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 Portland Design Commission has reapproved a proposal to build a 23-story tower, the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences, in the Pearl District. The City Council – in a rare move – had remanded the project to the Design Commission on Sept. 26.

Design commissioners voted 4-0 on Thursday to return their recommendation to the City Council, which is now scheduled to hold a hearing on the project, and an initial vote, on Dec. 10.

The project from Seattle multifamily developer Vibrant Cities and hotelier The Sunray Companies of Madison, Mississippi, is for a quarter-block property at 350 N.W. 12th Ave., where a parking lot sits currently. As designed by Otak Inc., the building would have 160 hotel rooms and 113 residential units in 197,118 square feet.

The building’s proposed height of 250 feet is the tallest allowed by Central City 2035 plan guidelines. As larger buildings allowed by the 2035 plan have rolled out, residents of neighborhoods such as the Pearl District and Goose Hollow have often reacted with opposition.

Throughout the design process, the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences project has been opposed by Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design, a group of nearby residents and business owners. The nonprofit is not affiliated with the city-sanctioned Pearl District Neighborhood Association.

PNID representatives have characterized the project as too large for the property, and its use too intensive, with residents and hotel guests constantly entering and exiting.

Thursday’s hearing revealed several design changes made in response to direction from City Council. The middle of the building was pulled back 3 feet from the property line. The hotel entrance at the corner of Northwest 12th Avenue and Flanders Street was pulled back a total of 7 feet from the property line, providing more room for the public realm, said Gary Larson, an Otak consultant architect. Canopies were extended around the building. A cornice was lowered by one floor.

“Our objective has been to reduce the mass of the building through the setback strategy and reduce the apparent height of the building through the cornice line adjustments,” Larson said.

Carrie Richter, a land-use lawyer representing PNID, said the group remains disappointed with the minimal revisions.

“My client is truly disheartened by the lack of fundamental change that went into this remand,” she said.

But the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences would not be out of place in the Pearl District, where buildings are commonly built to property lines, Commissioner Zari Santner said.

“Pearl has a very, very eclectic identity,” she said. “This building would be a great addition to that.”

Commissioner Sam Rodriguez also complimented the design.

“I think the changes are positive and it will turn out to be a good building,” he said.

When the proposal returns to the City Council in December, the council will still be in the lame-duck period following the Nov. 3 election. Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who expressed concerns with the project, is likely to weigh in on the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences before she’s replaced in January by Carmen Rubio. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly also will still be on the council, and not newly elected Mingus Mapps.

If the design is approved by the City Council, opponents could potentially appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals or District Court.

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A controversial proposal for a 23-story mixed-use building won tentative approval from the Portland Design Commission on Thursday despite opposition from Pearl District neighbors.

Commissioners voted 6-0 (Chairwoman Julie Livingston recused herself) to approve the design by Otak Inc. They will hold a final vote on Jan. 16 to adopt findings on the project.

The Hyatt Place and Allison Residences project would bring 160 hotel rooms and 113 residential units to a quarter-block site at Northwest 12th Avenue and Flanders Street. The building would replace a surface parking lot.

The 197,118-square-foot project is a joint venture of Seattle multifamily developer Vibrant Cities and hotelier The Sunray Companies of Madison, Mississippi. The project was valued at $66 million by the city’s Bureau of Development Services.

Plans were scrutinized by the Design Commission in two previous advice meetings and two review hearings, most recently in November.

Pearl District residents have objected to the project for months, lodging concerns about the planned height, mass and density for the small footprint. At 250 feet, it would be by far the tallest building in the south Pearl District under higher limits established by the Central City 2035 Plan.

Commissioners, city staffers and residents have also expressed concerns that traffic from the hotel and residential development would conflict with plans for the – a future path between the waterfront and Northwest Portland that would pass next to the building.

Commissioners did not directly address the largest issues. They said the building’s height and mass were within the zoning rules, giving the design panel little leeway, and potential traffic conflicts were an issue for the Portland Bureau of Transportation to resolve.

“The context issues – height and massing – are not something we can deal with anyway,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said.

The design has improved over time, Commissioner Zari Santner said.

“They have really done a great job of making the building far more coherent than it first was when it came to us,” she said.

Most recently, Otak incorporated warmer colors into the exterior palette and raised water fountains at the entrance. After objections from neighbors, the valet zone was moved from Flanders Street to 12th Avenue.

The Pearl District Neighborhood Association registered opposition to the project, as did the Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design – a private group that is distinct from the city-sanctioned association.

The neighborhood association, in a letter, objected to design elements such as metal cladding and the “near-blank wall” appearance of the east facade.

Bateman Seidel’s Carrie Richter, a land-use attorney for PNID, attempted to speak to the commission on Thursday. Commissioners declined to hear her testimony, saying the record was closed.

Patricia Cliff, president of PNID, said the building would bring intense use to the intersection, with valet parking and two loading docks competing with traffic from two neighboring residential buildings and the planned bikeway.

“It is not a user-friendly building, and it could be potentially dangerous for pedestrians, drivers and bicyclists,” she said.

Also on Thursday:

No vote yet on hotel project’s design

The Design Commission tackled review for the Proper Hotel, another Pearl District project at Northwest 12th Avenue and Irving Street.

Commissioners identified some issues with a vertical column, and a lack of a water feature. However, they were largely complimentary of the design for a nine-story building with approximately 170,000 square feet.

Past projects have met design guidelines for a water feature reflecting Tanner Creek with everything from poetry to sound. Commissioner Jessica Molinar said future projects should include water features that incorporate actual water.

“It’s not a deal-breaker this time, but it will be a deal-breaker for me in the future,” she said. “Please do not come back with another project that does not include an actual water feature.”

The project is being designed by ZGF Architects for Proper Hospitality, a Santa Monica, California-based company with hotels in California and Texas.

Commissioners did not vote whether to approve the project; the hearing is set to continue on Jan. 23.

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Pearl District residents gathered en masse at a Portland Design Commission meeting Thursday to protest plans for a 23-story hotel tower that would reach 250 feet in height, the maximum allowed after a new code was adopted in 2018 by the City Council.

Hyatt Place, designed by Otak, Inc. and developed by Seattle-based Vibrant Cities, is a mixed-use project that would feature 11 floors of hotel rooms and 11 floors of apartments, with some affordable housing units included. A restaurant and café are planned to sit on the ground floor.

The building would rise from a quarter-block property at Northwest 12^th Avenue and Flanders Street.

The proposal has already undergone two design advice sessions with the commission. On Thursday, the project team sought a land-use review, at which point the building could move forward with development.

Several dozen members of the public, most of them led by Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design (PNID), came to voice their opposition to the project, citing concerns about the sheer size of the project and the traffic it might create.

“There needs to be some serious carving of the massing,” said David Dysert, who was representing the Pearl District Neighborhood Association. He said that the volume of the building wouldn’t match the area, and that with the new code in place, any new building is going to set a precedent.

PNID President Patricia Cliff said the organization is not opposed to new development in the Pearl District, but finds the size of the project inappropriate for the south side of the neighborhood. Perhaps most worrisome, she said, is a complete lack of parking provided.

While more than 20 people signed up to provide public testimony, nearly all of them ceded their time to Carrie Richter, a land-use lawyer representing PNID.

Richter said the lack of parking, combined with a 12-foot loading zone and a quarter-block site, makes for a dangerous situation. She cited a nearby Hampton Inn with a hundred-foot loading zone and an 80-percent block space, which she said was deemed insufficient by transportation experts.

With no vehicle parking, the building should be “ground zero” for cyclist-supportive housing, but falls short in this regard as well, Richter said. She said the spaces for bicycle parking are too small, the entrance to the parking is awkward and the building lacks outdoor temporary parking.

“Bicycling is a complete afterthought in this building,” Richter said. “This is not celebrating the bicycle by any stretch of the imagination.”

For their part, commissioners discussed more nuanced aspects of the project, and didn’t address the most pressing concerns presented by the opposition related to height and traffic.

Commissioner Brian McCarter was one of several who took issue with black bands that separate the base of the building from the tower, saying that design works better with shorter buildings. He also criticized the building’s mass on the small parcel.

“It’s got a lot of issues for me,” he said. “I can’t overlook the scale and massing problems.”

Commissioner Jessica Molinar took issue with using metal panels as cladding material, although other commissioners expressed approval. Molinar said she didn’t find the material suitable for the size and location of the building, and said it would make more sense on Burnside Street.

“The metal does not work in the context,” she said. “I think part of that is the scale.”

As far as the neighborhood is concerned, most commissioners didn’t find the building to be out of place, saying the Pearl District is already eclectic in its makeup.

“There are so many different kinds of buildings in the Pearl that I don’t think, contextually, this is out of whack,” Commissioner Zari Santner said. “I like the idea of variety and diversity of style.”

Based on public opposition, the design team decided to postpone the vote for a future meeting, at which point they will provide counterarguments to opponents of the project.

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A proposal for a seven-story mixed-use building in North Portland was denied by city staff. The developer, Vibrant Cities, is appealing the decision.

An appeal of the denial of a proposal to build a seven-story mixed-use building in North Portland has been continued until June.

The Portland Design Commission on Thursday heard the appeal from Seattle developer Vibrant Cities of an earlier decision by the Bureau of Development Services to deny a land use application for construction of a 62,176-square-foot building at the corner of North Williams Avenue and Fargo Street.

Denial came out of the proposal failing to meet some of the city’s community design guidelines, according to the staff report. They included overly complicated massing and material, and poor storefront character along North Williams Avenue.

After a revised submission was presented Thursday, commissioners were still not fully satisfied with the proposed design; however, they indicated the team is on the right track.

“Overall, the applicant has made some really significant and really good improvements that go a long way to meeting community design guidelines,” Design Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said.

The design by Seattle firm Jackson | Main Architecture calls for a seven-story tower structure at the corner of Williams Avenue and Fargo Street. The tower’s relationship to the overall building massing was a concern for commissioners, as was the proposed location of a storefront canvas awning on the corner.

Meanwhile, the storefront along Williams Avenue also was criticized. As submitted, the building would have commercial space intended for light restaurant use at the corner of Williams Avenue and Fargo Street, but also bare concrete walls along much of its frontage along Williams Avenue. This will require improvement, commissioners said. But overall, the project appears to be moving toward approval.

“Overall, the massing of the building, the changes to the parapet – that is all nicely done,” Livingston said. “You will want to bring in some alternatives to that corner and where the water room is because most of us would like to see more transparency on Williams.”

The record will be held open until June 20, when the hearing will continue.

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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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A 23-story building proposed for property at Northwest 12th Avenue and Flanders Street would have both hotel space and apartments.

A 250-foot-tall Hyatt Place hotel and apartment building is proposed for the Pearl District.

The project at Northwest 12th Avenue and Flanders Street comes from a pair of development partners – Seattle’s Vibrant Cities and The Sunray Companies of Madison, Mississippi. Vibrant Cities specializes in multifamily development (it previously built Brooklyn Yard in Southeast Portland) while Sunray Cos. owns and operates six hotels in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Principals James Wong of Vibrant Cities and Monica Harrigill of Sunray Cos. were Harvard University classmates.

“It’s a nice fit for both sides to partner together,” said Wong, Vibrant Cities’ CEO.

New height limits in Portland’s Central City 2035 plan directly benefited the Pearl District project, enabling the quarter-block building to accommodate both hotel and multifamily uses, Wong said. Plans call a 23-story building with 180,000 square feet of space.

“Inclusionary zoning was an issue, but now the city is allowing for extra height in the Central Business District and the Pearl District,” Wong said. “That eases the development pressure for us a bit.”

Inclusionary zoning requires developers of new multifamily projects to include affordable housing units, or pay a significant fee. Developers have been wrestling with how to make projects profitable under inclusionary zoning.

The Hyatt Place project would have approximately 170 hotel rooms alongside 100 multifamily units.

“We think the city’s enforcement on inclusionary zoning put a damper in a lot of development,” Wong said. “It was crickets for the last year or so in permitting. However, we’re early in the apartment development cycle right now.”

Brooklyn Yard has 46 apartments and 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Vibrant Cities is also planning the Brio Lofts, a 96-unit micro-apartment project in the Boise neighborhood, in North Portland.

Otak is designing the Pearl District project at 350 N.W. 12th Ave. Otak’s Li Alligood is listed as the applicant.

“Right now, we’re working through how to optimize the space for both the apartments and the hotel,” Wong said.

Different designs would have the project as 11 stories of hotel space and 12 stories of apartments, or vice versa.

According to a preliminary site plan, the main lobby of the building would face the intersection of Northwest 12th and Flanders Street at a 45 degree angle. The residential entryway would be adjacent to the main entry and just to its north.

A garden terrace would highlight the building’s southeast corner, while a lounge and breakfast gallery would take up the southwest corner.

The top floor would have amenities to be used by both hotel guests and residents, Wong said. The ground floor is likely to host some food-and-beverage options.

“We think the hotel is a nice amenity for the apartments, and vice versa,” Wong said.

Other recent projects have sought to combine hotel and residential uses in a single building, including the proposed 35-story Block 216 project in downtown Portland and the Kirkland Tower-Hotel Indigo project now under construction at The Waterfront Vancouver in Washington.

It’s too soon to tell if the hotel-multifamily combination is becoming a popular development type, said Jill DeCoursey, a Bureau of Development Services land-use planner.

“There have been a few recently, but I wouldn’t say it’s a trend,” she said.

Editor’s note: 91ĘÓƵ reporter Josh Kulla contributed to this report.

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