PROJECT: Fountain Place Apartments

LOCATION: 929 S.W. Salmon St., Portland

SIZE:Ěý74 units

COST:Ěýnot provided

START DATE: April 2020

ANTICIPATED END DATE: October 2021

OWNER/DEVELOPER: Home Forward

ARCHITECT: Peter Meijer Architect

ENGINEERS: KPFF (structural), Glumac (mechanical, plumbing)

CONTRACTOR:ĚýLorentz Bruun Construction

CONSULTANT: Salazar Architect Inc. (affordable housing design specialists)

NUMBER OF WORKERS EMPLOYED: 100

SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT: Work is drawing to a close on Home Forward’s renovation of the Fountain Place Apartments. Built in 1911 by local millionaire and salmon cannery owner Frank M. Warren, who died the following year as a passenger on the Titanic’s doomed maiden voyage, Fountain Place is one of the earliest examples of high-end apartment construction in downtown Portland. It also is one of the area’s first U-shaped buildings.

Each floor has approximately 7,500 interior square feet, for a building total of 45,000 square feet. The building features a wood structure and a brick exterior. The contractor is dropping in six seismic braces on top of about 60 micro piles placed below the slab on grade for attachment to the walls to provide seismic safety. The additions of two layers of plywood to the existing diaphragm will also provide a more seismically resilient building.

As part of the project, on March 4, 2020, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The renovation was made possible with financing from Oregon Housing and Community Services, Banner Bank and U.S. Bank.

A major goal of the project was to retain the 100-year-old building’s historic character while adding several future-proofed improvements, said Halla Hoffer, an associate principal with Peter Meijer Architect. The seismic upgrade will not only improve safety for occupants, but also extend the building’s useful life at least 50 more years, according to the design team.

“Building Blocks” spotlights noteworthy projects either under construction or approaching the start of construction. To submit a project for consideration, please visit: djcorprod.wpengine.com/building-blocks.

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A historic apartment building in downtown Portland is undergoing a seismic retrofit, and general contractor Lorentz Bruun Construction is seeking subcontractors for work on the project.

Fountain Place, at 929 S.W. Salmon St., is a five-story (plus a basement) unreinforced brick masonry structure owned by Home Forward. The 45,336-square-foot building is listed in the city’s Historic Resource Inventory for its architectural significance.

The proposed scope of work includes seismically upgrading the entire 105-year-old building, providing a new, rated egress stair, a new elevator, a new community room, and office space for residential services and property management.

Peter Meijer Architect is designing the retrofit, which is awaiting issuance of a building permit from the Bureau of Development Services. Other members of the project team include KPFF Consulting Engineers, Reyes Engineering, Glumac and Salazar Architect Inc.

According to the design team, Fountain Place was built in 1914 in Second Renaissance Revival style. The raised basement, bracketed sheet metal cornice and belt course with brick corbels all correspond with the style.

Nonmandatory job walks for prospective bidders will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 31. Any questions about the project are due by 5 p.m. on Nov. 1. Bids are due by Nov. 12.

For more information on this project and others, visit the 91ĘÓƵ Project Center online at www.djcoregon.com/projectcenter/.

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Nearly 30 years after efforts were initiated to add Portland’s iconic Laurelhurst neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places, it finally happened.

The Laurelhurst Historic District was added to the register March 18. John Liu, head of the Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association‘s Historic District Committee, said the designation recognizes the historical, architectural and urban design characteristics of the neighborhood and follows the listing of Laurelhurst Park on the register.

“It protects Laurelhurst’s historically contributing houses from needless demolition,” he said. “It allows the neighborhood to continue adding housing through accessory dwelling units, and will also allow internal conversion of larger houses to multiple housing units.”

Early in the process, some Laurelhurst homeowners were initially concerned about restrictions on remodeling, Liu said. When the city confirmed that there will be no restrictions other than on demolitions of historic houses, those concerns were largely addressed. Ultimately, during the six-month objection period at the end of the nomination process, only 14 Laurelhurst residents – less than 0.5 percent – objected to theĚýhistoricĚýdistrict designation, he said.

“It is an emotional moment for many in Laurelhurst, from those who started the effort in 1990 to others who joined the effort several years ago,” he said. “The effort has brought our neighborhood closer together. Old and young, longtimers and newcomers, our community organized and worked together to accomplish a common goal. We are taking that community energy forward to work on other causes and needs of the neighborhood and our neighbors.”

The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of buildings, districts, structures, sites and objects important to local, state or national history. The program is run by the National Park Service in Washington, D.C., and administered locally by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).

A historic district is defined as an area or neighborhood that has a concentration of buildings and associated landscape and streetscape features that are at least 50 years old. To be eligible for listing in the register, the majority of the buildings in the district must maintain their historic appearance, or be “contributing,” and the district must be associated with an important aspect of the area’s history and/or be notable for its architecture or design.

The Laurelhurst Historic District is bounded at the north end by Northeast Multnomah and Senate streets; the east by Northeast 44th Avenue and Southeast 44th Avenue; on the south by Southeast Stark Street; and on the west by Southeast 32nd Avenue and Northeast 33rd Avenue. The district comprises 1,751 properties constructed between 1910 and 1987, consisting of 1,315 contributing buildings,Ěýfour contributing sites, seven contributing objects, 436 noncontributing buildings, and six buildings and one site, Laurelhurst Park, already listed in the national register. The listing allows the district’s signature arches to be designated as historically protected structures, making them eligible for historic preservation grants.

The Laurelhurst Historic District was listed in the national register as a local example ofĚýcommunity planning and development and for notable architecture. The district is significant as Portland’s only residential subdivision illustrating both fashionable “City Beautiful-era” planning principles and for representation of popular trends in American architecture between the 1910s and the 1940s, according to the National Park Service.

“Largely built out between 1910 and 1930, the neighborhood’s picturesque layout with curvilinear streets, abundant natural landscaping and tree coverage, and varied building styles represents a unique streetcar suburb built in Portland’s Eastside during a period of rapid residential expansion,” the agency stated.

In 2016 and 2017, hundreds of neighborhood volunteers conducted neighborhood meetings and public presentations by representatives of SHPO, the city of Portland, other historic districts, and both proponents and opponents of the listing, as well as a neighborhood, door-to-door information campaign.

The neighborhood associationĚýworked with Peter Meijer ArchitectĚýto prepare the nomination document. The PMA team led by Kristen Minor, with volunteers from Laurelhurst and the University of Oregon‘s Historic Preservation program, completed in April 2018 a neighborhood surveyĚýthatĚýidentified the properties to be included in the nominationĚýand finalized the projectĚýin JulyĚý2018. A draft nomination for the district was then submitted to SHPO for consideration in October.

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A pre-application conference has been scheduled with Portland’s Bureau of Development Services to discuss a proposed 12-story office tower that would be built in the city’s inner east side.

The site of the proposed development is a block bounded by Southeast Morrison and Belmont streets and Grand and Sixth avenues. A northern portion of the block is home to the Weatherly Building, a 12-story, 64,000 square foot office building built in 1928 by ice cream baron George Warren Weatherly. It was one of the first high-rise developments on the east bank of the Willamette River and is part of a growing Portland portfolio for Seattle-based owner and developer Unico Properties, which purchased the site last August for $20 million.

The applicants are Peter Meijer Architect and Unico Properties, which last month jointly applied for a pre-application conference to discuss seismic upgrades to the Weatherly Building. The following week, the Seattle office of Chicago-based architecture firm Perkins+Will applied for design advice for the new twelve-story building.

Brian Pearce, Unico Properties’ senior vice president of real estate services, declined to divulge project details.

“It’s too premature in our planning stages to define any plans for the Weatherly at this time,” Pearce said via email. “We will share our vision for the property once we have determined our plan.”

Kate Kearney, a spokesperson for Peter Meijer Architect, also said the firm could not discuss the project at this time.

A produced by Perkins+Will depicts the new office tower occupying the entire southern portion of the block, which currently includes surface parking and a two-story commercial structure built in 1905 and occupied by a sports bar and Bolliger & Sons Insurance, the building’s owner.

Because the block is within the East Portland/Grand Avenue Historic District, the entire development will undergo a Type III historic resource review and will be reviewed by the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission. The commission is chaired by Kristen Minor, an associate with Peter Meijer Architect.

The pre-application conference is set for 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at BDS offices on Southwest Fourth Avenue. It is meant to allow discussion of seismic upgrades to the Weatherly Building and construction of the new 12-story office tower, which would be approximately 153 feet tall and would contain roughly 198,000 square feet of floor area. Plans also call for a 20-foot wide pedestrian connection running east to west between the new building and the Weatherly Building.

The new building would have structured parking and on-site loading accessed from Southeast Sixth Avenue.

The proposed development will also appear before the Historic Landmarks Commission for design advice, for which a date has not yet been scheduled.

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Residential development has exploded across Portland. While robust, the development has not been comprehensive. The result: housing gaps that city officials are determined to fill.

“We have been building apartments and big houses, but not a lot of middle housing,” said Sandra Wood, supervising planner at the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS).

Filling those gaps is not only a big key to housing an estimated 123,000 households expected to move to the city by 2035 but also the primary goal of the . The city is looking to reduce the scale of new infill development, increase the volume and number of types of housing choices, and provide clear and fair rules for “narrow” lot development. The ultimate goal is to promote higher density in structures within the residential overlay zone that covers nearly 90 percent of Portland.

Zoning changes are expected to accomplish the city’s goals. The end result will impact neighborhoods and the building industries for decades to come.

Not everyone is a fan of the project’s direction. The BPS received more than 800 responses during the public comment period that closed Nov. 30. Some neighborhood groups and area designers believe that it has become a way for the city to push density on already crowded neighborhoods.

“I really don’t think it is on the right track,” said Tamara DeRidder, chairwoman of the Rose City Park Neighborhood Association. “It subverts the comprehensive plan. It’s much too expansive. I don’t feel like many people understand what is going on.”

What is going on is an effort to rework the city’s zoning codes to allow more households per square foot of land while reducing the scales of new structures.

“The new infill housing was out of scale with existing neighborhoods,” said Morgan Tracy, a project manager for BPS. “Some of it is based on market preference. But it is also the escalating value of land. When builders get land, they need to add square footage to justify investment.”

That has led to small houses being torn down and turned into much larger homes in many neighborhoods. The city’s hope is that new regulations will result in fewer 5,000-square-foot McMansions and more 2,500-square-foot homes.

George Hale, owner of H. Hudson Homes, said that such changes could force him and others to build elsewhere. Hale, who has built houses in Portland for 20 years, said his customers aren’t interested in small two-bedroom homes.

“Like it or not, people want a big house,” he said. “They want all the amenities that go along with it. People with families are going to move elsewhere. The city will become dual-income, no-kid people, and that is how the city is going to turn out.”

While reducing the scale of structures is relatively straightforward, finding ways to increase density and housing choice has proven to be a tougher challenge for the city. To achieve higher density, planners decided to allow homes built within the overlay zone to add a second accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to the one currently allowed. One could be attached – such as a basement or garage. Another could be a separate structure.

“Our goal was to address the outcome of infill development,” Tracy said. “We want to increase the diversity of housing options.”

Changing demographics requires smaller units to be built, Tracy said. The average household in Portland has shrunk from 2.5 persons per unit to just 2.1 persons in the last decade, making smaller ADU-type units a viable way to address the housing challenges.

Currently, the most common residential zone, R5, allows one unit for every 5,000 square feet on a lot. More than 75 percent of residential areas fall into either the R5 or R7 (meaning one unit for every 7,000 square feet) zones. Under the new proposed rules, many of those would be changed to a R2.5, meaning that a unit can be built for every 2,500 square feet.

While duplexes have been allowed on corner lots since 1991, only 3.5 percent of owners of those lots have taken advantage of that provision. Many residents fear that will change with the new overlay zone, encouraging builders to put more duplexes, triplexes and ADUs on lots that formerly had single-family homes.

“You have a property that can house a triplex with an ADU on a 5,000-square-foot lot,” DeRidder said. “That changes the entire character of the neighborhood. It will be rebuilt into a new fabric.”

Neighborhood groups are also concerned the city’s quest to fit more households onto ever-tighter spaces could spur more demolitions of existing homes to accommodate multifamily complexes.

“Remodeling a house for that kind of density is cost-prohibitive,” DeRidder said. “We could have a lot of demolitions.”

The Residential Infill Project’s heavy focus on the city’s eastern portion led some stakeholders to question why only certain areas are being asked to absorb greater density. Lot size and shape are the determining factors explaining differences between how the east and west are treated, according to the city.

Those explanations have done little to allay fears that east Portland could see a new wave of demolitions and construction.

“The fear of demolition is from the fear that (the Residential Infill Project) lets people build duplexes and triplexes on every corner no matter where it is,” said Peter Meijer, founder of Peter Meijer Architect PC. “The majority of blocks are two lots on corners. That could turn into multifamily development. That is a scary vision for folks.”

Meijer, who specializes in historic preservation and revitalization, said the Residential Infill Project relies too much on a one-size-fits-all approach. Accounting for differences between city regions is crucial to successfully incorporating higher density, he said.

“One size doesn’t fit all,” he said. “I think you can say Sandy Boulevard is the type of street (that) is perfect for multifamily, three- or four-story housing. A single-family house getting built there is bad. It’s about balance. Why are you forcing (more density) all into R5 neighborhoods? Why is it still OK to build a single-story building on the transit corridors?”

The city believes that the current draft does take differences into account, especially between lot differences on the east and west sides.

“The zoning is already for higher density on transit corridors,” Tracy said. “We are still seeing some single-story construction, but that is a function of the real estate market.”

With the public comment period now closed, the BPS will spend the next several months updating and refining the draft proposal. The proposal will go before the Planning and Sustainability Commission for hearings in early 2018. The hope is to have the final completed proposal before the City Council in May or June.

“I am not against more flexibility or the need for more apartments,” DeRidder said. “But the question is: Is that what we need instead of homeownership? This would be more a rental market and not a homeownership market.”

The amount of change revisions bring will likely depend on where a structure is built, according to Wood.

“It really depends where you are,” she said. “If you are where we are proposing an R2.5, you may see more change, but I think you will see a pretty positive change.”

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Republican efforts in Congress to overhaul the tax code could deal a big blow to historic preservation efforts across the nation. Though a weaker form of the federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) would remain in the Senate version of proposed legislation, it would be completely eliminated in the House version.

“We think it will have a huge negative effect if it is eliminated in its entirety,” said Peter Meijer, founder of Peter Meijer Architect PC, which specializes in preserving historic structures. “I am basing that on the fact that older properties are tougher on development and construction side. The tax credit has been crucial.”

The HTC provides a 20 percent tax credit for developers who rehabilitate income-producing buildings deemed “certified historic structures” by the U.S. Interior Secretary, through the National Park Service. There is a 10 percent tax credit for non-historic buildings brought into service before 1936.

The HTC has helped developers transform aging structures into housing or mixed-use spaces rather than demolishing them. Locally, the credit helped pay for revitalization of the White Stag Block, the Wells Fargo Building, the Erickson Fritz Apartments and others.

“(The Erickson Fritz Apartments) was a $15 million project and we had $2.2 million worth of HTC,” said Julie Garver, housing development director for Innovative Housing Inc. “It was a critical funding source. It covered the cost of the seismic retrofit and a lot of the historic elements.”

The HTC can be combined with other incentives to move forward projects that wouldn’t otherwise. Critics say the credit doesn’t do enough to warrant its cost.

“It is a very small percentage of development,” Meijer acknowledged. “There are far more (projects) that don’t take the tax credits.”

Part of that is due to program restrictions. In order to qualify for the HTC, developers must spend at least as much as the structure’s assessed value. While only a few developers may use the credit, proponents argue it’s essential for certain projects.

“It isn’t a huge program, but it packs a huge punch,” said Peggy Moretti, executive director of Restore Oregon.

The HTC has been used by Oregon developers on projects totaling nearly $640 million since 2001, according to Restore Oregon. Nationwide, the credit has leveraged more than $84 billion of improvements and helped preserve 42,293 structures since its inception in 1976, according to the National Park Service.

“The value of the projects is quite significant,” Moretti said. “It has benefited Portland greatly. Portland has gotten the lion’s share. It makes more sense from a sustainability standpoint to refurbish buildings that are already there. It has helped retain the sense of place.”

Moretti also pointed to a 2015 Rutgers study that found the program produced an estimated $1.20 in tax revenue for every $1 spent.

“There is no downside to this from an economic or public policy standpoint,” she said.

The Senate passed a bill that would keep the HTC at 20 percent, but at 4 percent per year over five years. That version is before a conference committee as it seeks to work out differences from the House version. So, the HTC’s fate essentially hasn’t been decided yet.

“I just think it defies logic to do away with something that turns a profit,” Moretti said. “Some of these tax breaks are pork, but that is not the case with this one. We’re hoping reason will prevail.”

If legislation eliminates or significantly weakens the tax credit, many preservationists would likely look elsewhere for financial assistance.

“There has been the discussion at the state level to craft a state version (of the HTC),” Garver said. “The state credit could step in and help save some of those projects.”

The preservation community is hoping that won’t be necessary. Developers, architects and preservationists are lobbying members of Congress in an attempt to save the HTC. One of their biggest allies has been U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.

“Why would House Republicans take away a tool that has been used in more than 100 projects around Oregon and created millions of jobs across the country,” Blumenauer stated via email. “It’s ridiculous.”

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The Portland Design Commission approved a plan by Peter Meijer Architect for alterations to the Studio Building and Guild Theatre at 901-919 S.W. Taylor St. with four votes in favor, one against and one abstention. The planned alterations include replacing 192 windows in the Studio Building, installing a new rooftop ventilation system and renovating the Guild Theatre so that it becomes compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The meeting took a somewhat rare turn when city staffers recommended approving alterations different than the preferred plan proposed by designers. The staff report’s top recommendation involved rehabilitating the existing steel windows in the Studio Building rather than replacing them with aluminum windows, as proposed.

“Restoration of the windows was never really on the table,” said Kristen Minor, an associate and preservation planner with Peter Meijer Architect.

The project designers said that the windows’ conditions combined with their age and issues tied to lead paint and asbestos would make any rehabilitation difficult. Also, reaching energy efficiency standards was impossible with the current windows.

“The existing steel windows are not in great condition,” said Halla Hoffer, an associate and project manager with Peter Meijer Architect. “They have lead paint and are leaking for a variety of reasons.”

Despite those concerns, some commissioners were not sold on the idea that the old windows had to go.

“The level of stewardship is in question with this window replacement,” said Commission Chairman David Wark, who cast the lone “no” vote. “It’s a significant building. We want to be careful and thoughtful with the process here.”

Wark also expressed concern that the chosen replacement windows could need to be replaced sooner than the current windows if they were rehabilitated.

“How many times will these be cycled out,” he asked. “It’s tough to support wholesale replacement.”

Wark believes that even if the existing windows couldn’t meet energy efficiency standards, then other alterations such as insulation could compensate adequately. In the end, however, most commissioners supported replacing the windows. The cost to replace them with steel windows ranged from $1.4 million to $2.7 million, so designers looked at other options and eventually chose an aluminum one.

Most commissioners said they believe that replacing the windows could be accomplished without damaging the building’s historic character.

“The building should be on the (National) Register (of Historic Places),” Commissioner Julie Livingston said. “Replacement of the windows seems reasonable.”

That led to the next sticking point: the tint of the windows. Most of the commissioners said they believe that the glass proposed would be far too dark for the building. A condition for the approval was that the glass be changed to a clearer tint.

As for the Guild Theatre, the Design Commission barely took issue with proposed renovations. They are temporary in nature, until a new tenant moves in.

Vanessa Sturgeon, president and CEO of TMT Development, the owner and manager of the building, claimed that the incoming tenant, whom she did not identify, would likely bring further alterations before the commission in the near future.

Also on Thursday:

Park Avenue West sign

A team’s bid for a new sign on the 30-story Park Avenue West tower was sent back to the drawing board. While the Design Commission couldn’t approve the proposal by Ambrosini Design, it did indicate that an altered version could pass muster.

The original plan called for a 92-foot sign for Stoel Rives to be placed on the east facade of the illuminated lantern feature. The commission preferred an alternative: installation under the lantern feature.

The design team plans to bring altered plans before the commission on April 20.

525 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

A proposed six-story building was approved by the Design Commission. The building, designed by Hacker, will stand 85 feet tall, and include five floors of offices, ground-floor retail space and 65 underground parking stalls.

Developer PMC LLC., a joint venture between Beam Development and Urban Development + Partners, will begin the permitting process in May. The schedule calls for construction to begin in November and finish in approximately one year.

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Project plans for a new hotel at the corner of Southwest 11th Avenue and Alder Street were sent back by the Portland Design CommissionĚýon Thursday for further revisions.

This was in opposition to the city staff report, which had recommended approving the 15-story, 220-room hotel with a 7.7 to 1 floor area ratio (FAR).

Commissioners, however, felt that SERA Architects went too far in its attempt to respond to comments given in a previous hearing.

“I think you took us a little too seriously when we said to simplify the last approach,” commissioner Dan Vallaster said. “The building now feels sterile. You had a rich building before. It may not have been contextually appropriate, but it was very rich.”

Many of the commissioners said they believe that a hotel in Portland’s West End requires a “hip” design that also stays within the context of the neighborhood.

“That is a very rich neighborhood,” Vallaster said. “You have a lot to play off.”

He said that he would like designers to take the “fabric” of the design of other area buildings and incorporate it within theirs.

Commissioners also expressed concerns that the building neither reflected the intimacy of the neighborhood nor engaged pedestrians.

“We don’t have bubbles around ourselves,” Vice Chairman Ted Savinar said. “I think there is an opportunity, especially if it’s a hotel, to provide people with an experience that is true, is of our city and expresses it in its form. This (building) is Atlanta. This is Brazil. It’s any place.”

As the SERA Architects team sought direction from the commission, the firm’s Jeff Roberts showed commissioners several earlier design versions that received more favorable comments from them to gain an understanding of what they’re looking for. Commissioners also explained what they liked about alternative designs of ground floors.

“You had some very dynamic ideas the first time you were here,” Commission Chairman David Wark said. “All the air has kind of gone out of it. Even as unruly as it was, there was some things to work with.”

Overall, the commission stressed the importance of finding a design that brings a modern, hip touch to an established neighborhood.

“This should be a place I want to be,” Savinar said. “That is a tough couple blocks. The bar is high.”

The project team will return with a revised design at the commission’sĚýmeeting on Feb. 16.

Also on Thursday:

Ankeny Apartments

The Ankeny Apartments development team decided not to request a vote by the Design Commission. The bid for approval for a six-story, 17-unit apartment complex at 1122 S.E. Ankeny St. was expected to be denied.

During a meeting Jan. 5, the commission had voiced its opposition of the proposed design and was prepared to vote against approval despite the staff report that recommended otherwise. At that meeting, the project team had expressed an interest in appealing an anticipated denial to the City Council. A final vote was postponed untilĚýThursdayĚýwhile a new staff report was prepared to reflect the commission’s decision.

Now the project team, including YGH Architecture, has decided to revise the design in a way to potentially gain the commission’s approval.

The project will return before the commission onĚýFeb. 2.

Southeast Portland townhomes

The commission voted to follow the city staff report and approve plans for a 31-unit townhouse development designed by Ankrom Moisan Architects for 10840 S.E. Salmon St. Conditions were given for the type of railing, color of boards and type of concrete for the project. With those conditions, the commission unanimously approved it.

Downtown building improvements

Proposed alterations for two adjoining buildings at 901-919 S.W. Taylor St. were returned by the Design Commission for further revisions. The design team from Peter Meijer Architect plans to replace 192 steel windows with aluminum windows. Also, storefront alterations on the ground floor would bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Replacement of a rooftop HVAC unit is in the works as well.

Commissioners said they did not think the project team spent enough time exploring options for restoring windows rather than replacing them. They also wanted more information about possibilities for replacement if that became necessary. Commissioners were OK with the storefront alterations and the mechanical rooftop replacement.

The project team will return before the commission on Feb. 16 with updated plans.

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