Northwest Renovations

Three buildings in the Portland-Metro area are getting upgrades designed to give them new functionality.

Soho 321, Portland

A former warehouse at Third and NW Glisan in Portland’s Old Town District is undergoing a transformation from storage to office and retail space while keeping the flavor of its century-old design.

Originally the Hunt Transfer Building, the 89,000-sq-ft, seven-story warehouse was used as a storage facility. The top floor of the building was once used for automobile storage. Cars were taken to the storage area using a 20,000-lb freight elevator.

“It’s the largest working freight elevator west of the Mississippi,” says Mick Gross, vice president of construction for JBH Real Estate. Gross adds that the existing elevator will come out in pieces and be replaced by three new elevators in the existing space.

Construction costs for renovation of the building are approximately $25 million. Design services were provided by EDA Architecture & Planning of Portland. The renovation began with a soft demolition in July 2007. Structural demolition began in early 2008.

Gross says occupancy for the first and second floors is set for early this year, and there are commitments for some of the space on the third through seventh floors. He estimates that the building was about 25% leased as of December.

Plans for the first two floors of the building include a restaurant, coffee shop and bakery in the lobby with a salon and spa occupying much of the second floor. Floors three through seven will be primarily office space.

Gross says the building was constructed on some reclaimed river bank, and timber pilings were used on the east end of the building to lock it into place. The renovation required micropiles on the east end of the building to meet current earthquake standards.

“The amount of steel we put back into the building was kind of unexpected,” he says. “It’s probably stronger and more stable than when it was built.”

Lead designer Louis Martinez, of EDA Architecture & Planning says the building had to be opened to “make it alive. It was a big concrete box.” The renovation plans called for the addition of several large windows and additional daylighting in the south elevation.

The building is aiming for LEED silver certification. “A building like this was perfect for LEED,” Martinez adds. He cites the simplicity of the original design and the large amount of concrete that could be recycled as factors in achieving certification. The building retains its historic flavor.

“We’ve kept almost every ornament, decoration,” Gross says. “Anything that had some period look to it, we’ve maintained.”

He adds that some of the original colors and glazes, and some copper detailing on the front of the building, would be restored as part of the renovation.

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Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, Portland

Lincoln Hall, Portland State University’s oldest building, will be getting a thorough facelift in the coming months.

“It’s just kind of sad and suffering,” says Linda Wall, construction project manager for PSU. “It was once a grand building.”

The building was originally constructed in 1911 as Lincoln High School. It was the first building occupied by PSU when the university moved to the South Park Blocks in 1953 and currently houses the university’s fine and performing arts programs.

The building remodel is termed “deferred maintenance” and includes new mechanical, electrical and life-safety systems as well as a new roof. The remodel will also bring the building up to current seismic code and accessibility standards.

Upgrades will be constructed with an eye on LEED certification; Wall says LEED silver is a certainty, and gold is a possibility. Design services are being provided by BOORA Architects of Portland. Howard S. Wright Construction of Portland is providing construction manager/general contractor services.

Currently, the project is in the design phase, and no subcontractors have been selected. The building has been vacated and is undergoing abatement with services provided by Lake Oswego Insulation of Lake Oswego, Ore. The construction costs are estimated at approximately $20 million. Michael Tingley, principal with BOORA, says LEED gold is a possibility on the project.

“We think we’re close,” he adds. “There are a series of things yet to be finalized in the design.”

Initiatives that will contribute to the LEED certification include a reflective roof, a high level of construction waste recycling, ecofriendly materials on the interior and reusing as much of the existing material as possible.

The renovation plans also call for significantly more natural daylight, which will contribute to LEED points. Tingley says that the plans call for reclaiming skylights that were originally in the building. “There were light wells in the center of the building that got filled in,” he says. “We’re reopening them.”

Reopening the skylights will contribute to reaching a goal of getting natural daylight to 75% of the occupied space.

“As the building is almost 100 years old and has been renovated many times, we anticipate many unforeseen conditions” when construction begins, Wall says.

Selected demolition will begin in March. Structural system construction is scheduled to begin in May with a goal of completion by July 2010. The building will be ready for occupancy by September 2010.

Vibra Specialty Hospital, Portland

Portland’s former Physician’s Hospital has a renewed purpose with its new owner, Vibra Healthcare.

The Pennsylvania company took over the hospital facility in 2006 with the goal of opening a long-term assisted care hospital. The first phase was completed in May 2007 and the second phase was completed in late 2008.

The hospital received occupancy permits for the most recent 17 beds on Dec. 23, and that brings the total number of open beds to 73, says Judy Ingala, the facility’s CEO.

Craig Shartner, operations manager with Rehfeldt Construction of Vancouver, Wash., says that the renovation primarily involved upgrading systems and facilities to bring the building up to current standards and codes for a medical facility. He says outdated HVAC systems, medical gas piping, generators and emergency electrical panels were some of the systems and equipment that had to be replaced.

Rehfeldt Construction served as general contractor on the first phase of the project and as the owner’s representative on a design-build contract for the second phase of the project.

Waterleaf Architecture of Portland provided consulting services on the first phase and design services on the second phase. Construction costs to date total approximately $8 million. Projected costs through the end of all phases of the project will be approximately $20 million.

Cherry City Electric of Salem, Ore., served as the electrical contractor; Alliance Systems of Hillsboro, Ore., was the mechanical contractor.

Renovation plans also called for some updating of the facility, including remodeling double-occupancy rooms into single occupancy.

While the project did not aim for any LEED certification, Rehfeldt Construction did “recycle and reuse everything we could,” Shartner says.

Rehfeldt recycled some of the HVAC equipment. “We saved a couple million dollars by refurbishing it,” says Trent Rehfeldt, company president. The contractor also worked with Energy Trust of Oregon on the facility’s lighting plan.

Originally constructed as Woodland Park Hospital in 1962, the building went through a series of additions and renovations before becoming Physician’s Hospital in 2004. The original drawings were done by hand, and Shartner says that many of them had been changed and didn’t match what crews found when they began renovations.

“We had a lot of unknowns,” he adds.

“We had tight timelines and had to keep chasing things down to get everything right.”

Shartner said that the first two phases have completed renovations on approximately half of the 160,000 sq ft in the building. A third phase will be based on the needs of the hospital.

King Street Station

Seattleites have no excuse to be late, now that the clock tower on King Street station in Seattle has been repaired. Modeled after the campanile at St. Marks in Venice, the tower is part of the train station that anchors the lower part of downtown.

Crews installed glass tiles on the roof of the clock tower at King Street Station. (Photo courtesy of city of Seattle)

The restoration is the second phase of work now under way. Biwell Construction, Bellevue, is in charge of the project that calls for replacing the existing roof, repairing lighting the four clock towers.

The building has been though several incarnations since it was designed by Reed and Stern, the architects who created Grand Central Terminal in New York City. During World War II, King Street Station was a major portal for servicemen on their way home.

The Burlington Northern Railroad took over the building and changed into office space, covering the ceiling and a marble staircase and balcony on the second floor. Now the building is a critical transportation hub, connecting commuter trains with buses and serving long distance passengers and freight trains.

The city of Seattle bought the building from the state Department of Transportation for $10 in early 2008, with the intentions of returning the building to its former glory. Total cost of the renovation is expected to be about $30 million.

Fundraising is now taking place to remove the false ceiling that will expose the original terra cotta work and restore the balcony and staircase.

Currently replacement of the station roof, removal of the microwave dish, and repairs to clock tower is being supervised by Biwell. Anticipated substantial completion of work is early 2009.

Restoration of King Street Station will be funded by contributions from the city, the state and the federal government. The voter-approved Bridging the Gap levy will provide $10 million and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will contribute $16.5 million in local, state and federal funds.

Currently only the first floor of the building is being used. The city of Seattle may restore the second and third floors eventually, and lease the space, says Josh Stepherson, public information officer with the Seattle Department of Transportation. Burlington Northern used the space for storage.