A nonprofit’s latest affordable housing project in an area of Portland affected by gentrification is advancing.

The three-building Avenue Plaza apartment complex, at 5025 N.E. Eighth Ave., is being deconstructed to accommodate construction of the new five-story, 78-unit Nicole Sandoval Building. Its address will be 5015 N.E. Eighth Ave., near the intersection with Northeast Alberta Street.

There will be 35 two-bedroom units, 39 one-bedroom units and four studios in the 79,442-square-foot building. Twelve of the units will have accessibility features.

Of the 78 apartments, 22 (via U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development assistance) will be for individuals earning up to 50 percent of area median income, according to owner/developer Sabin CDC, and the other 56 will be for people earning up to 60 percent of AMI.

The project team also includes development consultant Edlen & Co., architect Scott Edwards Architecture, civil engineer Janet Turner Engineering of Lake Oswego, structural engineer VALAR Consulting Engineering of Clackamas, landscape architect DELA STUDIO, and construction manager/general contractor LMC Construction.

The building is named for Nicole Sandoval, a former resident in one of Sabin CDC’s properties and former chair of its board of directors. She also is an artist and children’s entertainer known as Nikki Brown Clown.

“She was instrumental in a key transition period for Sabin when I came on as executive director,” Sabin CDC’s Mary Schoen-Clark said. “Her support was really important during those days.”

The long-term, primarily Black residents of Avenue Plaza provided the motivation for Sabin CDC to tackle the project, Schoen-Clark said. Due to the rising cost of living in the Alberta Arts District, residents started to move out.

Sabin CDC’s long-term strategy is to ensure Northeast Portland residents can continue living in the community. Previously, the nonprofit delivered the Harvey Rice Heritage affordable housing development featuring the Isaka Shamsud-Din complex (on Northeast Killingsworth Street) and Charlotte Lewis complex (on Northeast 72nd Avenue). Two other projects are in the works.

One of the tasks for the design team was to ensure the Nicole Sandoval Building will fit within the Alberta Arts District, Scott Edwards Architecture project architect Sander Kohler said. The building will have a brick façade on the front and fiber cement siding with a board and batten pattern on the back.

Sabin CDC also charged the design team with the task of designing an energy efficient building able to spare residents from the burden of utility costs, Scott Edwards Architecture principal Hayley Purdy said. In fact, tenants won’t pay for any utilities.

In work with the Energy Trust of Oregon through its Path to Net Zero program, the design team identified many sustainable items for the building. These will include a ground source heat pump (the HVAC system), a 114-kilowatt solar array on the roof, a hot water heat pump system with storage tanks, a battery backup system, an efficient building envelope with increased insulation, triple-pane windows, all Energy Star appliances, full on-site stormwater retention including native plants, LED lighting, and more.

A monitoring system will be used to collect data from solar and geothermal systems in a format easily accessible by staffers, according to JT McElrath, cultural events and communications coordinator for Sabin CDC. That will allow system adjustments to ensure efficient energy use.

In addition, peak shaving will go one step further by accounting for when demand for electricity is high and companies’ rates are highest.

“By lowering our demand on the grid at these peak usage times, we lower our utility bill and provide less strain on the electrical grid,” explained Nathalie Hansen, assistant to Schoen-Clark.

The building won’t be net zero due to site constraints, according to Purdy. However, it is expected to receive certification in the Path to Net Zero high-performance tier. The project team is also targeting NGBS (National Green Building Standard) Green certification at the emerald level.

For seismic resiliency, the building will have a post-tensioned slab between the first and second floors. Several areas on the first floor will connect to the battery backup system and be shelter-ready.

Also, there will be 78 bicycle parking stalls, and the site is one-quarter mile from mass transit.

Construction is expected to cost $36 million. Sabin CDC declined to disclose the full project cost.

Funding is from Heritage Bank, Beneficial State Bank, Network for Oregon Affordable Housing, Enterprise Community Partners, Fairview Trust, Oregon Housing and Community Services, Portland Clean Energy Fund, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Metro.

Deconstruction of the three Avenue Plaza buildings began early last month. Sabin CDC is working with the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability on a commercial deconstruction pilot project, Hansen said. Portland YouthBuilders, OregonServes and Meticulous Deconstruction are participating in the effort.

The team has salvaged ovens, fridges and doors from the Avenue Plaza buildings, Hansen said. Windows have been removed and repurposed at a nursery. Studs and ceiling joists have also been salvaged. Some two-by-fours will be used for an accessory dwelling unit Sabin CDC is building in partnership with the city. Some materials are going to the ReBuilding Center in North Portland.

“We’ve also reinvested a lot of material that was on-site into our existing properties,” Schoen-Clark said. “That’s been a nice legacy moment for the existing buildings.”

Construction of the Nicole Sandoval Building is expected to be completed before it receives residents in January 2028.

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The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners last week voted to create the Construction Diversity and Equity Fund to pay for apprenticeship and retention programs for groups that have long been underrepresented in the construction industry.

The new fund will receive 1 percent from county remodeling projects with budgets greater than $200,000 and new construction projects that cost more than $1 million. The new policy will take effect July 1.

The county has undertaken more than $750 million worth of construction in the past few years, including approximately $324 million to replace the Sellwood Bridge. Officials said that in the past three years the county has undertaken no fewer than 38 remodeling projects that were worth $200,000 or more.

Money from the fund is intended to pay for pre-apprenticeship programs in the construction trades, employee retention programs and other supports for minorities and women in the industry. It will also support small certified businesses with technical aid and training in bidding, mentoring and other office support roles.

Portland YouthBuilders, a nonprofit that provides pre-apprenticeship training for low-income youth, was cited at the March 15 board meeting as an example of what the new fund would be backing. And with only 32 percent of women and 33 percent of minority apprentices continuing to the journey level, according to the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, additional retention efforts are important in backing up that initial education.

“Highly skilled construction jobs are a ticket out of poverty,” Bill Kowalczyk, a former carpenter and teacher for Portland YouthBuilders, told county board members.

The county has already been working to boost minority participation in construction through the creation of labor agreements for major capital projects. The agreements include diversity hiring requirements.

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Earlier this month, Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. announced the winners of its first “Woman on the Rise!” awards to spotlight exceptional women participating in apprenticeship programs in Oregon. To mark National Apprenticeship Week and Women in Apprenticeship Day, the 91��Ƶ asked the four winners to share their stories and offer some insight and suggestions for companies looking to attract and retain women in the construction trades. Here’s what they had to say:

Name: Isis Roshon Harris

Status: fourth-term apprentice

Trade: Electrician

Union affiliation: IBEW Local 48

91��Ƶ: How did you end up in an apprenticeship in the construction trades?

Harris: I was originally exposed to the construction industry as a student of YouthBuilders. … I was a single parent of two by the age of 17, so it was a very hectic time in my life and my focus wasn’t as heightened as was required to be successful.

In 2005-11 I served a sentence at Coffee Creek Correctional. During my incarceration my two teenage sons began to get in trouble with the law and were in and out of youth facilities. I used my time behind bars as effectively as I could. I enrolled in school before I came home (March 3, 2011) and was sitting in class at Portland Community College (25 days later).

In December 2013 I was unemployed, and near eviction, when my oldest son was shot in the face. He survived but is badly scarred and was jailed again as a result of collateral damage caused by his trauma. My youngest son was already incarcerated and facing a lengthy sentence.

By January 2014 I enrolled in Constructing Hope Pre-Apprenticeship program. It was unpaid and I was broke, but I knew if I didn’t make a change in my life I was going to self-destruct in a hailstorm of depression guilt. … I tested to get into the apprenticeship training program twice. I failed the test the first time and had to wait another six months to retest. … I spent a year and a half waiting to enter apprenticeship. … I’m now in the Inside apprenticeship program, which is where I’ll finish.

91��Ƶ: It’s widely acknowledged that it can be harder for women (than men) to succeed in the world of construction trades. Why are you willing to enter a field where you may have to work harder – or smarter – just to be given a fair chance at creating a career for yourself?

Harris: I’m personally willing to work hard and use my head doing it because I have no choice but to push a hard line at this point in my life. I not only have something to prove to myself – that I am capable, strong and smart with the perseverance to stay the path – but also to my sons so that when they do come home they will know that despite their past mistakes they can create a beautifully fulfilling future. I have to be the example of that.

91��Ƶ: What do you think building industry players should be doing differently or better to attract more women to careers in the trades? To retain them?

Harris: I think the key to attracting more women to the trades is showing them other women in the trades, having face-to-face interactions. Mentorships would be very useful in providing support, information and encouragement to women interested in pursuing a trades-related career. Ongoing training for staff and rank-and-file members on inclusion, equity and harassment-free workplaces should be standard.

Retention of women in trades could be helped with mentorship, safe and confidential reporting systems for harassment. … I do believe there should be an open communication channel for women to be able to give feedback without fear of repercussion about what helps them to learn and retain information.

Name: Katie Kuchta
Status: journeyed out Nov. 3

Trade: Laborer
Union affiliation: Oregon and Idaho Laborer 737
91��Ƶ: How did you end up working in the construction trades?

Kuchta: I always knew I (was meant) to do something wonderful; I just didn’t know what it was. I was tired of being a bartender not having a retirement or pension or barely being able to take care of myself and my son. I knew I wanted to make an honest living wage and be able to provide solely for my son and not rely on anybody else. I grew up around a lot of construction workers and didn’t know there was a spot for me in this world in the construction industry (until) I met somebody who told me about Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. (OTI) and I jumped on it! I first became a laborer in July 2015. I first did dispatch as a subcontractor for Skanska. I knew to work very hard and it would pay off, and it did – three months into my apprenticeship, I got (hired) by Skanska and now I’ve worked for (the company) for two and a half years.

91��Ƶ: Are you involved in any industry-related volunteer work?

Kuchta: I now mentor women at OTI and whenever I can out there, in grocery stores, at gas stations, and just on the streets.

91��Ƶ: It’s widely acknowledged that it can be harder for women (than men) to succeed in the world of the construction trades. Why are you willing to enter a field where you may have to work harder – or smarter – just to be given a fair chance at creating a career for yourself?

Kuchta: Being a woman on a job site is actually pretty empowering. When you go to a job site and there are other women, they’re so happy to see you that there’s none of this egotistical (stuff). I feel the best part about being a laborer is, at the end of the day you look back and you’ve made your job site a better place to be.

When it comes to dealing with men trying to pick up on you at work or belittling you because you’re a woman, I haven’t much run into that, but I’ve heard of it happening. I just let them know that I’m here to make an honest living wage and to make a better life for myself. Luckily I work with a great crew and team. We’re family … we look out for each other and protect each other (and) make sure at the end of the day we all go home alive.

91��Ƶ: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Kuchta: My biggest goal on the job site is to work harder than the boys. Women can do it, too. The guys are always there to help and willing to teach you how to do things as well. … You put your foot down from the start, let them know where you stand and that you’re willing to learn and you can do it, too. Someday we women will be superintendents and higher-ups. Just remember, I got you, sister!

Name: Heather Mayther Perez

Status: eighth-term apprentice

Trade: Carpenter

Union affiliation: Local 1503

91��Ƶ: How did you end up in an apprenticeship in the construction trades?

Perez: Since I was 15 I worked as a painter’s helper for my Uncle Chris’ residential painting company. I enjoyed working with my hands and learning new skills. I worked in an office for a few years and didn’t like that environment. When I was 28 I gave birth to triplets. I knew I needed a career that I could advance in, make a good wage, and have health benefits for them. I saw an ad for (Oregon Tradeswomen Inc.) and gave them a call. Have yet to regret it!

91��Ƶ: What, so far, have been some of the biggest challenges?

Perez: Moving through the different aspects of carpentry can be challenging. For example, finish carpentry looks nothing like concrete work, which is what I do now. Having children and trying to balance overtime or having to say “no” to more hours is difficult. I’m self-conscious about being “the mom” on the crew who has doctors’ appointments or if I have to leave when one (of my children) gets hurt, etc.

91��Ƶ: Are you involved in any industry-related community or volunteer service and/or organizations/affiliations? If so, what are they?

Perez: I am focusing on making my monthly union meetings and forging a path within my local.

91��Ƶ: It’s widely acknowledged that it can be harder for women (than men) to succeed in the world of the construction trades. Why are you willing to enter a field where you may have to work harder – or smarter – just to be given a fair chance at creating a career for yourself?

Perez: Creating a life full of experiences for my kids drives me. It pushes me to want to be successful in the trades. Peeps who choose this path are naturally hard workers and not looking for an easy road per se. Having some really incredible journeymen have been invaluable to me. My greatest mentor yet was a superintendent, Duwayne Gilbert, who never let me take the easy way, and encouraged me.

91��Ƶ: What do you think building industry players (including project owners, general contractors and unions) should be doing differently or better to attract more women to careers in the trades? To retain them?

Perez: Having a zero-tolerance harassment policy that is actually enforced sets a tone. Women deal with this in many forms, but the hesitation comes when you hear current tradeswomen share their (negative) experiences and what little repercussions there are.

91��Ƶ: Is there anything else you’d like to share with 91��Ƶ readers?

Perez: We all have something that motivates us. Encouraging each other is important in this difficult work. If we build each other up like we build the Portland city skyline, we’d have that many more … skilled journeymen.

Name: Carly Rush

Status: third-year apprentice

Trade: sheet metal

Union affiliation: Local 16

91��Ƶ: How did you end up in an apprenticeship in the construction trades?

Rush: I did mostly office work after becoming a mom and was never content after the challenge of learning a job was complete. A family friend is an electrician, and she encouraged me to apply to the local IBEW at a time when I was very unhappy at an apartment management job. I had worked for Safelite Auto Glass for four years before I had my first child and had enjoyed warehouse work and being a rock chip repair tech, so the trades didn’t seem like a stretch to me.

I qualified for the apprenticeship but did horribly on my panel interview, which landed me in a very low rank on the pool of eligible apprentices. I was pointed in the direction of Oregon Tradeswomen in order to boost my rank in a re-interview later on. While in the OTI pre-apprenticeship class I found that being a sheet metal worker interested me much more than being an electrician.

91��Ƶ: What, so far, have been some of the biggest challenges?

Rush: Believing in myself. I am my worst critic, and I’m much too hard on myself. I constantly have to remind myself I’m learning and it’s OK to mess up – that’s the best way to learn.

91��Ƶ: It’s widely acknowledged that it can be harder for women (than men) to succeed in the world of the construction trades. Why are you willing to enter a field where you may have to work harder – or smarter – just to be given a fair chance at creating a career for yourself?

Rush: The first reason I’m willing is to provide for my family. I get fair pay and excellent benefits for my whole family. Despite being my worst critic, I know I can be just as good as any man at my job. It can be stressful at times knowing I have to work harder than a male counterpart to be considered just average at my job, but I thrive when I’m being challenged.

91��Ƶ: What do you think building industry players should be doing differently or better to retain women in the trades?

Rush: Give women more opportunities. I sometimes feel like I’m not given a chance to do harder work because I am good at keeping a job organized and get stuck in that role. Women need just as much experience and knowledge in all aspects of the work. Treat us as you would any co-worker.

I don’t feel that I’ve been bullied or harassed, but I do feel that I’ve been pigeonholed at times. One of my strong suits is organization and at times I’ve felt stuck there. I am lucky to have had journeymen that I’ve worked with that have advocated for me to get more well-rounded experience when I haven’t felt comfortable speaking up as an apprentice. I want to be treated the same as any other apprentice, so stop offering to carry things for me. I will ask for help if I need it.

The post Words of wisdom from women ‘on the rise’ appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The Portland City Council on Wednesday approved two grants totaling $20,000 to support workforce training and hire workers for two East Portland park projects.

Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. and Portland YouthBuilders each received $10,000 to work with neighborhoods near Beech Park and Gateway Park. OTI‘s grant is a piece of a larger $51,000 contract with the city it signed to ensure that residents near the new parks in neighborhoods traditionally underserved by recreational amenities benefit economically from the $12 million project. Specifically, Portland Parks and Recreation intends to recruit and hire from the zip codes 97220, 97230, 97216, 97233, 97266 and 97236.

Beech Park will be approximately 16 acres between Northeast 126th Avenue and Beech Street, adjacent to Shaver Elementary School in the Argay neighborhood. The park will feature a sports field and a basketball court, play and picnic areas, shelters, paths, parking and a fenced off-leash dog area. The project is expected to cost $7.7 million.

Gateway Park will be four acres off of Northeast Halsey Street between 104th and 106th avenues. The park will serve the Gateway neighborhood, and feature a green space, a playground, a picnic area and a plaza available for festivals and farmers markets. The project is expected to cost $4.7 million.

Costs for both projects are being covered by system development charges.

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A plaza designed by Portland-based Propel Studio Architecture to enliven a vacant lot in the Lents neighborhood is now open.

More than 100 people last week attended a grand opening for the Lents Story Yard in Southeast Portland, Propel Studio principal Lucas Gray said.

The festivities were the culmination of a project that started in January when the Portland Development Commission awarded Propel Studio and Portland-based nonprofit ROSE Community Development a $7,500 grant to activate a PDC-owned property on the corner of Southeast 88th Avenue and Foster Road.

Propel Studio designed a series of walls and benches as well as a stage area constructed with gabion (wire boxes filled with stones) for the 7,142-square-foot site. Also, an exhibit with large portraits of Lents business owners was incorporated into the plaza.

Crews from nonprofit Portland YouthBuilders started constructing the plaza in July and wrapped up work earlier this month. Volunteers, including PDC staffers and community members, helped complete it.

Although some neighborhood residents were initially skeptical of the project, those attending the ground-breaking ceremony gave only positive feedback, Gray said. Officials representing Portland nonprofits have expressed interest in holding events there.

The quick turnaround and the plaza’s purpose to help improve a community made designing it particularly rewarding, Gray said.

“It’s the first public project we’ve done,” he said. “We’re really trying to give back to our neighbors. It was incredible.”

The project is designed to be temporary and spur permanent development in the area. It is scheduled to last 18 months; PDC officials will then decide whether the plaza should be disassembled or made permanent, Gray said.

“It’s open to renewal if it’s still in good condition and people still enjoy it,” he said.

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Attorney Edwin “Ned” Perry, a commercial litigator with Tonkon Torp, has been elected to serve on the board of directors of Portland YouthBuilders.

Perry focuses his practice on the litigation, mediation and arbitration of complex contract, construction and real estate disputes. He joined Tonkon Torp in 1984 after graduating from the University of Oregon School of Law, and is a former chairman of the firm’s litigation department.

He will serve a three-year term on the board of Portland Youthbuilders, a nonprofit organization that provides education and vocational training for young people ages 17 to 24.

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Jeff Catlin is passionate about energy efficiency. When he was laid off from his job in 2009, he started the , which prepares people for careers in the energy performance field. The firm contracts with local colleges to provide training and private test houses in Portland.

Catlin says it’s important for the next generation of builders to think about the energy choices they’re making in construction – such as use of air-tight insulation or recycled materials.

“There were problems during the construction boom,” he said. “Contractors weren’t as motivated to slow down and build in a thoughtful way. There wasn’t an ethic of making a building efficient.”

Catlin donated materials and provided his business’ test houses for a recent mentoring event in which students from the program were connected with contractors, energy auditors and others to learn about home performance. Students conducted mock energy audits for Portland houses and met workers who perform weatherization upgrades.

Amber Ford joined the Portland YouthBuilders program as a way to receive free training for a construction career. The audit and the site visit were informative, she said.

“They used a smoke pencil to find leaks in the house,” Ford said.

“A lot more things were leaking than I thought were going to leak,” student Devin Leino said. “If a house is drafty you can lose a lot of heat.”

Portland YouthBuilders construction program manager Bill Kowalczyk said he hoped the students could learn from the career paths of the mentors they met in their workshops.

“Weatherization itself is not a glamorous job, but it’s a job that, with proper training, you can make a living at in short order – and it’s something to build upon,” he said. “That’s the key in this economy – building a ladder to a career with stackable credentials.”

For example, a weatherization contractor could become an auditor. And Catlin, once a field representative for Energy Star programs, founded and sold a business.

Catlin said there are jobs for people interested in these careers.

“We’re seeing a lot of job creation happening, finally,” he said.

Catlin said that over the last three years, an increasing number of graduates from ECONTC programs have gotten jobs, and his business gets six to eight calls per month from businesses looking to hire his graduates.

“Any folks who come through our courses and are motivated are getting jobs out there,” he said.

Kowalczyk said that some students were offered internships during the green career day. But he said that even students who aren’t interested in becoming weather-proofers or auditors – Ford, for example, said the field doesn’t have enough “adventure” – still benefit because they learn about energy efficiency.

“The more training they have in energy efficiency, the more valuable their services are in the workplace,” said Don MacOdrum, executive director of the . “A home performance contractor loves working with someone who understands energy efficiency.”

MacOdrum is among a group of local professionals who created the Portland YouthBuilders event because they want the next generation of builders to know about energy efficiency.

“This generation of kids will be responsible for making our housing stock,” said Kendra Van Note, community outreach and education director with and organizer of the event. “We’re passing on our knowledge of building science to them, so that when they go into construction trade that they have that awareness. That’s what I want them to get.”

Van Note has run a similar career day in Bend for the last two years, and hopes to run a second Portland event next year.

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I don’t know if it’s the nice weather or longer days, but construction firms and organizations have been in the spirit of giving over the last few weeks.

It started with the , the charitable wing of the Vancouver-based , which raised more than $100,000 last weekend as part on its annual Dozer Day event. In addition to teaching the nearly 25,000 people in attendance about heavy machinery, all the money will go toward local charities supporting causes centered on children.

And now the global construction firm is matching dollar-for-dollar donations through Groupon that will go toward , an organization dedicated to providing long-term support to low-income youth.

Skanska will , up to $3,000, over the next two days. The funds will help buy tools and safety equipment for kids involved in YouthBuilders’ green residential construction program, which teaches young adults between the ages of 17 and 24 about green building techniques. Through the program, participants build up to four affordable, energy-efficient homes a year that are then sold to low-income families.

The organization is great, and donating during these next few days will give you more bang for your buck with the donation match from Skanska. So go learn about the program and about Skanska, and if you’re compelled to do so, make a donation.

The post Skanska matches donations to Portland YouthBuilders appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

I don’t know if it’s the nice weather or longer days, but construction firms and organizations have been in the spirit of giving over the last few weeks.

It started with the , the charitable wing of the Vancouver-based , which raised more than $100,000 last weekend as part on its annual Dozer Day event. In addition to teaching the nearly 25,000 people in attendance about heavy machinery, all the money will go toward local charities supporting causes centered on children.

And now the global construction firm is matching dollar-for-dollar donations through Groupon that will go toward , an organization dedicated to providing long-term support to low-income youth.

Skanska will , up to $3,000, over the next two days. The funds will help buy tools and safety equipment for kids involved in YouthBuilders’ green residential construction program, which teaches young adults between the ages of 17 and 24 about green building techniques. Through the program, participants build up to four affordable, energy-efficient homes a year that are then sold to low-income families.

The organization is great, and donating during these next few days will give you more bang for your buck with the donation match from Skanska. So go learn about the program and about Skanska, and if you’re compelled to do so, make a donation.

The post Skanska matches donations to Portland YouthBuilders appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.