Seabold Construction‘s closure in 2023 left two multifamily projects in North Portland incomplete. Building equipment worth millions of dollars was stored in an underground parking garage in one of the buildings.

Only chain-link fences guarded the Zeal Lofts and Fargo Apartments properties in Albina, a neighborhood deeply affected by crime and homelessness.

Nathan Weide, a construction-industry veteran who had been hired by Seabold as general superintendent for the projects, figured he had to do something.

Working with the owner-developer, Vibrant Cities of Seattle, Weide called every subcontractor working on the two projects. He asked them some basic questions: How much have you been paid? How much are you owed? And are you still interested in working on the projects?

Weide spent months clearing liens on the projects. Not every subcontractor came back, but many did. And after 14 months of inactivity on the projects, they went back to work.

Vibrant Cities kept Weide as general superintendent and formed a single-purpose entity, Solterra Strata, a limited liability company. (Vibrant Cities declined to comment for this article, citing ongoing litigation).

Seabold assistant superintendent Mark Staley stayed, and assistant superintendent Jesse Hiellig also joined to help manage construction. Judy Parish, also from Seabold, served as bilingual language foreman and Austin Weide (Nathan’s son) served as fire-stop technician. Many other subcontractors contributed.

“We had a good team put together,” Nathan Weide said.

Weide and Staley instituted a daily coordination meeting of subcontractors at the neighboring sites. Some didn’t love the idea of attending a meeting every day, but it proved crucial, Weide said.

“That really helped speed up the project right there,” he said.

Security was an ongoing concern. Weide rehired a security contractor. Construction continued even as shootings occurred nearby, with police and ambulance sirens a frequent backdrop.

“With the neighborhood as it is, it’s challenging,” Weide said.

Zeal Lofts comprises 215 units and the Fargo Apartments another 102 units. Designed by Jackson | Main Architecture of Seattle, the projects entered construction in October 2021.

Work led by Seabold halted on Nov. 9, 2023. The circumstances are in dispute, but Seabold’s contract and all subcontracts were terminated.

Weide, 48, has served in the construction industry since 1997, when he joined Robert Gray Partners as a carpenter. He worked his way up in the industry, later working for major contractors such as Swinerton and Deacon Construction, and playing a role in projects including the Wingspan Event and Conference Center in Hillsboro, Ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield, Washington, the Northeast Portland Ikea outlet, and the Edward J. Ray Hall at the Oregon State University-Cascades campus.

That left him well prepared to handle the mess left by the end of Seabold Construction. Harry Seabold, the contractor’s co-founder and president, died in January 2023 at age 69. Some legal cases related to the company’s demise have been settled, but others remain open.

The Fargo Apartments building was completed in January 2025, and the Zeal Lofts followed in March, roughly three and a half years after construction began.

The Fargo, at 25 N. Fargo St., has five floors of wood construction over two floors of concrete, while the Zeal, at 3185 N. Williams Ave., has a six-over-two design. Both projects have some parking — the Zeal has an underground garage, while the Fargo has ground-floor spaces.

Both buildings are intended to draw market-rate renters with small, relatively affordable units. The Zeal offers lofted studios and a few one-bedroom apartments with a shared full-service kitchen and amenity spaces on each floor in a dormitory-style configuration. The Fargo has a mix of studios and apartments with one or two bedrooms.

Projects connected to efforts to remake Albina are under way. They include the Williams & Russell project featuring affordable apartments, houses and a Black business hub with offices and retail space, and Albina Vision Trust‘s Albina One, a 94-unit apartment project.

Other signs of growth have popped up. Williams Coffee House opened a block south at 3037 N. Williams Ave. earlier this year. A Southwestern-themed bar, The Waypost, has held on directly across the street from the Zeal. A New Seasons grocery store a couple of blocks north provides a retail anchor.

The Fargo’s residential units are approximately 50 percent leased, while the Zeal’s are 25 percent to 30 percent full. A restaurateur has agreed to lease retail space at the Fargo. Two spaces at the Zeal remain unoccupied.

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The Pearl Apartments, a building true to its name, is on the rise in Portland’s Pearl District.

Crews broke ground on the project in late July 2020, first demolishing a 6,000-square-foot concrete building on the quarter-block site at 1315 N.W. Johnson St., at the intersection with Northwest 13th Avenue. The new seven-story, 39,000-square-foot structure will hold 58 small residential units ranging from 300-square-foot studios to 688-square-foot two-story apartments. The ground floor will have retail space.

Bob Thompson is leading TVA Architects‘ design team. General contractor Seabold Construction is building the structure for Paul Properties and Johnson 13 LLC.

Long ago, trains ran along 13th avenue and dictated that all the sidewalks be elevated so that freight could be loaded and unloaded more easily. That led to similar sidewalks being chosen for the Pearl Apartments, in homage to the district’s past.

The exterior design is also reminiscent of industrial use, Thompson said, with Gunn-metal brick skin and punched openings. To also provide a bit of architectural rhythm and color, tight metal cladding and rib metal siding were included.

“(It) created a nice rhythm and geometry to the exterior elevations,” Thompson said.

Mahogany wood framing for windows will be used to tie the whole structure together down to the ground floor.

The goal of the project is to maximize the living experience in a tightly compacted space, Thompson said. To make units look bigger, floor-to-ceiling windows will be installed.

“Typically, apartments will have a little punch unit (window) at the end,” Thompson said. “But by providing that much glass, the space just flows to the outside, and you get this kind of relief (that) just maximizes the space.”

Inside units, each bedroom will have a sliding, barn-style door able to stay partially open to let in more light to the living space.

Developing a contemporary building that speaks to the district’s historical character was an opportunity and not a challenge, Thompson said.

Installation of wood framing is under way, though work on the seventh story was delayed due to the recent snowstorm, Seabold Construction field superintendent Jason Rekucki said. Ice and rainwater on the top floor would’ve made moving walls around too difficult, he explained. Three weeks are expected to allow crews to finish the top story and the permanent roof.

Also last week, crews were waiting for a dry day to pour the concrete for the ground floor. Rekucki said he had hoped to have it poured on Tuesday, but melting snow and ice would’ve complicated such an effort.

Despite delays tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires and weather, construction is expected to end up finishing Rekucki said it still should be a 16-month long project.

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Population growth is affecting a lot of Portland, but it’s particularly noticeable in the area around the junction of Northeast Sandy Boulevard and Burnside Street. There, some mixed-use and residential projects have finished in recent years, and crews have begun constructing others.

One of the less ostentatious projects is tucked away at the corner of Southeast 13th Avenue and Ankeny Street. There, Koz Development of Snohomish, Washington, is developing a micro-apartment project. Koz on 13th will offer 87 units over four stories. Apartments will either be studios or one-bedroom units, ranging from 232 to 462 square feet. Monthly rents will start at $1,000.

“We have an occupied roof deck area, so we’ll have pavers up there,” Seabold Construction superintendent Chris Locke said, “and we’re plumbing it for gas so we can have a couple of barbecues and a fireplace. The view actually overlooks downtown Portland there, so it’s a pretty good view.”

Only five ground-level parking spaces will be constructed for motor vehicles; however, 92 bicycle parking spaces will be spread over the four stories.

Currently, crews are working on interior drywall, exterior wood siding, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing, as well as finish carpentry. Seabold is looking to complete construction by mid-April following delays caused by discovery of an underground cistern and the need to replumb certain areas of the building.

The building, designed by Koz Development’s in-house architecture team, will be rectangular to fit the former surface parking lot. Some of the units on the building’s north side, facing Ankeny Street, will have outdoor patios, Locke said.

This is just one of several Koz Development projects in Portland that are finished, under construction, or in planning or design.

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More micro-housing developments are coming to Portland, and Beaverton-based Seabold Construction is busy building many of them.

Snohomish, Washington-based Koz Development relies on in-house architects to design all of its projects – many that offer micro-apartments – and then manages them after completion. The firm’s latest is Koz on SW Fourth Avenue, which will provide 108 units (64 studios and 46 lofts) above ground-floor retail space. Seabold Construction is serving as general contractor for this project and three others by Koz in Portland. And that is hardly the end of such activity.

“There are quite a few that haven’t formalized into drawings yet, but are in the works,” said Kevin Owens, Seabold’s director of field operations.

Koz on SW Fourth Avenue will have five stories of residential space over a ground floor intended to serve restaurants, as well as 25 below-grade parking spaces. The wedge-shaped property is at 2211 S.W. Fourth Ave, slightly south of the Portland State University campus.

“It’s a great location,” Seabold Construction Superintendent Tom Turner said. “Right now we’re into full rough-in, and on the interior we’re going to be sheeting the fifth floor and we’ll have the roof on in about three more weeks. It’s a beautiful location. It’s going to be very probably affordable for the kids, if it is all students.”

The unique property overlooks both Interstate 405 and the West Hills.

“I wish we were up to the fifth floor because there’s the greatest view of Mount Hood you could ever see,” Turner said on a tour of the site. “The views here are going to be incredible. This is just the coolest setting you could have.”

Recently, a host of subcontractors and their crews were working on-site. They included Advanced Pro Builders, Atlas Plumbing Contractors, Madlyn Metal Fab, Rose City Electric, Jacobs Heating & Air Conditioning and Triad Fire Protection.

The building is expected to be substantially completed by August, Owens said. The project team is hoping it will open before the start of the 2019-20 school year.

For now, rough-in work will continue into the spring as interior contractors start to arrive on-site.

“This is my first week of rough in, and all my MEPs are here and I’m straightening everything out and getting organized,” Turner said.

Koz Development’s first project in Portland, Koz on Yamhill, opened last year at 2165 S.W. Yamhill St., in Goose Hollow. It has 26 lofts and four studios – all with 350 square feet or less. Seabold is now building three similar projects: Derby Slabtown, with 127 apartments and one live-work unit, at 1075 N.W. 16th Ave.; Koz on NW 16th, with 80 units, at 1111 N.W. 16th Ave.; and Koz on SE 13th, with 87 units, at 123 S.E. 13th Ave.

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Developer Vibrant Cities is focused on delivering housing units not only in ideal places, but also with reasonable rents. Currently, the Portland market is offering such opportunities for the Seattle-based company, which originated when SolTerra split into two entities.

In 2016, construction of Brooklyn Yard (developed by SolTerra) – a four-story building with 46 apartments – wrapped up at 4780 S.E. Milwaukie Ave. Currently, the firm’s Zeal Lofts – a six-story building with 216 micro-studios – and the Fargo – a six-story building with 100 apartments – are being developed in North Portland; both, like Brooklyn Yard, will have ground-floor retail space.

Another project is moving ahead: Ascend, a five-story building with 96 micro-apartments and retail space on Northeast Failing Street, between Williams and Vancouver avenues. Recently, people representing project team members Vibrant Cities, Seattle design firm Jackson | Main Architecture and general contractor Seabold Construction gathered at the Ascend job site for food, drinks and a low-key ground-breaking ceremony.

“The inspiration is making affordable homes in great locations, right?” Vibrant Cities CEO James Wong said. “And whereas there are a lot of millennials and young urban workers who want to live in the city, and it’s really hard for them to afford it, they can always afford to live in smaller spaces. But they get to be in the location that they want, so that’s key for us right there.”

Ascend will feature four wood-framed stories above a ground floor featuring a lounge for tenants as well as retail space, and a below-grade parking garage.

“This is group living; it’s not apartments,” said Robin Murphy, a Jackson | Main Architecture owner and principal.

In the group living model for Ascend, Murphy added, sleeping units will be arranged into 16 clusters. Each six-unit cluster will share a kitchenette that includes a three-quarter refrigerator, food storage, a two-burner cooktop and a sink. The sleeping units will range from 250 to 350 square feet.

Five micro-restaurant spaces will be built into the storefront facing Vancouver Avenue. They’re intended to complement the existing neighborhood.

“The intention is Vibrant Cities can just lease those spaces and (tenants) can operate immediately as opposed to going through the permit process,” Murphy said. “That’s an amenity everyone appreciates, and not just for the tenants, but for the whole neighborhood.”

Completion of Ascend is scheduled for spring 2020. Commercial Realty Advisors is handling commercial leasing arrangements.

Vibrant Cities also is working with Mississippi-based Sunray Hotels to develop a 23-story mixed-use tower in the Pearl District. The project team’s proposal calls for a 250-foot-tall building accommodating hotel and residential uses.

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