Projects Archives - Page 10 of 12

The Miller Creek Daylighting Project

Miller Creek Daylighting Project Restores Life to Vacant Land Near SeaTac Airport

The City of Burien, Washington, in financial partnership with the Port of Seattle Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac airport), the City of Seatac, and Washington Department of Ecology awarded a contract to Otak to design a restoration plan for a 162-acre subarea of vacant, residential, and commercial land adjacent to the SeaTac airport. The project, known as Miller Creek Daylighting for the waterway that flows through property owned by the Port within the Cities of Burien and Seatac city limits, is scheduled to begin construction in 2021, following the Port of Seattle Commission’s approval of Otak’s plan. Otak is currently under contract to finalize the design, work with regulatory agencies, and provide construction management.

The property had several problems to address. It is in the flight path of the airport’s third runway, has degenerated over the years, and attracted activities that were considered a public safety concern. Miller Creek that crosses the property, flows through open stream, as well as through underground pipes and tunnels that have eroded and at one time caused a sinkhole. Stormwater runoff from an adjacent highly developed property is also destroying the natural habitat.

The first step was for Otak to evaluate the property for alternative uses that would be compatible with the airport and remain a tax revenue source for the city. The property use itself had to be considered along with stormwater management. Russ Gaston was brought in as the principal in charge to develop a top-down approach of how to work within the floodplain and stream buffers to correct stormwater management issues, and also create trails and recreation.

Otak’s role in the project was extensive, encompassing land use and conceptual master planning as well as capital facilities and infrastructure planning. Public outreach and participation were part of the design process, along with working through regulatory guidelines. Otak managed the development of the Supplemental EIS and provided technical analysis, and developed a master drainage plan, land use plan, and identified fish barriers for removal. The City also asked for improvements to roads, stormwater, and utilities, and then hired a lobbyist to work with the FAA to start a pilot program for redevelopment of the area.

In developing alternative plans, Otak was able to devise a way to daylight Miller Creek, taking a significant reach of the stream from flowing almost completely through a pipe network to bringing it up to ground level as a natural feature. This design brought an extended contract that also includes building a floodplain trailhead and trail that connect the Miller creek floodplain, an area that did not previously exist.

In addition to daylighting the stream, Otak also was able to include a fish passage in its design creating additional salmon spawning habitat along Miller Creek and working towards the goals of restoring the Puget Sound Watershed.

The final design also integrates with three regional stormwater infiltration facilities, a constructed floodplain wetland, and dispersed green stormwater treatment facilities, a new regional trail along the Miller Creek corridor, and public open space. The newly constructed green stormwater facilities will treat and infiltrate stormwater runoff from approximately 50 acres including runoff from seven acres of existing streets and 43 acres of future redevelopment of impervious areas. The plan allows for simulating the natural hydrology of the area through the addition of rain gardens, biofiltration, and the creation of wetlands that enhance habitat and a wildlife corridor.

Through the design process and as work proceeds, Otak will be working in partnership with multiple 3rd party agencies including the Port of Seattle, SeaTac airport, the City of Seatac, the FAA, WA Department of Ecology, and the City of Burien.

Pringle Creek Project Restores Waterway and Increases Fish Passage

Otak has recently completed the design and structural and civil engineering work on the Pringle Creek Demolition and Stream Restoration project in Salem, Oregon. The project is just one of several that continue to advance the City’s vision, which has been on-going since the 1980s, to turn its waterfront from previous industrial use to public space and an area for economic redevelopment.

The City of Salem hired Otak to complete design on the project within a short timeframe. Otak relied on many of its skilled employees to complete the required work including Kevin Timmins, PE – Principal; Scott Nettleton, PE – Structural Lead; Greg Mines, PE – Structural Engineering; Nick Cook, EI, PhD – Stream Reconstruction Design; Gary Wolff, PE, D.WRE – Hydraulic Modeling; Scott Banker, RLA, CESCL – Construction Observation; and Mandy Flett – Construction Assistant. Suulutaaq Inc. won the construction bid and performed well as the Prime Contractor on a challenging site.

The site of this project had been home to a mill, most recently a paper mill, for more than 100 years. After the mill closed the City partnered with the owner to have the building removed. Removing the building was fairly straightforward. The challenge was to demolish the building’s substructure that sat within the 100-year floodplain of the Willamette River in the waterway known as Pringle Creek and then reconstruct the creek to a more naturally functioning stream for fish passage.

Sequencing plans were prepared to incrementally remove the building, construct the embankment, and maintain a stable wall configuration during and after construction. A carefully crafted staging plan for demolition and stream reconstruction was required to maintain the existing fish ladder, convey stream flows through the site, and protect the stream from sediment and falling demolition debris.

Otak used ground-penetrating radar to scan the old concrete for the presence of rebar reinforcement and then designed an embankment fill to buttress the remaining wall and, once graded, to provide a location for a future trail connection and space to incorporate urban furnishings and fixtures.

Otak was originally contracted to provide riprap stabilization of Pringle Creek, however, hydraulic conditions made riprap a questionable solution, as the use of riprap was found to require as much effort and expense as reconstructing the stream. The team needed to engineer and construct a natural feature to make it look like it had always been there. A combination of large boulders, trees with root wads intact, riparian plantings, and channel topography were introduced to create habitat complexity and hydraulic diversity to provide fish passage, and access to the remaining 15-square miles of the Pringle Creek Watershed for migratory salmon.

The size and scope of the project necessitated coordination among several firms including

Pacific Habitat Services who was key in obtaining environmental permits, and Geo Design Inc. who assisted with the management of contaminated soils. The prime contractor relied on two key subcontractors; Cascade Shoring and Abiqua Landscape.

While the goal of the project was to remove a run-down and unsafe structure over the stream, the end result was improved water quality, increased fish passage, and a desirable gateway and future multi-use trail connection between downtown Salem and Riverfront Park. Otak looks forward to an opportunity to help complete the associated trail project in the future, and to continue it’s working relationship with the City of Salem.

Otak’s South Cooper Mt. Community Project Design for Wishcamper Wins Approval

Together with national developer Wishcamper, Otak has been instrumental in the design and approval of the ambitious South Cooper Mountain Main Street project in Beaverton, which is set to begin construction in the summer of 2021. The mixed-use development project will encompass affordable housing, as well as commercial and civic space, across ten acres adjacent to Mountainside High School in the heart of the South Cooper Mountain community.

Wishcamper, traditionally known for its work in affordable housing, recognized a unique opportunity to not only add affordable housing units to a high-density market-rate community but to also bring a community vision to life in the form of a dynamic mixed-use neighborhood center. The City of Beaverton’s goal is to provide the main street with a vibrant mix of neighborhood commercial and residential uses in a pedestrian-friendly environment that includes wide sidewalks with pedestrian amenities. Wishcamper embraced the vision and proactively worked with the city, enlisting Otak’s expertise and help to guide the project.

Otak has established a strong presence in affordable housing, mixed-use building, and community design and had been actively working on projects in the surrounding residential community for the past five years. Working collaboratively with Wishcamper and the City of Beaverton, Otak took a placemaking and multidisciplinary approach to satisfy the city’s community and zoning requirements, and Wishcamper’s affordable housing mandates, while also remaining sensitive to the natural environment and ecology of the site and ultimately how people would live in and use the space. As Ben Bortolazzo, Otak director of planning and design, points out, “this is not just another development project. It’s a place-making effort to create a vibrant community space; it’s an opportunity to provide vibrant spaces for the community to come together.”

Otak’s design for the South Cooper Mountain project includes 164 units of affordable housing, 30,000 sq feet of commercial space—office, daycare, café, and retail—potential civic use space, a public park, and a plaza. The park site is home to a number of large sequoia trees, which Otak was intent on preserving in the overall design, further reinforcing a sense of place with character and connection to the land. An underground parking garage is planned beneath an open-air plaza, which will also be home to a farmer’s market.

As the South Cooper Mountain project moves into the next phase of development, Wishcamper has enlisted Otak’s expertise on two upcoming projects, one next to the Main Street site and another in Woodburn, OR.

Renderings Courtesy Otak Architects

Otak Team to Support the National Park Service with Socioeconomic Research and Special Studies Nationwide

The Organic Act requires the National Park Service (NPS) to provide for the enjoyment of current and future generations. The NPS Social Science Program supports research to gain an understanding of dimensions of enjoyment and public appreciation through the study of humans and their interactions with NPS services, sites and facilities. An interdisciplinary team led by Otak, Inc. was recently awarded a nationwide contract with the NPS Social Science Program to provide visitor surveys, visitor use and transportation studies, and other socioeconomic research and analytic task orders that will assist parks with ongoing planning and management to serve visitors’ needs. With key partners RRC Associates of Boulder, CO, and the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) in the College of Forestry and Conservation at the University of Montana, along with multiple other subcontracting partners, the team will be on-call to the NPS for the next five years to a maximum contract level of $40 million.

“Our team is honored and excited to be selected to support the NPS in its ongoing mission to preserve the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations,” said Mandi Roberts. Mandi will serve as the overall contract manager for the team, and she brings a strong commitment to stewardship and supporting America’s treasured National Park System, with more than 20 years of working with the NPS on a wide variety of task orders across the US. “One of our first assignments under this new contract will be conducting a visitor survey for Zion National Park, where I have worked on previous transportation-related studies. Zion continues to experience heavy visitor use, particularly related to the popular shuttle through Zion Canyon. The results of the visitor survey work at Zion will help inform core issues of visitor use management, management solutions, and to develop a current and deeper understanding of who visits Zion National Park, what they do during their visit, and their spending profile.”

Otak, RRC, ITRR and our other team members bring unique qualifications and strengths including management of NPS task orders and completion of tourism and recreation research across the country for decades. According to Jeremy Sage, ITRR Associate Director, “This contract is an opportunity to assist the NPS with a variety of issues, such as addressing crowding and congestion to improve visitor experience and access; helping to identify staffing needs and management strategies; and quantifying the positive economic impacts the parks have on local economies. We are excited to work with this stellar team to bring new and creative research methods and analyses.”

These creative approaches will be applied for task orders under a variety of project types:

Understanding in-park visitor use to allow land managers to make better decisions on visitor experiences and the protection of resources.
Investigating personnel and partner studies of internal agency and department issues from federal staff comprised within and with partners.
Assessing regional economic impact and economic welfare studies that include cost/benefit and regulatory flexibility analyses, willingness to pay and visitor spending profile estimates.
Studying recreation, transportation and carrying capacity issues including visitor movement, travel pattern studies, visitor use level estimation and evaluations of conditions with how they change over time and under various use levels.
Conducting non-visitor studies to look at visitor displacement and awareness of people in gateway communities and regional stakeholders, and studies of potential future visitors to assist in future management decisions.

The trio of Otak, RRC, and ITRR worked together on a large visitor study to better understand the visitor experience given varying congestion levels at sites in Yellowstone National Park. “Our unique approach in Yellowstone of using geofence technology to better understand the visitor experience in real-time provided managers with broad decision-making capabilities not possible in past research. We’re thrilled to be able to continue assisting NPS units across the country protect their vital resources and continue providing high-quality experiences through innovative research.” said Jake Jorgenson, Lead Analyst of RRC Associates.“The NPS is excited to work with this extensive team of subject matter experts to inform the variety of socioeconomic and natural resource data and analytic needs for our parks and programs. This contract will significantly contribute to data-driven decision making across the bureau,” said Bret Meldrum, NPS Social Science Program Chief.

The five-year contract will be served through a collaborative approach between Otak, RRC, and ITRR, as well as team members around the country that include academic partners who lead research at the University of Montana’s College of Business, Department of Mathematics, and the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and other academic researchers from Utah State University, Oregon State University, University of Colorado, Kansas State University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Maine, and Virginia Polytechnic University. Collaborative business partners nationwide include Bioeconomics and Global Parks Solutions both from Missoula, MT; NatureWerks, LLC from Minneapolis, MN; Agnew: Beck Consulting from Anchorage, AK; EPS from Oakland, CA; Fehr & Peers from offices throughout the US; New Line Consulting from Gallatin Gateway, MT; Evermost from Kirkland, WA; Industrial Economics from Cambridge, MA; Kirk Value Planners from Goodyear, AZ; OmniTrak Group from Honolulu, HA; NeoTreks from Castle Rock, CO; and L2 Data Collection from Boise, ID and Salt Lake City, UT.

For Otak, the NPS is a cornerstone client. “The culture and values of the NPS and those of our firm are closely aligned,” said Chad Weiser, Otak’s Federal Practice Leader, “through a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach, we analyze, plan, and design the best solutions for each unique park setting. Our teams focus on being thorough, diligent, and responsive in serving the needs of the NPS, whether for research and studies or for design and construction.”

Image Credits:

Image 1: Yellowstone Geyser/US National Park Service

Image 2: Yellowstone Geyser/Neal Herbert for the US National Park Service

Header: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial/Rachel Hendrix for the US National Park Service

Redevelopment of Vancouver’s Heritage Square Slated to Begin this Summer

Construction for the redevelopment of Block 10, also known as Heritage Square, in downtown Vancouver, WA is anticipated to start in June/July 2020. Since the fall of 2019, Otak, working with developer Holland Partner Group, has provided land surveying, site civil engineering, and agency permitting support for the project.

Located between Columbia and Washington streets, and 8th and 9th streets, and less than one acre in size, the vacant lot is one of the last remaining undeveloped blocks in the downtown area. Block 10 is also the former site of the historic Lucky Lager Brewing Company with roots hailing back to the early 1930s. The brewery closed its doors in 1985 and sat dormant for years before the city of Vancouver purchased the land and demolished the old brewery in the early ’90s. Although various development projects have been considered by the city, the lot has remained vacant ever since.

Renderings courtesy of Ankrom Moisan Architects

Holland Partner Group’s development plan for Block 10 includes 105-110 apartment units, including 20% affordable housing; 80,000 square feet of office space; 12,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space; and an internal two-level parking garage. The project adds valuable commercial space to the downtown core and satisfies the city’s goal of expanding affordable housing units.

Tim Leavitt, PE, director of Otak’s Vancouver office is the project manager; Keith Buisman, PE and Rose Horton, PE, Otak Portland, are the project engineers. Ankrom Moisan is the project architect.

Smith Island Estuary Restoration Project Wins APWA Project of the Year

Otak is pleased to announce the Smith Island Estuary Restoration Project won both the American Public Works Association (APWA) National and Washington State Chapter, 2020 Project of the Year Award in the category of Environment: $25 million to $75 million. Entered projects are judged on construction management, environmental protection, safety performance, and community relations.

Otak’s Redmond and Everett team provided support to the Snohomish County Public Works Department who managed construction for the project that reestablished tidal marsh conditions to more than 330 acres of the Snohomish River estuary. Work was completed in November 2018.

The project included breaching 4,510 feet of dike to restore tidal flow to the estuary, reconnecting 18,480 feet of tidal channels, and creating 10,994 feet of new channel habitat, and a 1.2-mile new setback dike to protect public and private infrastructure including agriculture and highway. Funding came, in part, through $20.8 million in state and federal grants.

Over the last century, the Snohomish River Estuary had become disconnected from tidal influence due to the installation of 40 dikes, years of deforestation, and urbanization. This altered the functioning of the landscape and caused a tremendous loss of juvenile salmon production. In 1999, Puget Sound Chinook was listed as an endangered species, sparking Snohomish County to acquire 415 acres on Smith Island for habitat restoration. Those efforts took five years. Over the next eight years, the design, permitting, and securing of funds commenced allowing construction to begin in 2015.

The work was done in two phases to accommodate two years of consolidation settlement and subsequent placement of drain pipes in the levee, and to account for tidal fluctuations, weather delays, winter construction suspensions, and work-date restrictions to protect aquatic life.

In Phase 1, Scarsella Brothers constructed the infrastructure to protect surrounding public and private development and initiated restoration of the marsh. For Phase 2, Orion Marine Contractors connected 3.5 miles of tidal channels and installed 42 engineered wood structures to facilitate channel formation and provide cover for juvenile salmon.

Otak is proud to have been involved in the Smith Island Estuary Restoration Project. The benefits from this restoration effort will help bring back several endangered species of salmon contributing more than 30 percent of the Snohomish estuary acreage restoration target that was established in the federally-adopted Chinook salmon recovery plan for the Snohomish Basin. Smith Island now can support up to 250,000 juvenile salmon each year and provides public access to water recreation, walking trails, and wildlife viewing areas, as well as enhanced aquatic habitat and water quality. In addition, Smith Island is an important stopover on the regional flight corridor for migratory birds flying between Alaska, Mexico, and South America.

Otak’s Western Washington SMAP Report

Posted on May 6, 2020March 29, 2023 by OTAK Team

In December 2019, Otak surveyed staff from 26 Western Washington’s Phase II municipal stormwater permittees to assess their preparedness to develop an effective Stormwater Management Action Plan.

Under the 2019-2024 NPDES permit’s SMAP requirement, cities and counties will need to develop a capital improvement program specifically to improve the water quality of their rivers, lakes, and streams—a first for many of the permittees.

The study’s results are highlighted in Otak’s white paper “How Prepared Are Phase II Western Washington Jurisdictions to Create Stormwater Management Action Plans?” and covers:
* how well SMAP requirements are understood,
* how stormwater management is communicated between departments, and
* what resources can help permittees reach compliance.

Otak Hired as Architect and Engineer for a New Market-Rate Condominium and Apartment Project: The Ledges at Palisades

UPDATE: The Ledges condominium project broke ground on December 8 with immediate work concentrating on erosion control and grading the site that is situated on a bluff above the Columbia River.

Otak, Inc. was recently retained by Kirkland Development to lead the architectural and engineering design for The Ledges at Palisades, a new market-rate housing project in East Vancouver. The Ledges project, located within the Columbia Palisades development, is part of a larger mixed-use development underway at the site of a former gravel pit. The new Ledges project is also integral to the City of Vancouver’s master plan for providing additional housing to Vancouver and Camas residents.

Under the direction of project leads Dan Salvey and Casey McKenna, and in collaboration with developer and property owner Dean Kirkland, Otak’s Architecture Group will head the design and engineering of two buildings – a 51-unit condominium building on the east side, and a 91-unit apartment building on the west side. The top floors of both structures will include loft-style units; two lofts in the condominium building and the entire top floor of the apartment building.

Permitting for The Ledges project is slated to begin this June in three phases, with a construction start date following in July. Move-in date for new residents at The Ledges is targeted for Spring 2022.

The Ledges represents the latest project in Otak’s expanding portfolio of market-rate housing and mixed-use development projects in the region. With more than thirty years of architectural design and engineering experience, Brian Fleener, Director of Architecture, has been instrumental in leading Otak’s Architecture Group and providing an interdisciplinary and integrated approach to projects.

For further information about Otak’s expertise in mixed-use and market-rate housing architecture, planning, and design, please contact Brian Fleener, Otak Director of Architecture, at 503-415-2400 or Brian.Fleener@otak.com

Construction Underway at Elwood Affordable Housing Community Project in Vancouver, WA

The City of Vancouver’s first affordable housing development to utilize recent changes in city zoning standards has broken ground following the approval of funding and construction permits in February. Situated along 4th Plain Blvd, the Elwood Affordable Housing Community Project is in a commercially zoned transit corridor that under previous city code would not have been permissible. The new zoning updates and the Affordable Housing Fund are part of several measures the city of Vancouver has been taking to provide more affordable housing in the community.

The Elwood Affordable Housing Community, owned by the Housing Initiative (www.housingin itiative.net), will encompass four 3-story buildings and a total of 46 garden-style apartments, of which 50 percent will be designated for homeless people with complex physical and behavioral health needs. Auxiliary services will include central laundry, a community room, as well as open green space and a community garden.

The project will also meet the minimum requirements of the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standards (ESDS) which includes requirements for low-VOCs, water conservation, air sealing, and reduced thermal bridging. The project architect is Access Architecture (Brendan Sanchez, AIA).

Otak’s Vancouver team, under the leadership of Tim Leavitt, P.E., has been working in collaboration with the Owner, Architect, and city of Vancouver to navigate the complexities of this project and guiding the decision-making process. Otak was retained to complete the site surveys and civil engineering design, and obtain land-use and site engineering approvals/permits from the City.

Through a long history of community involvement – 20+ years in Vancouver – Leavitt and his team have gained an in-depth understanding of the city’s design and permitting requirements, especially in the area of multi-family housing and affordable housing. The Otak Vancouver team has established a strong niche in affordable housing design and permitting services in SW Washington.

For further information about Otak’s expertise in affordable housing architecture, planning, and design, please contact Tim Leavitt at 360.737.9613 or tim.leavitt@otak.com.