The build-out of Northwest Portland is continuing apace, and general contractor Bremik Construction is doing its part for the six-story Saltwood North project.

The mixed-use development was designed by SERA Architects for half of a superblock in Portland’s Slabtown neighborhood. The six-story building will have 177 market-rate apartments above ground-floor retail space. There will be two levels of underground parking.

Bremik Construction is self-performing all structural concrete work, as well as installations of windows and wood siding.

Recently, LaRusso Concrete crews were at the site to assist with the largest single-day concrete pour Bremik Construction has carried out as a general contractor since it was founded in 2004. The pour of 1,700 cubic yards covered the first half of the building’s foundation slab; the second followed shortly thereafter.

“Kicking it off with the foundation obviously kicks off all of our vertical concrete and lets us go up instead of down,” Bremik Construction superintendent Josh Ring said.

Saltwood North is one half of the entire Saltwood project being developed by Cairn Pacific for owner Prometheus Real Estate Group on a Con-Way master-planned block bordered by Northwest 20th and 21st avenues, and Savier and Quimby streets. Saltwood South (with only one level of underground parking) is being constructed by general contractor R&H Construction and will rise on a nearly identical parcel.

In total, Saltwood will provide 354 new apartments and 17,000 square feet of commercial space. Saltwood North alone will feature a spa, a swimming pool, a steam room, a sauna and other amenities like a rooftop deck and a lounge.

Excavation and site work for Saltwood North began in August. Substantial completion is expected by winter 2021.

“It’s pretty exciting to be able to be involved with a good-sized pour like this,” Ring said. “We looked at trying to do this all in one whack, but it’s really tough to get all the variables to line up to work – weather being one of the most important. It’s got to time out.”

Work on the first concrete pour started at 2 a.m., Ring said, so that trucks would have easier access to the site. Crews poured about 290 yards per hour on average, which he called a really good rate.

“The challenge is if you try to pull this off on a weekday, the rush hour just kills you,” he said. “Having this dry November has been awesome. And from a concrete perspective we’ll probably be wrapping up about August with all the structural concrete. We’re just pumped right now to be able to start going vertical.”

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Development in the Con-way master-planned area took another big step forward Thursday, as the Portland Design Commission enthusiastically approved a design proposed for Saltwood: a two-building mixed-use project.

Commissioners voted 6-0 in favor of SERA Architects‘ design, allowing developer Cairn Pacific LLC to move forward with a pair of six-story market-rate apartment buildings. Combined, they will hold approximately 17,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space, 354 residential units and below-grade parking.

This will continue the transformation of the intersection of Northwest 21st Avenue and Raleigh Street into a bustling retail hub as part of the Con-way Master Plan. It calls for redevelopment of 17 city blocks of former industrial space into a residential and commercial center.

“All of this stuff is woven together very, very well,” commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said to Cairn Pacific principal Tom DiChiara and SERA Architects principal Kurt Schultz. “What is happening at the intersection of Raleigh, with Carson South and L.L. Hawkins – that’s really nice urban space, and when you expand it across the street, it’s fantastic urban space.”

Saltwood will rise on city blocks 291W and 292W as a pair of mixed-use apartment buildings with distinctly different appearances. The common denominator will be brick masonry, but the style, color and textures will differ. By contrast, cedar and other decorative wood will dominate the ground-floor retail spaces.

The property under development is split into north and south blocks. It is bounded on the west by Northwest 21st Avenue, on the north by Savier Street and on the south by Quimby Street.

Both buildings will feature landscaped courtyards open to the outside neighborhood. On the ground floor, a wide variety of storefront design features are intended to distinguish each retail space from the next.

“We want to see a great mix that makes that 24-7 style of neighborhood work,” DiChiara said.

The south building will have lighter-colored brick accents with additional metal panels to accent the brick, while the north building will feature darker burgundy brick.

“The south building is not so industrial and probably more urbane in character,” Schultz said.

One of the highlights of the design is a quarter-block expression in each building; combined, they will dominate the northeast and southeast corners of Northwest 21st Avenue and Raleigh Street. Connected to the main buildings by pedestrian walkways, this aspect provides variation of height, rhythm and color coveted by designers.

Another interesting aspect of the plan is the inclusion of large ground-floor, walk-up townhomes on the east side of each building that will front future pedestrian walkways called for in the master plan.

Commissioners praised the manner in which Saltwood fits into the area, which in recent years has seen development of a number of significant projects. These include: the L.L. Hawkins, a six-story mixed use building fronting Northwest 21st Avenue and stretching between Quimby and Raleigh streets; The Carson, a 13-story mixed-use building and a six-story mixed-use building; a New Seasons supermarket at the corner of Northwest 22nd Avenue and Quimby Street; and the Leland James Center, an adaptive reuse effort at the corner of Northwest 22nd Avenue and Raleigh Street.

Future development on the Con-way Blocks will include a new park stretching along the west side of Northwest 21st Avenue between Quimby and Pettygrove streets.

“This is a quality couple of buildings you’ve put together,” Commissioner Andrew Clarke said of Saltwood. “The massing and the way you broke up the massing feels like an urban area that’s actually been here for a little while. I like the quality of colors and materials that you use all the way down to the public realm areas, which are continuing to stitch this new neighborhood together.”

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