Multnomah County will soon issue a request for proposals (RFP) from parties interested in partnering in its Walnut Park redevelopment project.

In 2018, the county began evaluating future options for the 74-year-old Walnut Park Complex it owns and operates on 1.7 acres at 5329 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The building houses the Northeast Health Center, a dental clinic, a Meals on Wheels dining center, and the Urban League of Portland‘s Multicultural Senior Center. It is also home to county offices and service centers, including the Department of County Human Services, its Aging, Disability and Veterans Services Division, and a Homeless Services Department shelter, a county press release states.

Four years later, JM Woolley & Associates, Black Investment Consortium for Economic Progress (BICEP), and Cascadia Partners led a redevelopment feasibility study. The conceptual plan included a mix of housing, ground-floor commercial space, office space, community space, and updated and expanded county service space, a Multnomah County staff report states. The intent of the project is to create space to serve the Black community and people of color. The development will be designed and programmed as a community healing and service center, the feasibility report states.

Since the study was completed, the county has explored cost and financing options for the project. A partnership with a developer will help Multnomah County manage the project’s impact on its finances and leverage outside funding.

Multnomah County purchasing manager Brian Smith said staff approached the Board of Commissioners earlier in the development process for approval to look at more options for project delivery and financing.

“I’m very confident that we will be able to – we’re working on the RFP right now – to get a developer on board who will work with us and be able to balance the fiscal responsibility with the equity concerns,” Smith said.

The draft RFP will be released within the next month, and a developer will be selected in the fall.

Starting in October, the chosen development partner will spend the next 12-18 months creating a proposal for redeveloping the Walnut Park Complex. The document will identify the financing plan and incorporate long-term planning and on-site program needs, as well as look at ownership trade-offs or leasing options. The proposal will then be presented to the Board of Commissioners for adoption.

Upon reception of the board’s approval, the project will move into the design phase. The board will receive quarterly written project updates as well as multiple opportunities to weigh in during each phase.

Last week the board unanimously approved an exemption from the design-bid-build delivery method for the project. For this procurement approach, the county will enter a contract with a developer with demonstrated experience in managing complex community-driven projects and an understanding of the historic and current significance of Walnut Park.

A project budget has not been established yet.

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Project name: Terminal 1 Block A & C, Port of Vancouver USA

Location: Vancouver, Washington

Completion: 646,835 square feet

Size: October 2024

Landowner/Lessee: Port of Vancouver USA

Developer/Lessor: Lincoln Property Company

Architects: West of West Architecture & Design (design architect) DLR Group (executive architect)

Interior Designer: West of West Architecture & Design

Engineers: Mackenzie, Piper Mechanical, KPFF

General Contractor: Robertson & Olson Construction

Submitting Company: DLR Group

Other Key Participants: City of Vancouver, Portland Street Art Alliance and artists Jeremy Nichols, Hayden Senter, Ana Gabriela

Other Associates/Consultants: Cascade Electrical, GeoDesign NV5, Kittelson & Associates, Walter P. Moore, BEE Engineers, Brightworks, PLACE, Code Consultants

Subcontractors: 2 Down Services, Able Fence, Anderson Specialties, Axiom Division 7, Basco Appliances, Blankenship Equipment Repair, Building Material Specialties, Cascade Electrical, CDI Blinds, Cedar Landscape Construction, Conco, Concrete Designs, Consurco, Cornerstone Masonry, Cosco Fire Protection, Ecoglo, Flash Parking, Floor Solutions, Ground Control Systems, Huntco, Interior Technology, LaRusso Concrete, LCDA, LJP Construction, Mission Glass, Mt. Hood Steel, Overhead Door, Pacific Foundation, Pacific Stair, Piper Mechanical, Pro-Bel Enterprises, Sawtooth Caulking, Schindler Elevator, Sign Wizards, Skyline Sheet Metal, Sound Vanguard Solutions, Spectrum Woodworking & Interiors, Sunset Stucco, Vancouver Paint Group, Vancouver Paving, Vancouver Sign, Western Construction Specialties, Western Partitions, You & I Construction

The Port of Vancouver USA’s Terminal 1 Block A & C development is transforming the city’s waterfront into a dynamic mixed-use destination that honors its maritime heritage while creating new economic opportunities.

Completed in October 2024, the project features two mid-rise office towers rising nine and 10 stories above a shared landscaped podium. The development delivers 287,100 square feet of office space, 12,835 square feet of retail, and a 346,900-square-foot parking structure.

“The Launch,” a pedestrian axis that bisects the towers, recalls the site’s history as a wartime shipbuilding hub while providing sweeping views of the Columbia River and city skyline.

Lincoln Property faced significant challenges during development, including negotiating a long-term lease within just 90 days while simultaneously modifying project plans from a mixed office-residential design to an all-office development.

During the pandemic, supply chain disruptions were a major concern. The team prioritized domestic materials, partnering with a local Vancouver vendor to develop the distinctive metal exterior featuring blades and serrated edges that create dynamic interactions with sunlight.

The towers have achieved LEED Gold v4 certification, incorporating bird-safe glazing and native plantings that support pollinator habitats. The project reduces landscape irrigation by 75 percent and includes occupiable roof terraces, bike storage facilities, and EV charging stations.

ZoomInfo has established its West Coast hub at Terminal 1, leasing both towers and cementing the development’s role as a premier business destination in the Vancouver-Portland metro area.

The Port of Vancouver USA and City of Vancouver were critical to the project’s success. Their leadership is transforming the former 1920s warehouse site into an extension of downtown Vancouver with strategic freeway visibility and direct connectivity to Portland via the Interstate Bridge.

Public art features prominently, with murals by local artists Jeremy Nichols, Hayden Senter, and Ana Gabriela depicting imagery inspired by the Columbia River, Indigenous stories, and the city’s industrial heritage.

General contractor Robertson & Olson Construction completed the project with exemplary safety standards, earning multiple START Certifications from the Washington Department of Labor and Industries. DLR Group was executive architect on the project.

“The successful public-private partnership between the Port of Vancouver USA and Lincoln Property Company, spanning over five years, enabled the bold vision of constructing a Class A world headquarters for the tenant,” noted Patrick Gilligan, senior executive vice president with LPC, in the project submission form. “This collaboration also facilitated the execution of the largest lease signing in the Portland metro market in recent years.”

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Construction has started on a replacement courthouse for Clackamas County. A ground-breaking ceremony was held Feb. 3.

The original courthouse in downtown Oregon City, built in 1936, is functionally obsolete and can no longer serve the needs of residents, the county stated in a press release. The building also has safety concerns and structural risks. Soil tests revealed the ground under the building, near the Willamette River, could liquefy during an earthquake, the county stated.

No plans exist for the current courthouse, according to the city of Oregon City, but redevelopment is one of the priorities in the Urban Renewal Plan for downtown.

The new courthouse’s location on the 68-acre Red Soils Campus in Oregon City will provide easy access to county resources such as social services, public health, veterans services, and others. The courthouse will stand at 1000 Courthouse Road.

Clackamas Progress Partners, previously named Fengate PCL Progress Partners, was selected to design, build, and maintain the replacement courthouse over a 30-year period. The consortium of companies is comprised of developer Fengate Asset Management, PCL Investments, design-build contractor PCL Construction Services, service provider Honeywell and designer DLR Group.

The partnership was a result of the county’s analyses of alternatives that led to the most cost-effective, lowest risk option. Clackamas County and Clackamas Progress Partners entered a contract for public-private partnership for construction. This project will mark the first time in Oregon state history that a courthouse is delivered through a public-private partnership, the county said.

The 215,000-square-foot courthouse will hold 14 courtrooms, 20 judicial chambers, offices for the district attorney, secure loading and staging areas, improved prisoner transfer facilities, jury assembly and grand jury spaces, safe corridors for courthouse users and secure holding cells for violent offenders.

The design takes a forward-thinking approach to operations, security, technology and sustainability, according to Clackamas Progressive Partners. The interior design vision emerged from consideration of wayfinding, operational clarity, user wellness and trauma-informed design. There will be an abundance of daylight with uninterrupted views of the outdoors.

Brick will be the primary exterior material for all elevations of the building.

The project team is participating in the Oregon Green Energy Technology in Public Buildings program. Systems able to produce at least 25 percent of the building’s energy will be on-site, the city stated. Mass timber will also be used in the building.

The total project cost is currently estimated at $313 million. Construction is scheduled for completion in May 2025.

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The nine-story, 157,000 square foot Gladys McCoy Health Department Headquarters is currently being built on a half block parcel at Northwest Sixth and Hoyt Street. The project is adjacent to Union Station and the Bud Clark Commons apartment building run by the county’s public housing authority Home Forward.

Designed by ZGF Architects, the new Gladys McCoy building takes its name from the county’s current headquarters on Southwest Stark Street. Built in 1923, the current headquarters is too small and county officials have been looking into replacing the building for well over a decade.

Now, general contractor J.E. Dunn and an army of subcontractors are entering the final phases of construction. The building topped out last December, and those involved in the $94 million project now expect it to be substantially complete by the end of this year.

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In this short video Gresham Redevelopment Commission Executive Director Josh Fuhrer gives a brief overview of Rockwood Rising, a long-awaited plan to redevelop a key property in the impoverished Gresham neighborhood of Rockwood. Once an unincorporated area of the county between Portland and Gresham, Rockwood has remained behind the development curve in spite of the region’s red-hot housing market. This has left plenty of room for enterprising developers to seek out public-private partnerships like Rockwood Rising, which has seen RKM Development team with the city of Gresham to make the project work. Check it out here:

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