The Meriwether

The Meriwether, a joint venture of Gerding/Edlen and Williams & Dame Development, is the first development along Portland's burgeoning South Waterfront.

The Meriwether consists of two condo towers with town houses and retail space at ground level. The east tower will stand 21 stories and the west tower is 24 stories. Together, the pair will offer 254 condos and townhouses ranging from 638 sq. ft. to 3,123 sq. ft.

Phil Beyl, partner in charge for GBD Architects of Portland, said one of several design features that distinguish The Meriwether is its point-tower architecture. It's the first high-rise tower in Portland to incorporate a smaller, more compact floor plate, which allows for a more slender, elegant building similar to towers in Vancouver, B.C.

The project's design is intended to earn silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.

"It's also the first building in what hopefully will become a very energetic, vibrant neighborhood," Beyl said.

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Hoffman Construction Co. of Portland began building the towers in April 2004 and is scheduled to finish in the spring. Project manager Bill Drinkward said the structure's location posed some challenges.

"It's an undeveloped section at this point, which means we have to coordinate logistics around city streets, utilities and other infrastructure that doesn't exist yet," he added.

Scheduling deliveries for materials imported from around the world added to the project's complexity. These included curtain wall and precast from Canada, countertops from Israel and cabinet wood from New Orleans.

The Meriwether, at a project cost of $70 million, offers an opportunity to be part of an ambitious undertaking, Drinkward said.

"We're real honored to be a partner with Gerding/Edlen, especially on a project of this magnitude," he said. "It's been very exciting to be part of these projects and help make these buildings a reality for them."

Click on the links below for project profile details...

The Meriwether
The Armory
The Casey
John Ross Condominiums