Construction has begun on a memorial at Lone Fir Cemetery, in Southeast Portland.

More than 3,100 people of Chinese ancestry were from the 1880s to the early 1900s, mostly in the cemetery’s southwest corner (“Block 14” on maps), according to Metro. When Multnomah County took ownership of the cemetery in 1928, officials began pushing to have the Chinese section cleared of graves. Eventually, the area was paved over, and a maintenance facility was built there. The building was later demolished, and Metro became the property owner in 2007, according to Metro.

The new Lone Fir Chinese Memorial is intended to honor the memories of the people who were once buried at Block 14, Metro stated.

Crews started work last week on the project, which is being overseen by Metro’s Parks and Nature department. The site is around 1.2 acres of the cemetery, which is mostly within Southeast 20th and 26th avenues and Southeast Stark and Morrison streets.

Landscape architect Knot Studio is leading a multidisciplinary project team that includes contractor Paul Brothers Inc. of Boring. Allied Works, a subconsultant, designed the memorial walls and spirit tablet pavilion – one of the memorial’s key features, Metro spokesperson Cory Eldridge stated in an email. Other contributors to the project include historical researchers, archaeologists, interpretive designers and artists as well as civil, structural and electrical engineers, and others.

Much of the construction will be concentrated on the site’s western edge, which was never used as a cemetery and can accommodate sufficient digging to support a large structure, Metro stated in a press release. A curved walkway and plantings in the site’s central portion will help discourage visitors from walking in the area most likely to hold human remains.

Screened windows in the memorial walls will draw from traditional Chinese design.

“The leaf pattern of the screens was inspired by a graphic detail in the original burial ledgers the Oregon Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association discovered in 2004,” Eldridge stated.

A new, circular altar will include a trough of sand for burning incense sticks. The top will be engraved with the words “we honor you as though you were present” in Chinese calligraphy. The phrase was on the plaque of an altar that formerly stood at the site’s east end, according to Eldridge.

A Portland-based artist team, Qi You and Sophia Xiao-fan Austrins, has guided development of art for the site. They presented opportunities for community members to – frequently food, which people would leave as offerings to the deceased, Eldridge stated. Clay creations will be cast in bronze and mounted around the site.

Lone Fir Cemetery will remain open during construction. However, to ensure visitors’ safety and allow the contractor access, the cemetery’s southwest portion will close temporarily. The walkway from Southeast Morrison Street will be closed, and the original cemetery access from Southeast 20th Avenue will be used exclusively by construction crews. Also, some internal cemetery roads will close temporarily.

Construction is expected to wrap up by early 2027, with a grand opening to follow in the spring.

Metro expects the total project cost to be approximately $6 million. Funding is coming from a $475 million bond measure approved by voters in 2019 and from Multnomah County.

The post Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland gaining Chinese memorial appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A Dairy Queen planned in Southeast Portland will include a drive-thru after all.

Last year, Portland Permitting & Development issued a letter to the owner of the lot at 5605 S.E. Division St., which formerly held a Dairy Queen. The city requested removal of a drive-thru from the owner’s plans to rebuild the fast-food restaurant.

The property owner fought back — and won.

Mohan Grewal, who represents the Beaverton-based ownership group, argued that the drive-thru is a legal nonconforming use at the property, which had a Dairy Queen drive-thru for more than five decades before it was demolished several years ago.

Permitting officials reconsidered their position and, on Dec. 29, 2025, issued a decision allowing inclusion of a drive-thru with the new restaurant.

The move comes as the city has tightened regulation of drive-thrus. City code generally prohibits the construction of new drive-thrus.

But existing drive-thrus are allowed in the mixed-use zoning, and city code provides that “existing facilities can be rebuilt, expanded or relocated on the site.”

The ex-Dairy Queen building was demolished sometime between summer 2019 and May 2020, and Akum Investment Group, a Beaverton limited liability company, sought to build a new Dairy Queen with a drive-thru on the lot.

The former restaurant was built in 1955; it’s not clear if the drive-thru was part of the original building. But it had been there for decades: The applicant submitted a newspaper article and signed declarations from a regional Dairy Queen executive and a family member of the former owners, all indicating that a drive-thru was operating there by 1968, when city code had no prohibitions on drive-thrus.

Portland zoning code began regulating drive-thrus in 1991, depending on the zone or plan district, according to Portland Permitting & Development.

“Over time, drive-throughs have been further limited in more plan districts and overlay zones with the intent of removing the influence of vehicles and emphasizing pedestrian access,” Portland Permitting & Development spokesman Ken Ray stated in an email.

Portland began prohibiting new drive-thrus in most commercial zones in 2018 as part of the city’s 2035 comprehensive plan.

Some residents, led by those in the Mount Tabor Neighborhood Association, argued that because the drive-thru had been absent from the site for more than three years, Akum no longer had a right to rebuild it.

After Akum protested with the help of Lake Oswego lawyer Wendie Kellington, PP&D changed tack. Permitting & Development staff determined last month that city code does not necessarily require drive-thrus to be continuously operated to maintain the right to have one on the site. (Kellington did not respond to messages seeking comment).

The controversy regarding the vehicular dispensation of hot eats and cool treats drew significant public interest. PP&D received a blizzard of public comments — more than 200 were submitted via email — generating a 694-page case file.

Lauren Howard, a nearby resident, wrote that the city should not allow a new drive-thru on the lot.

“I believe the newer standards are the right fit for this neighborhood and better for safety, traffic and overall livability,” she wrote.

Another resident, Tim Silva, wrote that “traffic is too heavy in that area, and the street is too narrow.”

He added, “We don’t need backups on a two-lane road that is a major bus route and full of other vehicles. And we don’t need all those idling cars putting extra exhaust fumes into our neighborhood.”

The site lies across Division Street from Franklin High School and Atkinson Elementary School.

Other neighbors stated that the drive-thru should be allowed. Alice and Michael Powell wrote that the ownership “does have the legal right to include a drive-thru. A new DQ will be an addition to the neighborhood and a continuation of a fine tradition of family walks and occasional drives to DQ.”

The Portland Bureau of Transportation raised no objections to the drive-thru.

The building permit is set to expire on April 12 if no inspection activity occurs by then.

The post Drive-thru approved for Dairy Queen in Southeast Portland appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Project name: Multnomah County Holgate LibraryLocation: Portland

Completion: April 2025

Size: 21,000 square feet

Cost: $17,590,743

Owner: Multnomah County

Architect: Bora Architecture & Interiors

Interior Designer: Bora Architecture & Interiors

Engineers: Equilibrium Engineers, Arris Consulting, Samata Consulting Engineers, Vega Civil Engineering

General Contractor: Swinerton

Submitting Company: Swinerton

Other Associates/Consultants: Colloqate Design, Elevate Building Commissioning, O-LLC Lighting Design, PLACE (landscape architecture), Timberlab

Subcontractors: A&R Solar, Andres Landscape, Apollo Mechanical Contractors, Berrien Concrete, Building Material Specialties, Castle Masonry & Restoration, Code Unlimited, Cosco Fire Protection, Custom Designed Skylights, Dennis’ Seven Dees Landscaping, Don Frank Flooring, Figure Plant, General Sheet metal Works, Hyphn, Interior Technology, Interlaken, J.S. Perrott & Co., Kodiak Pacific Construction, KONE, Lensa Consulting, Madlyn Metal Fab, Mill Plain Electric, Norse Ironworks, NW Umpqua Roofing & Waterproofing, Oregon Door Consultants, PBS Engineering & Environmental, Pioneer Waterproofing, Portland Coatings dba Williamsen & Bleid, Prestige Tile & Stone, Qualified Enclosure Consultants, Shiels Obletz Johnsen, Sign Wizards, Skyline sheet Metal, South Town Glass, T. Gerding Construction, Techsource Enterprises, The Grenebusch Group, Ultra Quiet Floors, Valley Shades, Vanco Contracting, Vega Civil Engineering, Vertex Technology Design & Consulting, Washington Commercial Painters, Western Partitions, Whitaker/Ellis Builders

The newly opened Holgate Library in Southeast Portland has transformed from a modest 6,400-square-foot facility built in 1971 into a 21,000-square-foot community hub designed to serve one of Portland’s most diverse populations.

The library, part of Multnomah County’s bond measure to revitalize Portland’s library infrastructure, stands prominently along Southeast Holgate Boulevard with features aimed at serving all age groups.

The project is a strong example of how community engagement, design innovation and sustainability building practices create a built environment that will serve the entire surrounding community for years to come. The building’s design resulted from extensive community input through focus groups, public meetings and surveys. Teens participated in a four-week virtual program called “Your Library, Your Voice” to help design the library’s first enclosed teen space in the system. The room was envisioned as a “home away from home.”

Sustainability was central to the construction approach. The library utilizes a hybrid mass timber structure that reduced the building’s carbon footprint by 61 percent compared to conventional steel and concrete construction. The ground floor features a denser column layout to support heavy book loads, while the second floor has fewer columns for a more open design.

The mass timber frame utilizes Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) for floor and roof decking, Glue-Laminated Timber (glulam) for primary structural support, and Buckling-Restrained Braces (diagonal steel elements) for lateral stability.

Designed to receive LEED Gold certification, the building incorporates radiant flooring for thermal comfort and a rooftop photovoltaic system to offset energy usage.

The library features advanced amenities including a large play and learning space for children, a dedicated teen room, flexible programming rooms, and the latest technology with high-speed internet. An outdoor plaza provides space for reading and socializing.

Construction company Swinerton served as the CM/GC, bringing in its subsidiary, Timberlab, for the mass timber components. The project maintained zero recordable injuries throughout construction.

The project also emphasized economic inclusion, with Swinerton implementing a Project-Specific Workforce Diversity Program. Swinerton’s project team also assumed the role of mentors, guiding businesses through the intricacies of preconstruction and construction phases. In addition to fostering strong relationships and supporting their sustainable growth, Swinerton provided comprehensive training that included technical skills, project controls, budget management, and project execution. The project and these efforts helped three companies acquire COBID certification. The Holgate Library project had a 25 percent diverse business goal (COBID) and hit 34 percent.

The post Multnomah County Holgate Library appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Three business partners who came together during the pandemic seek to transform the site of a shuttered Rite Aid store in Southeast Portland into a two-building multifamily development with at least 200 apartments.

The project at 2440 S.E. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. comes from Seneca Development Co., which was founded in 2020 by industry veterans Michael Hamilton, Bryant Jaksic and Andy Schreck.

An early assistance request for the project’s first phase landed last week. Plans for the initial phase call for 120 apartments and ground-floor retail space.

A second phase would place 80-90 residential units in a building on an adjacent lot, also with ground-floor retail space.

The Seneca Development trio initially joined forces to build The Robert Apartments, a 55-unit building that was completed in Albina in 2022. After shepherding the project through construction and securing tenants, the developers began considering their next move. They turned their attention to the Richmond neighborhood, where a drug store had closed in 2023 at the highly trafficked corner of Southeast Division Street and Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard.

Seneca plans to close in August on the property, which is owned by a limited liability company linked to Tim Small of Portland.

The Division Street corridor has seen increased investment stretching from the Willamette River east to 52nd Avenue, a trend the Seneca partners noticed.

“We love the area,” said Hamilton, Seneca’s president. “All three of us are born-and-raised Portland natives. We like seeing the neighborhood improve. Housing is a huge need, so if we can develop quality housing that’s affordable for everyday Portlanders and contribute to the vitality of our city, that’s our goal.”

Seneca plans to construct the buildings in two phases. The first would be located at the Rite Aid site. The second would replace a surface parking lot north of Southeast Caruthers Street.

In compliance with the city’s inclusionary housing program, 10 percent of the units will be affordable for tenants making up to 60 percent of the area median income.

Both phases are being designed by Josef West of West Architects in Beaverton. Seneca will use its own in-house general contractor, Hamilton said. Lakeside Investment Group, based in Dallas, Oregon, is a partner in the project.

Seneca plans to break ground on the first phase in spring 2026, with completion expected in late 2027. The two phases will cost an estimated $50 million.

The project comes on the heels of another significant multifamily proposal in Southeast Portland. High Street Residential in March engaged in an initial design advice hearing for a 243-unit proposal in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood.

Portland has gained little multifamily housing in recent years, and Hamilton said the light pipeline provides an opening for new projects. Permit review times are growing swifter, interest rates have declined, and subcontractors are looking for work, Hamilton said.

“Frankly, the last two and a half years, it has been very difficult to get a market-rate project off the ground,” he said. “There is a massive shortfall with projects being submitted to the city for permit. Review times are speeding up because the city isn’t looking at a bunch of stuff. We’re already seeing softening when it comes to labor pricing. Our hope is we can time it right when it comes to permits.”

Data paints a picture of a stable multifamily market. Vacancy rates in the Portland-metro area grew to 8.9 percent in the first quarter of 2025, up from 8.1 percent a year earlier, according to Kidder Mathews. Properties’ rent prices were essentially unchanged, declining less than 1 percent to $1,872.

Average sale prices hovered near $180,000 per unit, at a 6 percent capitalization rate.

Seneca owns several other developable properties around Portland that it plans to build on when market conditions improve, Hamilton said.

The post Seneca proposal: 200 housing units in Southeast Portland appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A master plan for a one-of-a-kind neighborhood around the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is on the verge of gaining the Portland Design Commission’s approval.

A straw poll taken of commissioners at the end of a land use hearing on Thursday indicated that all would approve the proposed master plan – if the project team were to make some slight tweaks.

At full build-out, as proposed, the 34-acre area of Southeast Portland would hold an approximately 3.4-million-square-foot mix of institutional, commercial, retail, and residential development – including up to 1,200 units of housing. There would also be a third-of-a-mile waterfront park along the Willamette River.

“We want it to truly be a manifestation of the mixed-use district with a lot of different opportunities for people to come here but also to live here and work here,” OMSI CEO Erin Graham said.

The site spans over 10 city blocks from Clay Street to Caruthers Street and includes Portland Community College’s CLIMB Center and the Hampton Opera Center.

In the previous hearing for the proposed master plan, in August, commissioners expressed concerns over whether the uniquely shaped developable tracts would create a “visual wall” between the city’s Central Eastside and the river. If approved, the master plan would create eight new tracts with total allowable building heights of 250 feet with bonuses, and podium heights of 50 feet.

Due to the area’s location between Union Pacific Railroad tracks to the east and the Willamette River to the west, the building sites are larger than most Portland city blocks – ranging in length from 230 feet to 750 feet. That led to two notable changes being made: The massing envelopes at Tract C and E (southern end of the master plan) now step down to the river and additional upper-story step-backs are proposed.

Most of Thursday’s hearing was spent ironing out the finer details while the master plan continues to be reviewed by city bureaus, including transportation, water, and parks and recreation. Commissioners, project team members and city planners treated the hearing more like a work session than a formal affair, methodically going through each condition of approval and striking redundancies and fixing nuances to the written code – so conditions did not read as suggestions but rather requirements.

A debate surfaced between commissioners and project team members during a discussion about heights of building passageways on whether it is sufficient for a condition to have more qualitative parameters such as saying it should be “inviting,” “safe,” and “well activated,” rather than being tied to a numerical value.

The difficulty with a qualitative parameter, Design Commission Chair Sam Rodriguez said, is “how do phrase this in a way that you know as a commission – 10 years from now (we) can interpret it without having to have 10 lawyers in the room.”

Commissioners settled on inclusion of at least a minimum dimension within the condition as a best practice. All future developments in the master plan would be required to go through either a Type II or Type III design review process – where more specifics can be determined.

The next hearing date for the OMSI Central City Master Plan has been tentatively scheduled for early February 2023. Then the city bureaus’ reviews of the site will be discussed and a vote on potential approval will likely be called.

The post Project team fine-tuning its vision for 34 acres appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Years after the Jade District, in Southeast Portland, was targeted for investment by the city, the neighborhood is about to see some returns.

The largest change on tap is the Jade Apartments and Community Center, a 48-unit affordable housing development planned at Southeast 82nd Avenue and Division Street. The project is a joint venture of ROSE Community Development and Metro, which is donating the land.

The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon plans to occupy some or all of the office space on the building’s ground floor. The organization this week is embarking on a fundraising drive to help pay for the move, said Todd Struble, manager of the Jade District program for APANO.

“It fits in with our strategy of affordable housing and keeping affordable housing in the neighborhood and keeping the residents that are here,” he said.

The Jade District is one of the targets of the city’s Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative that began in 2009. The program aims to jump-start economic development in diverse areas where commercial activity has lagged. Other districts receiving attention include Alberta, Cully, Division-Midway, Parkrose, Rosewood, St. Johns and 42nd Avenue.

“It’s a way of doing urban renewal differently,” said Amy Fleck-Rosete, who manages the Portland Development Commission‘s Jade District efforts.

At the same time, city officials and neighborhood advocates are working to make sure residents aren’t overtaken by redevelopment. A multipronged approach is under way to ensure neighborhood residents and businesses don’t get pushed out by gentrification.

The PDC offers grants to improve storefronts and signage at local businesses through the Prosperity Investment Program.

“They’re really focusing on making sure the businesses that are in the area can stay in the area and participate in the market changes that are coming,” Fleck-Rosete said.

Neighborhood business advocates are also working quietly behind the scenes with landlords to secure longer leases for established businesses.

As Portland grows, neighborhood advocates expect the model of midsize, mixed-use apartment buildings seen throughout the city to come to the Jade District as well.

“We see that development marching east,” Struble said. “We haven’t seen that development quite yet, but we think we will in the future.”

At the same time, Struble said, residents want to make sure that existing housing in the neighborhood stays in place.

“Across the board, Portland needs more housing, and right now we’re in a place where we want to preserve as much housing as we can in the district,” he said.

A key to the Jade District’s future is improving transportation infrastructure. To that end, TriMet is embarking on a $175 million project to make bus travel along a 14-mile stretch of Southeast Division Street “easier, faster and more reliable.” The agency is planning to upgrade bus stops, purchase longer buses that have room for 60 percent more passengers and reconfigure traffic signals to accelerate bus commutes.

The targeted portion of Division Street extends from the Gresham Central Transit Center across Tilikum Crossing and through downtown Portland to Union Station at Northwest Fifth Avenue and Irving Street.

Construction is expected to begin in 2018, with service commencing in 2021.

Neighborhood residents and APANO are also pushing for safety improvements after two pedestrians trying to cross Division Street in December were struck and killed by motor vehicles. One victim, Rong Zhao Zhang, 65, was killed while returning home from work at Wong’s King Seafood Restaurant. Zhang was part of the Jade District’s vibrant Chinese immigrant community.

APANO is asking regulators to consider a “road diet” to narrow Division Street and slow traffic along a portion of it. The group has also suggested installing a crosswalk at 87th Avenue and Division Street, adding street lighting in the corridor and posting culturally responsive street signage as well as performing neighborhood outreach.

Some of the pedestrian crossings, particularly across 82nd Avenue, rank among the city’s most dangerous, Struble said. The area is also deficient in parks and other public spaces, so children often end up navigating the streets.

“We’re essentially asking youths to (use) some of the most dangerous crossings in the city of Portland,” he said. “Infrastructure improvements are things our residents have regularly asked for.”

Local groups are trying to help Jade District businesses in other ways. APANO and the Portland Community College Small Business Development Center recently held a restaurant training program in Cantonese; the focus was how to pass a Multnomah County health inspection. At times, cultural misunderstandings have cropped up between inspectors and restaurant owners in the neighborhood, Fleck-Rosete said.

APANO also organizes the Jade District’s annual Night Market each August. The event, featuring food and retail vendors, attracts approximately 20,000 people to the neighborhood.

“It’s been a great way to draw folks to the district,” Fleck-Rosete said.

The city is simultaneously supporting programs in the Jade District and Old Town Chinatown. Aided by its central location, Old Town Chinatown has seen several major redevelopment proposals come forward recently. Guardian Real Estate Services, for example, recently proposed a 10-story, full-block mixed-use project on Block 33 at 125 N.W. Fourth Ave.

The two neighborhoods have a complicated relationship. Some Chinatown residents moved to the Jade District in recent years as the community grew and the price to live in close-in Portland increased.

The Jade District and Old Town Chinatown have their own distinct identities, Fleck-Rosete said.

“The Jade District doesn’t want to take away from the history and the culture of Chinatown,” she said.

The post Working to polish the Jade District appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A Southeast Portland parish has plans to build a 650-seat church, offices and additional parking as well as completely renovate an existing building.

Owners of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church have applied to the Bureau of Development Services for a pre-application conference. They want to discuss design plans for changes to their approximately 4.8-acre parcel. The conference is scheduled for Thursday.

Stephanie Fitzhugh, a project manager with DiLoreto Architecture, the firm designing the project, said the initial phase of construction would include demolition of an existing residence currently used as offices.

“The old office building will be demolished and the new church will sit basically on that site,” she said. “New offices would be built as funding allows.”

Phase one calls for site preparation – creation of a central plaza, construction of surface parking for 215 cars and expansion of pavement – as well as construction of the new church and a bell tower in the plaza.

Long-term plans include renovation of the existing church building into a social hall, the addition of a kitchen area and construction of a new office building, Fitzhugh said.

“The rest of the construction will happen as funding allows,” she said. “We’re early enough in the design that the owners haven’t determined a construction schedule.”

The post Church improvements in the works in Southeast Portland appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

In March, demolition crews will take down a former church in Southeast Portland to make room for 18 family-size townhomes. The Portland Bureau of Development Services approved a demolition permit for the building at 5000 S.E. Lincoln St.

Property owner and developer Robert Platt, who in July 2014 purchased the 13,200-square-foot parcel for $700,000, plans to construct nine duplexes and nine triplexes around a central causeway. Each unit at the Lincoln Town Homes complex will feature three levels consisting of a garage, a bedroom and a full bathroom on the ground floor; a living area, a dining/kitchen area and a half-bathroom on the main floor; and two master bedrooms on the third floor.

Platt said the three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom setup is unique for the area, and that he and his business partner conducted extensive research before choosing it.

“We’re a little worried about overbuilding of mini-apartments in that area,” he said. “There’s a lot you can do with this type of housing, like start a family, or, since it has its own bathroom, let mom or dad move into the first-floor bedroom.”

The townhomes will be rentals when completed, though Platt would not discuss possible rent price points for the units.

“We’re going to hang onto these,” he said. “There are a lot of townhomes you can buy in Southeast (Portland), but there’s nothing you can rent.”

Construction of Lincoln Town Homes is scheduled to wrap up in fall 2015.

The post Three-bedroom townhomes in the works appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

A 103-year-old building now has a new life as administrative offices following a renovation as part of an effort to expand Portland Community College’s Southeast Center into a full-service campus.

Over the summer, a four-story structure constructed in 1911 as the Altenheim retirement home for German immigrants was transformed into PCC‘s Southeast Administration Building.

The building’s prominent presence in historic photographs immediately struck Sam Stadler, an SRG Partnership job captain, when the firm was hired to design the project. A large goal of the $4.1 million renovation was to restore that feeling, he said. This included tearing down two wings that were added in the 1970s and ’80s so that the building would again stand alone on the site. Also the main entrance staircase was recreated and the facade was restored to closely match its past appearance.

“We returned the building to its original character,” Stadler said. “We really wanted to hold true to what the building originally looked like on the exterior.”

PCC acquired the building as well as other properties on an approximately 10-acre parcel from the German American Society in 2009, PCC spokeswoman Gina Whitehill-Baziuk said. The $9.4 million purchase, funded via a $378 million bond measure approved by voters in 2008 to improve and expand PCC facilities, doubled the size of the campus.

Renovation of the four-story building into administrative offices was one of the last steps in the expansion of the campus into one where students can attend all classes needed to earn an associate’s degree, Whitehill-Baziuk said. Bond money also paid for construction of a new student commons and library. PCC will host a grand opening for the comprehensive campus on Saturday.

As PCC officials reached out to the community to identify the best use for the ex-German American Society building, it became clear that it should be preserved, Whitehill-Baziuk said.

“A lot of staff people at the college in working with the community fully recognized that it was an iconic building,” she said.

It now holds a central office for campus administration and new headquarters for PCC’s community education program. Also, preparations are under way for a branch of the Small Business Development Center to move into the fourth floor, Southeast Campus President Jessica Howard said.

The building’s history resonates with the large number of immigrant students served by the college, she said. In 1911, Louisa Weinhard, widow of German-American beer brewer Henry Weinhard, donated a 20-acre parcel for construction of a retirement home for elderly German immigrants. The building now houses Howard’s office.

“By not only acquiring the property, but particularly by renovating the building, we’re preserving something that’s important to the community,” she said. “It demonstrates our commitment to serving immigrants and immigrant culture in Southeast Portland.”

Stadler said he and other members of the SRG design team also saw the value in preserving the building.

“Frankly, it has a great look to it,” he said.

The tricky part was addressing the building’s poor condition, Stadler said. There were numerous leaks and mold issues, huge holes in the floor and falling ceiling tiles, he said. The entire interior was gutted; a seismic upgrade was performed to stabilize unreinforced masonry; and windows, ceilings, floors as well as mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems were replaced.

Design team members had access to the original building plans, but a lot of surprises arose as construction proceeded, Stadler said.

“Structurally speaking, it was really challenging,” he said. “Pretty much every piece of the building that we pulled off ended up being falling apart or moldy … The building has been added on and taken apart, and we didn’t have good documentation of that.”

A series of historic photographs of the building that once hung on its walls proved especially valuable for restoration of the exterior, Stadler said.

“We just took what we thought was the best original context for the project and we celebrated that as best we could,” he said.

The photographs helped the team figure out that the stucco ends of the mostly brick building were previously a different color.

“The original building was gray at the bookends,” Stadler said. “We studied a lot of these historic photographs. We just worked really hard to match that.”

Restoring the building had a transformative effect on the college, he said.

“It ended up being one of the cool little gems on campus,” he said. “It was nice to provide something with historical flair to a campus that’s really proud of its identity.”

Portland Community College Southeast Administration Building

Location: 2305 S.E. 82nd Ave., Portland

Construction cost: $4.1 million

Construction start date: July 2013

Construction completion date: July 2014

Owner: Portland Community College

Architect: SRG Partnership

Landscape architect: Walker Macy

Engineers: PAE, Catena Consulting Engineers and KPFF Consulting Engineers

General contractor: O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders LLC

If you go

What: Portland Community College Southeast Center grand opening

When: Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m.

Where: 2305 S.E. 82nd Ave., Portland

Information: 971-722-8454 or www.pcc.edu/about/events/southeast-opening

The post Building stays true to its past appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

Modernization of Franklin High School in Southeast Portland is a balancing act.

“Our task has been to create a next-generation learning space within this historic setting,” said Karina Ruiz, an associate principal with Dull Olson Weekes-IBI Group Architects.

The firm, in partnership with SERA Architects, this month is wrapping up schematic design for the $80 million project. It calls for preservation and modernization of the school’s historic buildings, as well as construction of additions that respect existing architecture.

The project is being funded with money from a $482 million bond passed by Portland voters in 2012. Substantial construction is in the works for Franklin, Roosevelt and Grant high schools.

Upgrades to these older schools are much needed, said David Mayne, bond communications manager for Portland Public Schools.

“Most of the schools are at least 60 years old throughout the district,” he said. “These buildings were built in the (1920s) and teens. We’ve been in crisis mode for so long.”

Franklin High, which currently serves approximately 1,500 students, was built in 1915. Several additions were made between the 1950s and the 1980s; these are expected to be demolished. Three historic wings will be renovated.

The 140,000-square-foot school will gain approximately 150,000 square feet, including a new performing arts center, shop class space, and a physical education and sports medicine building. Also, track and field facilities will be replaced and relocated.

Besides needing seismic and accessibility upgrades, Franklin High’s historic buildings weren’t designed to prepare students for the modern world, Ruiz said. Like many schools, Franklin High looks much like it did nearly 100 years ago, she said.

“It needs to change to respond to the changes in technology – the need to have collaboration, communication and creative thinking,” she said.

Renovations to Franklin High will eliminate its rigid floor plan and bring in more natural light. Main entrance stairs, which blocked a lot of light, will be torn out and replaced with program spaces such as a reception area, a student store and a family resource center.

“There is no transparency from the classrooms to the rest of the school,” Ruiz said. “Our desire is to open the school up both internally and to the community.”

Students at Franklin High commonly hang out in hallways, Ruiz said. The modernization project will create more comfortable areas where students can gather to study or participate in academic activities during class, she said.

“This is creating this opportunity for student engagement space,” she said.

The existing auditorium will be repurposed into a media center. It will include a library, a computer lab and study space.

One challenge, Ruiz said, was figuring out the best way to connect the additions to the historic portions. These links will feature lots of glass to make the contrast feel less stark, she said. The additions also use similar materials and line up to the historic buildings.

“The idea is to create this connection of old and new, and let the historic architecture inform the new architecture,” Ruiz said.

The new 30,000-square-foot performing arts center will create a more prominent face for the school at Southeast 52nd Avenue and Woodward Street. That was important to community members, said Debbie Pearson, Portland Public Schools project director.

“One of the things we heard loud and clear was to make 52nd and Woodward the beacon of the community,” she said.

Students played an important part in the design process, said Ruiz, who has visited Franklin High to talk about being an architect. Her firm this summer will host two student interns who are interested in architecture.

A Lane Middle School student who attended a community meeting on his own and offered insight made a big impact on Ruiz. His presence reminded her who will be using the facilities in years ahead.

“That’s the kid that’s in my mind as I’m designing this school,” she said.

Project construction is scheduled to begin in June 2015 and wrap up in 2017. Skanska will be the contractor.

The post Building to suit 21st century students appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.