A three-story apartment building was craned into place at 1308 N.E. Dekum St. last week, with mop-up work expected to conclude by July 1.

Backers of Dekum 13 say it was able to largely get around the city’s Bureau of Development Services by not being built here, and instead going through a comprehensive state review. The 15 modular “boxes” were built to Oregon and Portland specifications in a factory in Boise, Idaho, by Guerdon Modular Buildings.

The company’s BDS experience has been free of drama, said Randy Duggan, head of business development.

“Yesterday, when we started, this was a vacant lot, and we should be finished today,” he said Friday mid-afternoon. “The roof will be completely in place today and we’ll be ready for rain tonight.”

Guerdon, according to Duggan, has been making a concerted entree into the Portland market, amid its shortage of housing and a need for affordability. The modular construction method is a natural fit for blocky buildings, like military barracks, hotels and correctional facilities. But Duggan says it’s also right for “little A” affordable housing projects like Dekum 13, which is being pitched to single millennials and nontraditional students of nearby Concordia University.

Mark Reed, principal of developer Northwest Ventures Group, said monthly rent would run around $950 for studio units, and between $1,100 and $1,200 for one-bedroom units. It’s the first of potentially many such projects for the company, he said.

“People just need affordably-priced apartments,” Reed said.

Dekum 13 features 28 “highly efficient micro-units,” a laundry room and all utilities. The building replaces an abandoned house, and offers no parking.

The structural components that make up the building were constructed at Guerdon’s factory and then inspected by a representative of the Idaho Division of Building Safety, which has a reciprocal agreement with the states of Oregon and Washington. All electrical outlets and fire sprinklers were tested to Oregon specifications, Duggan said.

Locally, planning and zoning was handled by the city of Portland, with a state of Oregon official on-site throughout the two-day build.

On Friday, installation crews with Bent Level Construction and Wilson Construction fixed the units in place. Ronnie Wilson of Wilson Construction said Guerdon sent superintendents to train Wilson’s staff.

Modular construction might become a way to propel his business, Wilson said. He has several other traditional projects going in Northeast Portland.

“We started on this two weeks ago,” he said. “We’ve got projects we started in November that we’re still ‘Sheetrocking.’ ”

Guerdon can manufacture four boxes a day at its Boise factory, Duggan said. Dekum 13 was built in late December, but sat at a nearby storage yard while the site in Portland was prepared.

A crowd watched the final boxes be fixed into place Friday afternoon.

“I think there’s no parking – that’s what I think,” neighbor Tom Hughes said. “But it’s here now, so I guess it’ll work out.”

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