3-Block Boom in SW Portland Renovations and New Construction Revitalizing Area

Spokane University Celebrating Success in All Areas

Construction activity in southwest Portland is breathing new life into an area that is certain to benefit from a trio of new and renovated structures.

Museum Place South, The St. Francis and the YWCA renovation, all within a three-block area in Portland's south end near Portland State University, will provide a new Safeway shopping center and a number of living spaces serving all income brackets.

Plans for a fourth project - a 21-story condominium tower that will replace the existing Safeway supermarket located between Museum Place South and the St. Francis and YWCA projects - are expected to be finalized early this year.

The Portland Development Commission - an agency chartered in 1958 to boost development in the city - has invested in all three current projects. Howard S. Wright Construction Co. (Portland, Ore.) is the general contractor for all three projects and GBD Architects (Portland) is the projects' architect.

All three projects - along with the future condo tower - are located on the three blocks bordered by SW 10th and 11th avenues to the east and west, and Columbia and Main streets to the south and north. PSU sits just four blocks to the south, and the Portland Art Museum is just across 10th. The Portland Streetcar runs on both 10th and 11th, providing front door transportation service to residents and visitors of the new developments.

The $27 million Museum Place South features a full-block Safeway grocery store topped with 140 rental apartment units. Construction is expected in the fourth quarter of this year. Photo by Sheila Bacon Rendering by GBD Architects

The $27 million (construction cost) Museum Place South features a full-block Safeway grocery store topped with 140 rental apartment units. One hundred and twenty eight loft-style units will be located in a 6-story tower on top of the rear of the store, and 12, 2-story townhouses will top the front half of the supermarket. Two floors of parking beneath the structure will provide room for 240 cars. The new Safeway will replace an aging Safeway across the street on the site that will eventually house the 21-story condo tower.

Sandy soil conditions prevented crews from using a typical soil nail wall system when excavating for the parking garage in the height of winter. Instead, excavation-shoring subcontractor Malcolm Drilling of Kent, Wash., used the proprietary VENIS (Vertical Element and Nail Integrated Support) system designed by Redmond, Wash.-based Ground Support, eliminating the need for a timber-lagged shoring wall. Five-inch-dia. pipes were inserted vertically every three feet, said Andy Brown, Howard S. Wright Construction Co. project manager, to help stabilize the perimeter of the site. Crews then nailed and applied shotcrete normally, while all but the top 5 ft. of the pipes remained permanently in place.

Designers and builders also got creative with the structure's parking situation. The underground space actually cantilevers several feet under the existing sidewalks along 10th and 11th, allowing for additional parking. Consequently, the grease interceptor and stormwater treatment facilities - normally buried beneath the sidewalk - are actually located inside an enclosure in the parking garage.

Safeway's mixed-use concept - locating the grocery story with housing - is a new concept for the firm in the Northwest, although the owner has previously used the practice in Canada.

Work on Museum Place South started in December 2001, and completion is expected in the fourth quarter of 2003. Shiels Obletz Johnsen is the construction manager and Sockeye Museum Place LLC is the owner and developer.

Construction completion of The St. Francis is expected this month. The brand new structure replaces the older St. Francis building demolished on the same site in November 2001. Photo by Sheila Bacon Rendering by GBD Architects

The St. Francis apartments, which were scheduled at press time to be completed Jan. 11, feature 132 affordable housing units. The brand new structure replaces the older St. Francis building demolished on the same site in November 2001. The 7-story complex at Main and 11th butts up against the YWCA, which is undergoing extensive renovations. The buildings' close proximity to each other posed a unique challenge to St. Francis crews during the pile drilling stage, said Todd Siemers, HSWCC project engineer. The YWCA's west wall - with the facility's swimming pool just two floors below ground level - was a mere 6 inches away from pile drilling activity. With the potential for the auger cast piles to tilt as they were drilled 35 ft. below grade, crews had to take extra precautions during the drilling phase.

Besides featuring mainly 330-sq.-ft. studio apartments at affordable rates, the 90,000-sq.-ft., poured-in-place concrete structure also offers a community meeting room, common laundry facilities, a bicycle storage room, parking and ground-floor retail space. The building is clad in red and sandstone laid-in-place brick on three sides. The north-facing façade features red metal paneling and exposed concrete. Special care was taken when pouring and finishing the concrete work, said Siemers, to ensure a clean look.

The Housing Authority of Portland is the building's owner, and Shiels Obletz Johnsen is the construction manager. Construction cost is $10.8 million.

Most of the work being done at the YWCA is inside. A 132-year-old American Elm just south of the structure is receiving special treatment during the renovation. Photo by Sheila Bacon Rendering by GBD Architects

Few will notice the work HSWCC crews are performing on the YWCA, located at the corner of Main and 11th until they step inside. Very little of the 54-year-old, 76,000-sq.-ft. building's exterior is changing besides new energy efficient windows and added concrete precast windowsills. The interior, however, is receiving a complete renovation, including a relocated entrance and remodeled lobby; upgraded mechanical and electrical systems; renovated transitional housing units; new staff offices and rentable space; and an improved fitness center complete with a fully refurbished swimming pool.

Pool work is extensive, and basically involves "building a new pool within the existing pool," said Todd Duwe, HSWCC project manager. As a result, the pool dimensions shrink by approximately 8 inches on each side and bottom, but the benefits outweigh any disadvantages caused by the smaller size. The pool will feature a new stainless steel gutter drain and perimeter, which will raise the pool several inches to compensate for the loss of depth at the bottom. The pool will feature new tiling and decking and its pump, chlorination system and heating source will also be replaced.

The building's interior was gutted, and many of the transitional housing units on floors four and five are being rebuilt. YWCA administrative and counseling services will be located on floor three, and Multnomah County's Aging and Disability Services offices will make the second floor home. On the first floor, food service agency Loaves and Fishes will locate a kitchen and dining facility, and the lower two floors will feature the renovated fitness center and swimming pool.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the YWCA's $5.5 million (construction cost) renovation is the treatment of a historic tree in the Y's existing courtyard. The 132-year-old American Elm was designated a Portland Heritage Tree by the Portland City Council in 1975. Although sitework in the area surrounding the tree has been light, crews still had to take extra precautions to ensure the tree and its root systems remained unharmed, said Duwe. The concrete surrounding the tree was carefully peeled back from around the base of the tree, and an air spade - a device similar to a pressure washer but one that uses air instead of water - was used to remove dirt from around the tree without damaging it. Luckily, underground systems serving the Y could be reused, eliminating the need for extensive excavation near the Elm.

The project owner is the YWCA of Greater Portland. Shiels Obletz Johnsen is the construction manager.