Affordable Housing Meets Sustainable Design

Portland - Enterprise and Community Partners for Affordable Housing opened Oleson Woods Apartments, an affordable housing development in Tigard, Ore., with 32 apartments. Oleson Woods is the first completed project in Oregon to receive funds through Enterprise Green Communities Initiative.

Green Communities is an enterprise initiative providing $550 million in financing, equity and grants to developers across the country to build rental housing and for-sale homes for low-income Americans that promote health, conserve energy and natural resources and enhance access to jobs, schools and services. Green Communities contributed more than $2.8 million toward the development of Oleson Woods; this represents more than half of the total development cost of the project.

All 32 apartments at Oleson Woods are designated for moderate - and low-income families.

The development team for Oleson Woods included the Housing Development Center, Carleton Hart Architecture and Seabold Construction.

Williams & Dame Wins Pioneer Award

Portland - Williams & Dame Development, Inc., Portland, will receive an Urban Pioneer Award. The award was created to honor community leaders who exhibit many of the ideals taught to students, and valued by College of Urban and Public Affairs' at Portland State University.

Williams and Dame specializes in taking underdeveloped or underutilized land and pioneering a new sense of place. Its strategy is to anticipate demographic trends resulting in the creation of a new product type to suit changing lifestyles while establishing new benchmarks in architectural design and quality. Recent projects, such as the SouthWaterfront District and the Hoyt Street Yards in the Pearl District, have contributed to Portland's changing urban landscape.

Civic Center LEED Rated

Portland - The new City of Hillsboro, Oregon Civic Center, designed by LRS Architects, was recently awarded a LEED Gold certification, making it the second city hall in the country to receive LEED Gold (behind Seattle) and the first city of its size to earn that level of sustainable recognition for a city hall. LRS Architects worked closely with the City of Hillsboro, Specht Development, Interface Engineering and Skanska USA Builders to create a 168,000-sq.-ft. city facility that not only met all of Hillsboro's objectives for consolidating city agencies, but also created a community focal point for Hillsboro citizens and will accommodate future growth.

Michael Jones, LRS Architect and LEED Accredited Professional, guided the sustainable design and subsequent LEED Gold certification for the project. Other factors contributing to the certification included the fact that the building is located adjacent to a light rail station and offers incentives for rail and bicycle commuters, as well as preferred parking for alternative fuel vehicles. Ninety percent of the offices have exterior views and natural daylighting, reducing demand for artificial light sources. The project also features high-efficiency HVAC systems.