumpy safety tiles along the edges of the stations’ platforms will be replaced. That work will be performed by Brown Contracting and Raimore Construction.

When that closure comes, Sauter said, a race against the clock will begin for work in the entire section.

“During that time they’ll come into this area,” he said. “And they’ll start ripping out all the rails. They’ll start digging and getting everything prepped for new signal connections, new drainage connections, and then eventually the new base layer and track comes in.”

Once the new sections of track are welded into place, rubber “boots” will be placed on sections of embedded track not pre-encapsulated.

All sections of new track procured for this project are coming from steel mills in Romania, where firms still have the ability to produce the girder rails used in TriMet’s system. The rails are shaped to provide a protective flange-work and allow the tracks to be embedded in city streets.

“We don’t have any (manufacturers) in the U.S. that can do that lateral rail,” Sauter said. “So all of the girder rail switches had to be machined outside the U.S. The materials are very similar with the metallurgy, but it’s something we just can’t get here.”

Once work on the tracks is complete, concrete pours will take place along the sections of new track. Regular MAX service is expected to resume on Oct. 28.

“This was the last piece of blue line to be built,” Sauter said. “It was turned over in the mid- to late ’90s, so if you think about that, we’ve gotten about 20 years of service from that. And we’re expecting to get 20 or 25 years more service on this.”

The work is part of a series of TriMet initiatives over the past several years to improve MAX infrastructure. In 2016 and 2017, major track, rail and switch improvements were performed on Southwest Morrison and Yamhill streets at First and 11th avenues in downtown Portland and the Rose Quarter Transit Center. Then, earlier this year, switch improvements and other work was carried out around the Providence Park station.

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TriMet recently kicked off a five-year, $22 million project to replace or upgrade 19 separate elevators serving MAX light-rail platforms and other multilevel facilities run by the agency.

Work started last month with the replacement of the outdoor elevator at the Northeast 60th Avenue MAX station and will proceed with the replacement of the outdoor elevator at the Northeast 82nd Avenue station. Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty company, was selected as the general contractor for the project; KONE is performing the specialized elevator work.

“They’re going to be done one at a time,” TriMet public information officer Tim Becker said.

Work will be split into four packages. The first three stations to receive replacement elevators will be at Northeast 60th Avenue, Northeast 82nd Avenue and the Hollywood Transit Center at Northeast 42nd Avenue.

A construction manager-general contractor delivery method was chosen, TriMet project manager Kaliska Day said, because of the particular type of work being done and the region’s ongoing shortage of skilled tradespeople.

“Portland is a really small market, and especially right now a lot of the smaller firms are stretched thin as it is,” she said. “The other thing that makes this difficult is that the project is really just around the elevators. There isn’t a lot of scope of work to hand out. Ninety percent of this will be done by the elevator contractor.”

The elevators being replaced have a life expectancy of between 25 to 30 years and simply are wearing out. This is especially true of the ones serving the MAX blue line, which was built in 1986.

The work for each elevator is expected to take 12 to 14 weeks, during which time it will be inoperable. It will involve replacement of all the components of the elevator cabs, including the electronics, mechanical and HVAC equipment, along with panels and doors. The work will not involve modifying or replacing the actual elevator shafts.

Additional TriMet staffers will be manning the stations that are under construction.

“We’ll have personnel there all the time,” Becker said. “We’re going to great lengths to make sure riders are inconvenienced as little as possible.”

Notably, just 11 of the 19 elevators being replaced are used by the public. The Washington Park MAX station, which sits 260 feet below ground, has four elevators that will be replaced. That effort will stand out, Day said.

“The biggest one that’s going to be different is Washington Park,” she said. “It is its own unique elevator, and it’s the only one that’s completely different.”

Work on the Northeast 60th Avenue station elevator began May 17. It began operating in 1986, serving an average of more than 1,500 riders each weekday.

For more information, visit .

Elevator construction packages

Package 1: Hollywood Transit Center, Northeast 60th Avenue and Northeast 82nd Avenue

Package 2: Gresham City Hall Park & Ride, Sunset Transit Center (three elevators) and Washington Park (four elevators)

Package 3: Center Street Administration Building (two elevators) and Center Street Garage (two elevators)

Package 4: Elmonica/Southwest 170th Avenue, Merlo Road and Ruby Junction (two elevators)

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Upgrades in materials and components should allow light-rail tracks near Providence Park to serve for up to 30 more years before needing additional overhauls.

The previous time repairs were made to the complex system of mechanical switches and sections of track around the stadium was the mid-1990s, according to TriMet project manager David Sauter.

“That’s pretty good considering we’re getting double the trains and it was last done roughly 25 years ago,” Sauter said Wednesday morning as he surveyed the job site along Southeast 18th Avenue in front of Providence Park’s east end.

There, general contractor Stacy and Witbeck is starting to replace MAX track switches and sections of rail. In addition, upgrades will be made to the track bed and drainage for the mechanical switch machines under the tracks.

Stacy and Witbeck previously worked on MAX orange-line infrastructure when it was built between downtown Portland and Milwaukie.

“We’re replacing three switches that make up a single crossover and a turnout to our special events track,” Sauter said. “The single crossover allows our trains to go from eastbound to westbound track, and the reason this is important is because often we need to juggle trains around the system, moving trains over from eastbound to westbound, or over to add service or rescue trains that have become stranded for maintenance issues.”

Finally, new rubberized devices known as boots will be installed next to the rails along this stretch to reduce concrete chipping, or spalling, as well as keep potholes from forming. To secure the rails in place, an elastomeric grout will be used; it’s also expected to impact energy dissipation and electrical isolation.

Such tools did not exist 25 years ago, which led to the steel rails being permanently affixed to the asphalt at that time. Over the years, vibrations through the rails have displaced them slightly, though usually only a millimeter or two. But that can nevertheless have a noticeable impact, according to Sauter.

“Back then, things were done a little differently than they are today,” he said. “Just a few millimeters of movement in the rail translates to quite a bit of sway in the train. So that’s one issue and one reason why this is a priority.”

When it comes to drainage, another outdated ’90s technique is being addressed. At that time, it was common to construct drainage systems featuring pipes that gradually became larger as they moved from storm drains to the wastewater system.

“This leads to problems because the pipes are grouted in together and the connections get frayed,” Sauter said. “Pressurizing them to clean them, you actually get blowback, and we actually can’t get good pressure on the pipes.”

So, a single-diameter drainage pipe will be installed through the length of Southwest 18th Avenue being upgraded.

Taken together, the poor drainage and degraded asphalt also led to false alerts in localized sensors that signal trains’ presence. But with better drainage and tracks, such malfunctions should be a thing of the past, Sauter said.

The project notably will disrupt service of blue- and red-line trains from May 6 through May 11. Some downtown streets and crosswalks have been closed since April 30 in anticipation of this work.

Also, orange-line service will be limited during commuting hours, according to TriMet, but disruptions overall are not expected to be as severe as previous ones in the area.

According to TriMet, automobile detours, shuttle buses and free bike rides on Biketown will be offered until MAX service is fully restored.

“During the project we will only have blue-line trains running on the west side between Hillsboro and Goose Hollow,” TriMet spokeswoman Roberta Altstadt said. “That means folks in that area will have fewer trains. But we are encouraging riders on the west side and anyone going through the disrupted area to plan an extra 30 minutes to their trips.”

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A plan to extend  MAX light-rail tracks through the southwest Portland suburbs is on track after approval by voters in Tigard.

The proposed Southwest Corridor line would run from Portland south through Tigard before ending at Bridgeport Village in Tualatin.

“Tigard voters have allowed us to keep planning for light rail to come to Tigard,” Mayor John L. Cook stated in a news release.” We will continue to be at the table to bring Tigard’s voice for what light rail will be for this part of the region.”

The vote’s outcome is not certain. Approximately 4,000 ballots that were not machine-readable must still be tallied, and 3,500 more have been challenged, said Mickie Kawai, Washington County’s election manager.

Even if Tigard’s ballot measure passes, the Southwest Corridor line still has a long road ahead. A regional bond measure asking for funding is expected to go before voters in November 2018.

Tigard expects to next summer choose the route that the rail line will take through the city. Project backers will also kick off a federal review process to create a draft environmental impact statement.

A Metro steering committee is meeting to discuss the scope of the environmental review.

The Southwest Corridor Plan, which also includes improvements to serve bicyclists and pedestrians, is critical to Tigard and its neighbors, said Craig Dirksen, a Metro councilor and former mayor of Tigard.

“We’re anticipating between now and 2040, as many as 700,000 more people will move to metro Portland,” Dirksen said. “Tigard and the Southwest corridor are going to need to be able to accommodate their fair share.”

Better transit is “really vital” for growth, he added.

The implications for development in Tigard and the rest of the southwest suburban area are not entirely clear – construction is years away, and even the precise route isn’t set. But backers believe a stronger link to fast-growing Portland can only help.

“The long-term future of the community will be enhanced with light rail,” said Mike Stevenson, who owns a printing business and is an active member of the Downtown Tigard Business Alliance. “Having an alternate transportation venue is a real plus. As our freeways get more and more crowded, we’re going to need to find another way to get people around.

“We think Tigard residents deserve choices as much as any other community.”

Expansion into the Southwest Corridor also would fill a gap in TriMet‘s transportation network.

“It completes one of the last fingers, if you will, of the Portland-metro area,” Stevenson said.

Extension of a light rail line into Tigard means more for the suburb than it does for the region, said Ethan Seltzer, professor of urban studies and planning at Portland State University.

“Fundamentally, it means Tigard is interested in being part of the region,” he said.

If Tigard turned back the MAX line, regional transportation investment would go elsewhere, he said.

The MAX line, as envisioned, would terminate at Bridgeport Village, a 500,000-square-foot outdoor mall west of Interstate 5.

“That’s historically the way these things got built,” Seltzer said. “Old streetcar lines used to go to amusement parks and picnic parks and things like that. In some sense, shopping malls are the amusement parks of our day.”

Better mass transit options could cause state regulators to look more kindly on development in the “Tigard Triangle,” Dirksen said. The area – bordered by I-5, Oregon Route 99 and Oregon Route 217 – is entirely within the urban growth boundary.

“Without improved transportation, the state of Oregon isn’t going to allow Tigard to develop those areas the way they need to be,” he said.

A scoping process drew 1,620 public comments, according to Metro. Most were supportive.

Light rail does have its opponents in Tigard and other suburban areas, however.

“We know that Tigard residents are very concerned about growth and traffic congestion, and that’s why this vote is so close,” Dirksen said.

In addition to going to voters for funding, backers of a new MAX line are planning to pursue a matching grant from the Federal Transit Authority. It distributes dollars to entities around the nation from a pot for light rail projects that holds about $1 billion annually.

About two dozen U.S. cities are building high-capacity transit infrastructure and are competing for that grant money, Dirksen said.

Planning for the light-rail link through Tigard began in 2011. Major questions remain, including whether the line will leave Southwest Portland from the transit mall down the center of Barbur Boulevard, or stay close to I-5.

In Tigard, the route is not envisioned to go down Barbur, in response to concerns from some local businesses.

Planners decided not to expand to Sherwood. They also decided not to construct tunnels at Marquam Hill or to Portland Community College’s Sylvania campus to reduce projected costs.

Stevenson said the lack of a link to PCC – a potential major user of the MAX line – is unfortunate.

“To not have a direct link to the campus, I think is disappointing,” he said.

The work involves a long roster of agencies and jurisdictions, including the cities of Beaverton, Durham, King City, Portland, Sherwood, Tigard and Tualatin as well as Washington County, TriMet, Metro and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The current timeline for the MAX line shows that it could be constructed by 2025.

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In April, TriMet’s board of directors awarded a $6.7 million project to a Portland midsize heavy-civil contractor, passing over bids from three larger firms – including one 40 times its size.

The recipient was Raimore Construction, a black-owned business with a hand in the regional transit authority’s rapid and substantial growth over the past 15 years.

The yearlong project won’t be easy – with some complicated night work on active MAX light-rail stations. But just landing the project award represented a culmination of a 15-year transformation led by Raimore business partners Jeff Moreland and Andre Raiford, as well as TriMet.

It’s the biggest TriMet contract to go to a minority-owned firm, and a good example of what supporters of equitable contracting call “capacity building.”

‘Pit crew’ mentality

Though the ribbon’s been cut on TriMet’s $1.5 billion Portland-Milwaukie light-rail project, the orange line isn’t quite done (all told, light-rail projects generally require between 10 and 15 years, according to TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch). Several small projects, plus a study, remain.

The largest of these mop-up jobs involves the station platforms at each of the line’s 10 stops, which were originally envisioned to feature two standing shelters each – one to serve each end of 200-foot-long trains. The “second shelter” aspect was cut from the project’s scope when TriMet learned it would receive less federal money than thought.

But under an agreement with the Federal Transit Administration, TriMet was able to reinstate elements if the overall project came in under budget. The team accomplished that, to the tune of $48 million, according to TriMet – in large part, it says, due to historically low interest rates.

The agency planned “aggressively” to save this money, according to Steve Witter, TriMet’s executive director of capital projects and construction. For instance, platforms were designed with conduits and anchors, so the shelters – designed by Landscape Forms of Kalamazoo, Mich. – could be easily affixed later.

The second shelter project is now several weeks along, with canopies being craned in one-by-one, south to north, starting at the Park Avenue station in Milwaukie. Other improvements, like security cameras and rider information screens, are being added as well. The project should conclude by about this time next year.

It’s been challenging for several reasons, according to project manager Michael Kiser. To avoid interference with most MAX riders, the most invasive work is occurring at night – and all other work during the day. The hours that TriMet considers “non-revenue service” is only a two-and-a-half-hour window when the shelters can be lowered into place.

With overhead power lines to navigate and a narrow window in which to operate, plus riders to account for at platforms, the work requires a “pit crew” mentality, Kiser said.

“Everybody on-site really understands what they need to do, and is empowered to affect the final outcome,” he said.

The face of TriMet

Raimore’s history is deeply tied to TriMet. Its roots are in the Trucking Consortium – a novel attempt at pooling the efforts of minority haulers to procure larger bid packages. Led by James Posey, the consortium handled trucking and flagging duties for the Interstate MAX project beginning around 2000.

Posey sold his equipment to Raiford and Moreland, and the entity became Raimore – trucking and flagging came first, but expansion was in mind. After the Interstate yellow line project wrapped in 2004, Raimore performed masonry and brickwork on the green line and streetcar project. And it’s been all over the orange line, working on every platform, including a recent effort where it was co-construction manager-general contractor performing prep work for the upcoming installation of TriMet’s Hop Fastpass electronic fare system.

“They’ve really progressed through the projects that they’ve been involved in, taking on more complex work and really growing their organization around it,” Witter said.

TriMet’s effort in the arena of minority contracting have been recognized nationally. In several notable ways, the authority treats Raimore like a division of its services, rather than an owner and contractor. For this approach to work, its ethos has had to be adopted by TriMet’s regular general contractors, Witter said – notably Stacy & Witbeck.

TriMet has been thoroughly involved with Raimore’s operations. Kiser took an eye for the agency’s systems, helping it devise quality control measures such as rigorous safety training for all involved. Raimore was brought into preconstruction to start intensive coordination of operations – it’s been a process because one of TriMet’s goals has been to really look at how Kiser has worked internally to ensure that everyone is on the same page. That helps efficiency and improves relations and works out better for the customer.

“Obviously, we want them well-organized and when they are out there, they are the face of TriMet,” Kiser said. “Customers don’t always expect the contractor to play a positive role in that, and Raimore has really taken to stepping up in that area. They understand the critical role that they play just in terms of how they interface with the customers.”

The company worked on the early prep work on the E-Fare system, as co-CM-GC with Stacy & Witbeck, so this was kind of the next logical step. Raimore workers have erected shelters on the east side and the west side already, so they are already familiar with the process, and they’ve done lots of selective demolition and restoration. The firm was “strongly encouraged” to bid.

“It is a very logical next step for TriMet because they spent all this time growing us as a company and working with us really diligently,” Moreland said.

Moreland doesn’t often pose for photos, and he declined to do so for this story. He said he prefers to move forward, rather than dwell on success. The firm didn’t even celebrate when it won the bid for the second shelter project, he said.

“Our celebration is in our ability to be successful,” he said. “We aren’t going to celebrate until this project is complete – that’s our mentality. Then we’re really going to celebrate.”

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TriMet is preparing to tackle three track improvement projects on a stretch of First Avenue in downtown Portland, in what will be its largest disruption to service in years.

Most affected will be riders of the red and blue lines, which run on the 30-year-old section of rail targeted for the rehab, though other light-rail travelers will see their routes “adjusted” to accommodate those displaced riders.

From May 8 through 21, crews with TriMet and Stacy and Witbeck Inc. will replace switches and sections of curved track. Wooden ties below the street surface will be replaced with ones made of a modern composite material. Drains between the eastbound and westbound lines will be cleared and cleaned, and broken pavement and Belgian blocks along the route will be fixed or replaced.

Heavy civil specialist Stacy and Witbeck has performed maintenance work for TriMet since 2013, when it signed a five-year standing contract.

The work will cost approximately $2.1 million. Once it’s done, regular users will notice a smoother ride, spokeswoman Roberta Altstadt said.

“The line was built in 1986 (and) is approaching the end of its serviceable life,” she said. “It’s just part of our regular maintenance – you just have to replace some of these areas because they get worn down by train traffic and auto traffic.”

The work to be done is the kind that can’t be performed during the two hours per day of “non-revenue service,” said Sarah Touey, a TriMet project manager.

“A lot of the bigger projects that require a five- to six-hour window can’t be done then, so (we) have to wait until a project like this,” she said.

With such a disruption in service, TriMet is focused now on a heavy public-relations push, Altstadt said. During the project, TriMet will have additional customer service representatives to field phone calls, and “ride guides” in official vests to be on hand to assist riders in person.

All MAX lines will run at reduced frequency of about every 20 minutes. TriMet expects trains to be especially crowded during regular commuting hours, and room for bikes limited.

Additional maintenance projects loom for TriMet. Switches and a signal system will be replaced at the Rose Quarter Transit Center from Aug. 21 to Sept. 3. And next year TriMet will install new rail and reconstruct the track bed at Southwest 11th Avenue in downtown, and make improvements to the Steel Bridge.

After San Diego’s trolley, the MAX was the second metropolitan light-rail system in the U.S. San Diego’s system is in the middle of a $660 million renewal project.

The MAX opened in 1986 after much wrangling with the federal government. The money for a planned highway project was redirected to help develop the MAX, which significantly altered Portland’s course, said Ethan Seltzer, professor of urban studies at Portland State University.

The MAX has proven popular with the public, and helped spur development. But challenges remain connecting buses to trains to homes, Seltzer said, and improving and increasing service.

“In a sense, our charge for using this system every day, 24-7 for over 30 years, is that for two weeks we have to disrupt service and repair spots desperately in need of maintenance. To me, that doesn’t seem like such a bad deal.”

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The onetime home of two significant Eastside industrial businesses has been sold to an owner committed to preserving the building’s historic character.

Portland-based ScanlanKemperBard (SKB) and William Harris Investors Inc. of Chicago have purchased the Iron Fireman building at 4784 S.E. 17th Ave. for $5.3 million, or $46 per square foot. They plan to convert the vacant industrial warehouse into “creative space for local light-industrial, light-manufacturing and maker businesses,” according to a news release.

The buyers declined to name the seller, but the city assessor’s website lists Steven Michaelis of Cleveland as owner.

The 115,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1924 as the factory of the Iron Fireman Co., a manufacturer of residential heating units. Later it housed Product Engineering Co. (PECO), whose name remains on the side of the building.

SKB and William Harris Investors plan to invest $10 million in building improvements over the next 12 to 18 months. The warehouse contains a number of old-time features owners wish to retain, including exposed brick, old-growth timber beams, handcrafted wood paneling and stained-glass windows.

The property is located along TriMet‘s new MAX orange line, near the stop at Southeast 17th Avenue and Holgate Boulevard.

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Roughly one month ago, the city of Beaverton approved a master plan for the 49-acre Creekside District. Now the city is ready to tackle the future of what many people consider the most developable piece of property in the district.

The city on Friday issued a request for sealed proposals of qualifications from developers interested in pitching their ideas for the Westgate site, a four-acre piece of land east of Cedar Hills Boulevard and west of the mixed-use development known as The Round.

The Westgate site, which is bordered on its south side by the MAX light-rail line, at one time was the home of Westgate Theater. The city, using a $2 million buy-in from Metro as a key partner, purchased the property in 2005. The site is part of an urban renewal district that, in addition to the Creekside District, includes the city’s Old Town area and a commercial area near Southwest Murray Boulevard.

Requirements for proposed uses for the Westgate site are being limited to a few goals the city and local residents have identified as desirable for the Creekside district.

“We want it to be vibrant,” said Tyler Ryerson, the city’s project leader. “We want it to be dense … walkable.”

In addition, the city is making available to developers a hotel market study as well as a plan for a possible arts and culture center.

“We’re providing a lot of information, but we want the market to dictate (what is built there),” Ryerson said.

The city will hold a non-mandatory pre-proposal meeting on April 7, at 9 a.m., in council chambers in The Beaverton Building, 12725 Southwest Millikan Way.

Solicitation packets are available at or by calling the city’s Bid Line at 503-526-2228. The deadline for submitting sealed proposals is May 8 at 2 p.m.

During the following week, a review committee – including a representative from Metro tasked with evaluating proposals to see if they meet that agency’s standards for transit-oriented development – will consider all submitted proposals. An interview period may be required, Ryerson said.

Once the committee settles on what it considers the best qualified developer, it will pass its recommendation to the Beaverton City Council. The council should be ready to authorize an exclusive negotiations agreement by June, Ryerson said.

Although the selection process is expected to move relatively quickly, project construction likely won’t start until 2016 or 2017 at the earliest, Ryerson said.

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Preliminary designs for the Hyatt Regency hotel planned near the Oregon Convention Center could better reflect the buildings’ setting, according to the Portland Design Commission.

“It feels very generic,” Commissioner Tad Savinar said during a design advice hearing on Thursday. “I’m just looking for where is Portland in this?”

The meeting offered one of the first public looks at the initial building and site plans for the controversial $235 million project on a site between Northeast Holladay and Multnomah streets, directly north of the Oregon Convention Center.

The 19- to 21-story, 600-room hotel and neighboring above-grade parking garage with approximately 385 spaces is scheduled to open in 2018, said Mike Clifford, a construction executive with Minneapolis-based Mortenson, the project developer and general contractor.

Project designers Elness Swenson Graham Architects of Minneapolis, Ankrom Moisan Architects, landscape architecture firm Mayer/Reed and Portland architect Michael McCulloch are moving full steam ahead conceiving plans for the long-sought development, he said.

The hotel project has drawn criticism because it will receive public revenue bond financing through Metro.

“Today, we’re closer than we’ve been in 30 years to completing this project,” Clifford told the design commission.

The impression the hotel will make on visitors to Portland and the rest of Oregon has been one of the key design considerations, McCulloch said.

“We’re creating the front porch,” he said. “When you leave the airport on light rail you come to this spot, so that front porch better be inviting and it better be Portland … We also know it’s a brand of our region.”

Also important was figuring out a way to relate the hotel to the nearby convention center, particularly its iconic glass spires, said Michael Great, managing principal with Ankrom Moisan Architects.

“We know we want to be a quiet, simple backdrop to the spires,” he said.

With the aim of letting the hotel tower fade into the background, the design team focused mostly on the building’s lower portion, ESG design principal Trace Jacques said. The idea is to create an active podium that engages passersby by exposing activity inside the building through windows to the street, and showing the surrounding city to hotel visitors looking out, he said.

“We’re basically turning the program inside out … (to) push as much visible activity to the perimeter of the building as possible,” Jacques said. “It’s also how users in the building are connecting with the city around them.”

Despite commissioners’ advice offered last fall against placing a plaza on the superblock site at the corner of Northeast Holladay Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the design team said Thursday they decided to stick with a scaled-down version at the same location. Commissioners responded that they still took issue with a plaza at that intersection.

Commissioner Guenevere Millius pointed out that a series of planters and benches would feel like a series of obstacles for visitors arriving with suitcases at the Convention Center MAX station nearby.

“It’s your guests that are going to be using that stop,” she said. “It’s your job to make them feel welcome and not have to go past these barriers.”

Commission Chairman David Wark said the private plaza should feel more civic because it’s adjacent to the publicly owned convention center.

“Everybody should feel like they can enjoy it without feeling cut off,” he said.

Wark was among commissioners who expressed concerns about a large vehicle drop-off space on Northeast Hassalo Place, a private drive connecting Martin Luther King Boulevard and Multnomah streets. Millius said she worried about vehicle and pedestrian conflicts.

“That’s what bothers me,” she said. “There’s no way to walk and not feel like you’ve stepped into a (driveway).”

Commissioners also criticized plans to build a loggia at the intersection of Northeast Second Avenue and Holladay Street because it could feel dark and unwelcoming.

“There’s just something about that loggia that’s just counter to everything else,” Wark said.

The overall building massing plans are on the right track, commissioners said, but the design team’s inspiration for the stripped facade coming from a line of trees in the forest is cheesy. The designers should incorporate the Portland spirit into the architecture in a more creative way, Wark said. He suggested that the team return later for a third design advice hearing.

“It’s about recognizing something that goes beyond a stereotype,” he said. “I think what we’re asking for is not to be generic. There are numerous ways to interpret Portland.”

Mixed-use building reviewed

Also on Thursday, the design commission offered feedback on the design for Couch 9, a proposed 11-story mixed-use building, at 115 and 125 N.W. Ninth Ave., designed by Portland-based Vallaster Corl Architects.

Instead of voting whether to approve the project, commissioners asked the design team to take another crack at the building’s northwest side. The checkerboard pattern of red balconies sticking out from the facade wouldn’t relate to the southwest side’s inverted balconies, they noted.

Oregon Square proceeding

American Assets Trust‘s proposed Oregon Square mixed-use superblock development recently was the subject of a third design advice hearing. The GBD Architects design team plans to next seek the design commission’s approval for the project, city planner Kara Fioravanti said.

Plans call for a plaza more than 100,000 square feet surrounded by four L-shaped buildings. Combined, the new buildings will hold more than 900 apartments above approximately 55,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 745 below-grade parking spaces. Two buildings will be 11 stories, one will be 21 stories and one will be 29 stories.

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A Seattle-based real estate investment company recently closed on a $39 million Beaverton multifamily purchase 16 months in the making.

HFO Investment Real Estate announced Thursday the sale of the recently-completed, 243-unit, Element 170 apartment complex on nine and a half acres adjacent to the Elmonica/S.W. 170th MAX station.

“I’ve been here for nine years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything sell before it was built,” said Aaron Douglas, marketing director for HFO. “It had a lot to do with timing, and the buyer recognized the rent growth potential in the area.”

The buyer – Security Properties – began working with project developer Metropolitan Land Group before construction began, Douglas said. HFO has worked with both the buyer and seller for years, which “allowed it to bring the parties together” during the extended contract time, he said.

“It was presold before it was complete and was in contract for 16 months,” he said. “The buyer had the contract written so that the transaction wouldn’t close until construction was finished, and there was a certain amount of lease-up.”

There are 10 four-story residential buildings and a leasing office/clubhouse in the Element 170 apartment complex. Other amenities include picnic areas with barbecues, a playground and an outdoor pool. The apartments are a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

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