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Bybee Lakes Hope Center, Wapato Property Immediate Renovation To Accomodate COVID-19 Patients

Jordan Schnitzer, President of Harsch Investment Properties, and Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers announced that they are working with the Oregon Health Authority to expedite the renovation of the Wapato property, also known as the Bybee Lakes Hope Center, in anticipation of high community need for bed spaces for patients to safely isolate and recover from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

According to state officials, it is likely that there will be a major shortage of medical bed space in the coming weeks. The Bybee Lakes Hope Center team believes this vacant property will be an asset to the regional community and the State of Oregon in response to the unprecedented public health crisis. “There will be a huge need for medical quarantine and transitional housing for those impacted by COVID-19,” said Oregon State Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, a family physician on faculty at OHSU and advisory board member for the Bybee Lakes Hope Center. “Helping Hands’ Bybee Lakes building and their skilled team are a perfect fit for responding to this community crisis.”

Oregon State Senator Betsy Johnson, board member of Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers and advisory board member for Bybee Lakes Hope Center, underscored the sense of urgency in identifying a comprehensive response to the novel coronavirus. “This is a serious situation, and it’s time to act,” Senator Johnson said. “We have to think outside the box to develop a multi-pronged plan to increase capacity to treat the sick in our community, and the Bybee Lakes property can provide hundreds of much-needed beds.”

Jordan Schnitzer, the current owner, purchased the property in 2018 and has been working with Helping Hands to raise over $4 million dollars in private donations to renovate the site into a valuable resource for the homeless population.  “COVID-19 is a crisis impacting every citizen in our state. Working with Helping Hands and the state of Oregon, I am pleased that Wapato could be used as a facility to help Oregonians survive this health emergency,” Schnitzer said.

DAY CPM was hired by Helping Hands as the Bybee Lakes Hope Center construction project management firm in February 2020. Terry Shanley, Principal at DAY CPM, and his team are working to quickly identify necessary building improvements for COVID-19 patients, including an upgraded ventilation system, utilities and equipment, and ensuring the rest of the facility can be operational as soon as possible. “It’s times like these that call for collaboration and pursuing new ideas and different solutions,” Shanley said. “DAY CPM is proud to be on this team cooperating with public and private entities to build a viable solution to this crisis.”

COVID-19 has impacted the short-term plans for Helping Hands with postponement of several community awareness and fundraising events. However, the Helping Hands team remains steadfastly committed to opening the Bybee Lakes Hope Center to serve community members experiencing homelessness as soon as it’s appropriate to do so. “Responding to the crisis is what Helping Hands does best,” said Helping Hands founder and CEO, Alan Evans. “We will open Bybee Lakes when the time is right, but for now, availability of medical beds has to be a higher priority so we’re working on a crisis response plan using this facility for the community good.”

Harsch Investment Properties and the Helping Hands team will have a timeline for expedited renovation of the facility before the end of the month and will update the community as information becomes available.

For additional information: Raven Russell, r.brown@helpinghandsreentry.org,503-298-9104 or Terry Shanley, terry.shanley@otak.com, 503-816-1718.

Hyatt Place and Lawson Residences: preserving neighborhood character and meeting City growth through community sensitive design development

In a district that has undergone an urban renaissance over the past twenty years, the new Hyatt Place and Lawson Residences, set to open in the Pearl District in 2022, is more than the latest iteration of combined hospitality and housing space, and integrative multi-purpose design. It is the manifestation of a community vision coming to life in new ways never before realized and the culmination of a collaborative approach to solving density and livability challenges to address the needs of a growing city years into the future. 

Hyatt Place and Lawson Residences is also a classic representation of how architectural firm Otak, Inc. continues to push the boundaries of the traditional design process.

 

Realizing A Community Vision

In 2017, Portland released its Central City 2035 (CC2035) Plan based on a  seven-year visioning process that allowed the entire community the opportunity to provide input and involved more than 8,000 residents and city planners.The new plan, and resulting development code updates, serve as the guiding principles to future developments and addresses challenges and opportunities in the Central City to ensure Portland’s unique economic, transportation, and cultural hub will remain a vibrant resource for the city and all of its residents over the next twenty years.

 Recognizing how the new Hyatt Place tower would be the first manifestation of both the community vision and the new codes, Otak’s architectural design teams took to heart the underlying values at the core of CC2035 and worked collaboratively with the City to maximize the opportunities the new codes presented. While the community vision provided the guiding principles for the new codes, the codes necessarily provided the framework within which the design could take shape. Ultimately, to meet the diverse needs of the community and the various interests of neighborhood associations, developers, and city planners, the design was driven by both the vision and the codes concurrently—one simultaneously informing the other—throughout the entire design process. Using this approach in designing the new mixed-use building, Otak’s teams were able to leverage the new codes to incorporate the functional and aesthetic components that supported the core ideas and values underlying the CC2035 Plan and the common community vision:

  1.       Celebrate Portland’s civic and cultural life
  2.       Foster creativity, innovation, and productivity
  3.       Enhance the Willamette River for People and Wildlife
  4.       Design streets to be great places
  5.       Develop the next generation of “Green” public space
  6.       Increase the resilience of the Central City

 No small task! Yet, through a unique collaborative approach with city staff, Otak has designed a modern building in a manner that sets a new standard for bringing to life a community vision—in this case, a community vision that was nearly ten years in the making. At the same time, Otak has also provided a viable solution to two of the city’s most pressing issues—the need for increased density and the need for more affordable housing in the central city. 

 

Preserving Neighborhood Character

Architectural design for the Hyatt Place and Lawson Residences presented a unique set of challenges and opportunities. The obvious need to reconcile the design with the community vision for the central city and the new city code was the underlying consideration in all elements of the design, but equally important was the need to remain true to the character of the Pearl District; an area that has undergone an urban renaissance and transformation from an aging warehouse district to a vibrant cultural center.

“Given the significance of this precedent-setting, mixed-use building, the architecture must be exceptional,” said Brian Fleener, Otak’s Director of Architecture. “How this building transitions from the tower down to the pedestrian realm, and complements the neighborhood’s architecture and character, is critical.” With a 23-story building on a small footprint, efficient and elegant design is paramount. The two different types of use only added to the complexity of the design which called for two separate entrances, with priority given to pedestrian experience and community character.

The inherent challenge to any project is matching design expectations with the reality of what specific codes allow. As the first development in the Pearl under the new vision and codes, the Hyatt Place and Lawson Residences had to marry building design that would reflect the progressive community vision outlined in CC2035 and maximize the opportunities presented by the new codes. 

Responding to City’s New Design Code Allowing Greater Height

The design team has made rare and unique use of urban space, combining lodging and amenities into one-quarter block. The Portland Central City 2035 zoning changes, which came into effect in summer 2018, transformed the opportunities for this 10,000-square-foot property. In response to recent urban growth, the City is allowing unlimited density, or floor-area ratio, and a new allowable maximum height of 250 feet for this property if it includes affordable housing.

 Stepping Away from Auto-Centric Urban Planning

Cars no longer drive urban planning as the communities where we live, work and play continue to contract and so much of daily life is within walking distance. A reflection of this is reduced car ownership among people residing in the city core with walking, biking, ride-sharing, public transit and other forms of transportation providing a more complete mobility picture. Recognizing this shift, Portland city staff wanted to allow developers the option of “no parking” within the new building. Portland’s trendy Pearl District is the perfect place to live and work car-free, so eliminating on-site parking was a calculated decision.

Solving Next-Level Sustainability Challenges

The building was designed to meet the current needs of today, solving human-level sustainability issues, as well as next-level demands of a City stepping into the future.

The design and development team embraced the opportunity for innovative, sustainable design using Green Globes to guide its sustainable design practices; and  conducting extensive energy modeling. Working with the Energy Trust of Oregon, they also explored incentives and rebates for sustainable and efficiency elements.  

 

Strengthening the City’s Green Loop

The new building will be situated along the proposed Flanders Bikeway, which was, and still is, a major topic of discussion for the project. Honoring the bike-centric and pedestrian-friendly culture and creating a building without parking were all part of the requirement to further strengthen the central city’s “Green Loop”. Further discussions and refinement have been possible due to the continued responsiveness of Otak’s design.

 

Connecting to the Region’s Waterways

The city also wanted a strong connection to the region’s riverways and Tanner Creek, a former tributary running through the heart of what is now the Pearl. Additionally, specific language within the new code required design themes that pay homage to the importance of water in the city—rain, rivers, etc. Otak chose to highlight Tanner Creek,  which ran directly through the new building’s site, as a creative way to meet the code requirement and some of the more artistic detailing in the building’s design, as well as sightlines from the upper most floors, were incorporated to provide this connection and embrace the river running through the heart of the city. 

 

Adding Accommodation in a Tight Housing Market

Adding to the complexity of the project was the need for increased housing, with a provision for affordable housing to meet the city’s inclusionary housing rules. With 123,000 projected new residents by 2035, housing demands will continue to rise. The Hyatt Place and Lawson Residences project adds both market rate and affordable housing in a tight real estate market. 

 

Responding to Neighborhood’s Needs

Designed to fit the way people live, work, and play, the new tower offers area residents the amenities of a spot to grab coffee, wine, or a bite to eat, either in a new café or on the sidewalk. The building also offers hotel conveniences to tenants and responds well to the context of the surrounding neighborhood. 

From the concrete base, moving upward with metal panels, the design symbolizes moving into the future, yet also focuses on protecting the character of the neighborhood and preserving the past. Beyond architectural detailing and aesthetic elements, the design and development team intends to transfer floor-area ratio (FAR) to the site from historical buildings in the area, which will serve to protect those buildings from future development, further protecting the character of the Pearl district while making this project more feasible.

Collaborative Design Process

When the development of a new mixed-use tower in the Pearl was first proposed, it was clear from the outset that the architectural design would undergo extreme scrutiny—not only because it would test the new city code, but also because the tower would be constructed in Portland’s iconic Pearl District, a neighborhood with its own set of unique challenges and design aesthetic. Recognizing both the opportunity to create an innovative new building and the complexities inherent with the need to serve multiple constituencies and purposes, Otak’s team collaborated with residents, the City of Portland, neighborhood association representatives and other building owners to solicit feedback on the design. Ultimately, this precedent setting close collaboration and input from city staff allowed the architectural design to evolve organically and led to a positive review by the Design Commission.

“To get to this point in the design, with no major concerns by the commission, is a huge win for the city, and our team,” said Mixed Use Studio Leader Casey McKenna. “The level of scrutiny for a project of this nature was no surprise, but it is especially rewarding when a progressive community vision such as Portland’s Central City Plan begins to unfold.” 

Traditionally, architectural design has always allowed for input at regular points from initial concept through final approval, but the degree to which Otak involved the community and city staff is relatively a-typical and sets an exemplary example for how similar new buildings and communities are being developed.Otak came at the project with the goal of maximizing every opportunity to leverage the new codes and bring the community vision to life. “It was never about what do we need to eliminate, or where do we have to compromise to get the design approved,” McKenna attests. “From the very start, it was always about matching the vision and expectations with a design that could satisfy a diverse constituency of city staff, developers, and neighborhood organizations, as well as be a commercial success.” 

The complexities of urban planning will continue to evolve. As future developments are further dictated by a growing need for compact communities where people can live and work, and for sustainability in all aspects beyond just form, function, and materials used, this collaborative spirit will no doubt become more commonplace. 

 

Sustainable Community Planning

The long-range sustainability of communities as a whole is being recognized as a critical component in future developments and new building construction, not just in the Portland Metro area as the CC2035 plan clearly illustrates, but throughout the Pacific Northwest. This is an area Otak has already had a significant impact as they have served communities in Oregon, Washington, and other Western states with master planning, transit and urban design.

With the Hyatt Place and Lawson Residences, Otak successfully married the broader community vision with the character that defines the Pearl. From the overall form of the building down to the purely aesthetic details, the Hyatt Place and Lawson Residences may be one of the first of its kind in Portland but is akin to other projects Otak is involved in. The firm is providing comprehensive planning and architectural design services for the Hotel Indigo, another mixed-use hotel and residential property similar to Hyatt Place and Lawson Residences, that also includes 10,000 square feet of retail and 7,700 square feet of restaurant space. The design will highlight the hotel’s signature brand while creating an iconic destination on the recently re-developed waterfront in downtown Vancouver, WA.

As population projections continue to rise, communities and regions will be defined by how they handle growth and the increasing demands on transportation and economic infrastructure, as well as diminishing natural resources and wildlife habitat. To remain viable economic hubs and liveable cities, visionary community planning such as Portland’s CC2035 will be paramount and mixed-use buildings such as the Hyatt Place and Lawson Residence will be more prevalent.

The Swift Bus Rapid Transit Green Line is Recognized for Engineering Excellence

Congratulations Community Transit!

The Swift Bus Rapid Transit Green Line is Recognized for Engineering Excellence; Receives 2019 PSRC Vision 2040 Award and 2019 WTS Innovative Transportation Solutions Award!

Snohomish County in Washington state is a fast-growing region with rapidly expanding economic hubs and urban centers. It is also rich in rural areas, farmlands, and forests. With another million+ residents anticipated over the next two decades, managing growth while preserving natural resources and building for a sustainable future is a key concern for the region. Nearly fifteen years ago Community Transit (CT) embarked on the Swift Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) program as a vital part of the solution to the rapid growth in the region and providing for a sustainable future. From the start, Otak has been a trusted partner supporting the teams at CT and helping them deliver on their ambitious promise to the region.

While BRT in general is a well-established system for providing mass transit solutions, CT has been on the leading edge in rapid transit development and the Swift BRT system has proven to be an innovative solution successfully integrating transit networks across communities and effectively connecting the broader region. Yes, the Swift BRT transit program has a primary goal of providing transportation alternatives to help alleviate traffic congestion, but the solution is multifaceted. It’s about the pedestrians, bicyclists, and commercial vehicles that our roadway system serves and the property owners, businesses, and jurisdictions that are affected by the new transit system. 

Holistic Approach to Design and Development

CT recognized these complexities and the need for a holistic interdisciplinary approach to designing a solution. From the very start, CT partnered with multiple agencies, utility providers, commissioners and community leaders, as well as civil engineers, planners, landscape architects, urban designers and more. Otak was brought in early on the design and development of the Swift Blue Line and then the Green Line. The Otak team, led by project manager Windi Shapley, has been an integral part of the program leading station and roadway improvement design, permitting, and providing construction engineering support for the project which included installation of station platforms and shelters, amenities, ticket vending machines, shelter railings, passenger information signing, and iconic station markers. The team also provided surveying, civil engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and utility coordination. Shapley asserts that, “to be successful and deliver the best possible solutions, you have to take a holistic approach. You need the expertise and insights from multiple disciplines because the smallest things can have a big impact, and everything is interconnected – especially on a multi-jurisdictional transit project like the Swift BRT.” 

Project Recognized for Innovative Design and Positive Impact on Regional Sustainability

The Swift BRT Blue Line opened in 2009 as the first phase of the program. It was also the first of its kind in the state of Washington and set the standard for phase two (the Green Line) that began operating in March 2019. The Swift BRT Green Line is a 12-mile route running between the Seaway Transit Center and the Canyon Park-and-Ride, serving the communities of South Everett, Mill Creek, and Bothell in Snohomish County. It is notable for connecting the new commercial flight terminal at Paine Field and Boeing’s Everett Factory to Bothell, as well as the Swift Blue Line and the larger Community Transit network. In short, the addition of the Swift Green Line is an integral component to the long-term plan of creating a network of fast, frequent connections across the region and providing critical infrastructure for sustainable growth into the future.

This holistic approach has paid off as the Swift BRT lines are effectively providing much needed transportation solutions while adhering to the vision and policies around regional growth, transportation, and economic development within King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties. The results are undeniable, and as such, the Swift Green Line project has been recognized by the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) with a 2019 Vision 2040 Award for innovative design and positive impact on regional sustainability. 

The Green line won the 2019 WTS Innovative Transportation Solutions – Large Projects Award, not only for the innovative solutions, but also in recognition of the accomplishments of this women-led team. The project team was led by Joy Munkers, Director of Planning and Development and June DeVoll, Manager of Strategic Planning and Grants for Community Transit. From planning through implementation, Joy and June were supported by a project team that included over 50 women. Women in lead roles included Grants/Funding Lead Melissa Cauley, Community Transit Grant Program Manager; Project Management Lead of Design, Permitting, and Construction Support Windi Shapley of Otak; Traffic Engineering Lead Katherine Casseday of Casseday Consulting; Right-of-Way Lead Faith Roland of Contract Land Staff; Environmental Permitting Lead Sharese Graham of Environmental Science Associates; 128th Street Improvements Design Lead Yee-Fan Riu of WSP; and Geotechnical Lead Debra Overbay of GeoEngineers.

Otak was recently given an Engineering Excellence Gold Award for Successful Fulfillment of Client/Owner Needs for the Green Line project from the American Consulting Engineers Council (ACEC), Washington Chapter. 

Windi attributes the project’s success in part to the consistent presence Otak has been able to provide when CT team members and project leads have changed over the years. “Fifteen years is a long time and staff changes are to be expected. We have been able to guide the project through these changes with the accumulated knowledge and expertise gained at all stages, and a steadfast commitment to the long-range vision, mission and purpose.” CT Manager of Strategic Planning and Grants, June DeVoll further asserts, “Otak’s expertise, thoroughness, emphasis on team communication, and focus on quality and constructability has made them a trusted and invaluable member of our Swift Green Line team. They understand our mission, vision and expectations. The Otak team has proven they are invested in our success.”

The Swift BRT system will continue to expand with the development of the Orange line, which will connect the Blue and Green lines with the City of Lynnwood, and the new light rail line set to open in 2024. As with the Blue and Green lines, development of the Orange Line will include further roadway and signal improvements to ensure transit speed and reliability through the corridor. The completion of the network will effectively connect the entire region with an attractive alternative to the automobile for fast, reliable, and efficient commuting in an area that is committed to sustainable growth and protection of its natural resources.

Construction of the North Clackamas School District’s Adrienne C. Nelson High School

We are thrilled to be a part of the new construction of North Clackamas School District’s Adrienne C. Nelson High School.

Otak is providing full project management services from our K-12 capital management and bond program specialists at Day CPM.  The Day/Otak team is leading the project with budget, scope and schedule oversight; consultant coordination; construction administration; facilities staff integration; and furniture and equipment ordering, delivery, and logistics management. 

This $100 million project has been a huge undertaking for the school district, however, DAY CPM’s expertise in managing school bond programs has ensured the district’s needs and expectations are being achieved in a cost effective and timely manner. 

We hope that this new high school will be a wonderful place of learning and relationship building that will provide the students with many of the tools they will need going forward.

Otak also provides professional expertise in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning and management of construction projects.

The project scope includes significant additions to the facility as well as relocating and expanding the existing Health Center, Counseling and Career Center areas, kitchen improvements and other minor changes. 

Significant additions to the facility include:

  • 2-story classroom wing at the northeast end of the building;
  • Second-floor classrooms over the existing first floor;
  • Performing arts wing with a full-size auditorium and black box theater; band, orchestral and choir teaching and practice rooms, offices, restrooms, and storage spaces;
  • A new gym facility that incorporates competition and practice basketball courts, bleachers, weight room, wrestling room, hydrotherapy facilities, lockers/showers, training rooms, coaches’ offices, restrooms, and storage;
  • New athletic complex complete with football field; track and field venues; partially covered stadium with home and guest bleachers, press box, ticket and concession spaces; updated varsity softball and baseball fields and a new batting facility at Hood View Park; restrooms and storage.

For more information, check out North Clackamas Schools’ video tour of this project.

 

Otak Submits Land Use Application for Portland’s Latest Architectural Innovation

On April 9, Otak submitted a Type 3 land use application for the precedent-setting Hyatt Place and Allison Residences, a 24-story mixed-use building containing 170 hotel rooms and 110 residential units. The ground level will offer areas for residents, visitors, and neighbors to gather, while the top of the building will consist of lounge and event spaces, a fitness center, and a guest kitchen. This project is the second hospitality + housing high-rise building designed by Otak, the first being Hotel Indigo on the Vancouver waterfront.

Adding Accommodations in a Tight Housing Market

Representing a new kind of sustainable design for hospitality and housing in Portland, helped by a change in the City of Portland’s zoning codes, the Hyatt Place and Allison Residences project adds market rate and affordable housing in a tight real estate market. The City must provide growth capacity for 123,000 new households through 2035.

First Building to use the City’s New Design Code Allowing a Greater Height

The design team has made a rare and unique use of urban space, putting a lot of lodging and amenities into one-quarter block. The new Portland Central City 2035 zoning changes, which came into effect in the summer of 2018, transformed the opportunities for this 10,000-square-foot property. In response to recent urban growth, the City is allowing unlimited density, or floor-area ratio, and a new allowable maximum height of 250 feet for this property if it includes affordable housing.

With a 24-story building on a small footprint, efficient and elegant design is paramount. The two different types of use require two separate entrances, with priority given to pedestrian experience.

Solving Next-level Sustainability Challenges

Cars no longer drive urban planning. Portland’s trendy Pearl District is the perfect place to live and work car-free, so it’s the optimal location for this creative new property. As fewer of the young people moving to Portland own cars and as ride-sharing increases, the City wanted a building without parking. The design and development team embraced the opportunity for innovative, sustainable design and has chosen to use Green Globes to guide its sustainable design practices. The team is also working with the Energy Trust of Oregon to explore incentives and rebates for sustainable and efficiency elements. A green roof will form the team’s strategy for stormwater retention. This building meets the current needs of today, solving human-level sustainability issues.

Responding to Neighborhood Needs, Presenting a New Standard for Development

While the building will be higher than all the others in its four-block radius, it is designed to respond to the rest of the neighborhood. From the concrete base, moving upward with metal panels, the design symbolizes moving into the future while protecting the past. The design and development team are focusing on protecting buildings that are worthy of protection, by transferring floor-area ratio (FAR) to the site from historical buildings in the area.

Residents will benefit from a new spot to grab coffee, wine, or a bite to eat, either in a new café or on the sidewalk under the new tree canopy. The building will offer hotel conveniences to tenants and fit in seamlessly with the surrounding neighborhood. This new building will be designed to fit the way people live, work, and play.

Collaborating with Residents, the City of Portland, and other Building Owners in the Design

After consulting with the City of Portland and attending two meetings with the Pearl District Neighborhood Association’s Land Use and Transportation Committee, the design team has submitted its land use application to the City. The team took into consideration all concerns and suggestions through a highly collaborative process.

“Given the significance of this precedent-setting, innovative mixed-use building, the architecture must be exceptional,” said Brian Fleener, Otak’s Director of Architecture. “How this building transitions from the tower down to the pedestrian realm, and complements the neighborhood’s architecture and character, will be critical.”

The design includes these responses and elements:

  • Massing was further refined by moving the fitness center from the northwest corner of the building to the southeast corner. This creates a single, glazed two-story crown for the tower that is much more coherent and focuses the architecture of the crown into a more powerful statement. Vertical slots on the east and west facades are further integrated with the crown, articulating the paired tower forms of the building. Balcony windows are inset to better integrate balconies in the building façade. Balcony panels were modified to permit more windows to open to the balcony and further integrate the balconies. The east wall has the maximum number of windows allowed by building code.
  • The northwest corner of the building was revised to add large balconies in the west wall at the residential units and two additional windows in each of the hotel rooms. This makes the corner more visually appealing, adding to the texture and interest of the corner at the intersection of 12th and Flanders.
  • Landscaping follows the River District right-of-way standards. The hotel entrance is located on the northwest corner of the site, with a large glass vestibule that opens to both north and west. The height of the tree canopy, coupled with the signage, makes the hotel entrance prominent. The residential entrance has a lower tree canopy with landscape elements that distinguish it from the hotel portion. The bike entrance is more open and welcoming, with storefront glazing and lighting design that promotes transparency, safety, and activity. Art and water features are architecturally integrated into the building, with panels that represent Portland rain and Portland themes.

Over 20 years ago, the once-dilapidated Pearl District came back to life through the visionary collaboration of the City and private developers. Now the area has a worldwide reputation for urban renaissance. The Pearl District will have a new architectural innovation in 2022—our city’s first new combined hospitality and housing space!

Polishing Portland’s Pearl With The New Hyatt Place

The Pearl District’s proposed mixed-use building on Northwest 12th and Flanders represents a new kind of sustainable design for hospitality and housing in Portland, helped by a change in the City of Portland’s building codes. The 23-story building will house a Hyatt Place Hotel on the first 11 floors, topped by 12 floors of housing and amenity space.

As Portland is growing faster than it can accommodate people, the demographics are changing. Population forecasts predict that each year over the next five years, the Portland metropolitan region will welcome nearly 6,000 new residents between the ages of 20 and 34 years old. Although more than 15,000 new housing units were built from 2010 to 2014, only a few hundred of these units ensure long-term affordability. At the same time, the number of vehicles sold to 18- to 34-year-olds has significantly dropped and TriMet’s ridership continues to increase.

Portland must provide growth capacity for 123,000 new households through 2035 and accommodate the need for a variety of housing types at different price levels. Through better implementation of an affordable housing bonus structure, the City of Portland can move closer to its goal of equitable, healthy, and complete neighborhoods.

Portland’s trendy Pearl District is the perfect place to live and work car-free, so it’s the optimal location for this creative new property, which will be designed by Otak.

It began with a vision

James Wong, co-founder and CEO of Vibrant Cities, wanted to build a livable, leading-edge, 11-story apartment building on what is now a parking lot. A multifamily real estate development firm, Vibrant Cities aims to build vibrant, smart, and sustainable communities in sought-after neighborhoods that people feel proud to call home.

Otak’s involvement

After interviewing several firms, James Wong chose Otak to design the building because he liked the company’s multidisciplinary approach and visionary philosophy focused on next-generation communities. Casey McKenna, Otak Senior Project Manager, is leading the design team made up of experts from all services offered by Otak: design, landscape architecture, land use planning, civil engineering, structural engineering, survey, and architecture. DCI Engineers will be the lead structural engineer and UEB Builders will be the general contractor.

A new opportunity for the Pearl

As Vibrant Cities continued to explore development options for the site, the concept of a hotel development arose.  Enter Ray Harrigill of The Sunray Companies, a hotel management and development company, who has formed a new partnership with James Wong called “Parq on 12th.”

The new Portland Central City 2035 zoning changes, which came into effect in the summer of 2018, transformed the opportunities for this 10,000-square-foot property. In response to recent urban growth, the City is allowing unlimited density, or floor-area ratio, and a new allowable maximum height of 250 feet for this property if it includes affordable housing. As a result, the proposed building concept transitioned once more into the current hotel/residential concept that includes affordable housing, and the height went from 11 to 23 stories.

Elegant design challenges

With a 23-story building on a small footprint, efficient and elegant design will be paramount. The two different types of use will require two separate entrances with a shared bank of elevators and a loading dock, with priority given to pedestrian experience. “Given the significance of this precedent-setting, innovative mixed-use building, the architecture must be exceptional,” said Brian Fleener, Otak’s Director of Architecture. “How this building transitions from the tower down to the pedestrian realm, and complements the neighborhood’s architecture and character, will be critical.”

Sustainability at the forefront

The design and development team embraced the opportunity for innovative, sustainable design and has chosen to use Green Globes to guide its sustainable design practices. The team is also working with the Energy Trust of Oregon to explore incentives and rebates for sustainable and efficiency elements.

A green roof will form the team’s strategy for stormwater retention. Fortunately, Otak has plenty of experience with green roofs. In fact, Otak designed the city’s largest green roof in 2004 at Portland State University’s Broadway Housing facility, a LEED-Silver certified project, with Gerding-Edlen Development.

Amenities for the Pearl

Residents of the Pearl District will benefit from a new spot to grab coffee, wine, or a bite to eat…either in a new café or on the sidewalk under the new tree canopy.  The building will offer hotel conveniences to tenants and fit in seamlessly with the surrounding neighborhood. This new building will be designed to fit the way people live, work, and play. “It’s our responsibility to leave a lasting legacy for future generations,” said Vibrant Cities CEO James Wong. “Sustainability and integration will be at the forefront of our design and construction as we create a great place to live and stay.”

Moving from planning to construction

The design team is in the design advice review stage with the City and has also met with the Pearl District Neighborhood Association’s Land Use and Transportation Committee. Li Alligood, who leads the Otak planning effort, will submit the land use application once the design is complete. By 2022, the Pearl District will have a new architectural innovation—Portland’s first new combined hospitality and housing space!

Celebrating the Completion of the Hallam Street/Castle Creek Bridge Project

A community thank you event was held to celebrate the successful completion of the Castle Creek Bridge/Hallam Street Improvement project in Aspen, Colorado. The event had a hot cocoa bar and site tours guided by the City of Aspen, Gould Construction, and the Otak design team.

The project team held the event to thank the Aspen community for their patience, participation, and understanding of the construction process, as well as to highlight the value of the critical capital asset project and close the loop on community education for the improvements and value added.

A large round of applause went to PR Studio for assembling an event of this magnitude and for their diligent efforts in public involvement during project construction. Additional thanks go to the City of Aspen; members of the Otak design team, which consisted of Connect One Design, Z-Group Architects, KL&A, and RMH Group; and Gould Construction, for taking this project from conception to completion.

We were honored to be part of this important project to improve the community amenities in the City of Aspen.

Residents Weigh-In on Mountlake Terrace’s New Gateway Plaza

It’s the future. Throughout the Puget Sound region, light rail carries residents and commuters on their daily commute. The morning is brisk and unseasonably bright. You find yourself in Mountlake Terrace, walking down the station steps. What do you see?

On Tuesday, December 11, the City of Mountlake Terrace and Otak met with residents to answer that question, sharing initial design concepts for a new pedestrian plaza outside of the City’s upcoming Sound Transit light rail station. The aptly named “Gateway Plaza” is intended not only to be visitors’ first impression of the city, but also an entrance to Snohomish County itself.

“It gives an identity to the area,” said Curtis LaPierre, Otak’s senior landscape architect for the project. Already heavily traveled, the plaza will add “a nice place for pedestrians to sit, meet up, and even to stroll through.” Listen to Curtis talking about this exciting project.

The meeting was a success, according to LaPierre. He and Jeff Betz, City of Mountlake Terrace’s Recreation and Parks Director, spent more than an hour with residents, taking questions and receiving ideas around the three preliminary focal concepts: waterfall, lighted, and community tree.

LaPierre explained that the biggest challenge for residents at these kinds of meetings is getting away from the placement of individual objects—like trees and paved paths—and explaining what they want to experience. This wasn’t the case for the December 11th meeting. “There was good communication and they had lots of good and useful ideas.”

The next community meeting will take place in January. Residents are encouraged to attend and comment through the City’s project web page, where they can find more information, including illustrations of the proposed concepts.

Check out MLTnews detailed reporting of the meeting here.

Salmon Return After 100 Years!

Salmon returned to the Hunter Point Road culvert after a 100-year absence, thanks to the investment of Thurston County, Washington, in rehabilitating the culvert and the stream. See for yourself here.

The culvert was in a deep ravine and had a large drop at the downstream end, which blocked fish passage. Thurston County received state grants for culvert replacements, and Hunter Point Road was their highest-priority fish passage project. The project involved a new bridge and complete stream reconstruction, which was completed in fall 2018. Complications included high road embankments, a single access road (dead end), a stream confluence immediately upstream of the crossing, and the need to provide habitat function to the stream beneath the bridge structure. After consulting with the tribes and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the team elected to include large woody debris in a variety of configurations along with specific stream bed geometries and materials.

During construction, the fish salvage team relocated approximately 500 fish from the downstream reach, indicating the high potential of future use upstream of the project. Otak structural engineers designed an 80-foot-span bridge to replace the existing four-foot-diameter culvert. Shortly after construction was complete, in November 2018, videos captured the return of spawning salmon—after almost a century-long absence. This was truly a historic moment, and a tribute to the funding agencies and Thurston County for funding this project and hiring Otak to bring it to fruition.

Otak’s team (Doug Sarkkinen—project manager; Elizabeth Sheehy—structural; and Nathan Dasler, Ryan Makie, Frank Sottosanto, and Mike Rafferty—water resources) is looking forward to seeing continued fish in the system, the new channel settling in, and the vegetation establish.

Improving the Streets of Tillamook

Otak, in partnership with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Quincy Engineering, provided design and construction management for this $25 million roadway improvement in the heart of Tillamook. The project made significant improvements to both US101 and OR6 and the intersection between the two highways, and it included reconstruction of the US101 bridge over Hoquarton Slough.

Otak designed the one-way couplet through downtown Tillamook and provided stormwater treatment and landscape architecture services throughout the project. With construction starting in summer 2016, we provided construction management and inspection to oversee work progress. The project was substantially completed in October 2018, a success story for both ODOT and the City of Tillamook.

On October 31, 2018, the City and ODOT held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the 2nd Street plaza, a festival street that will be used for farmers markets and other outdoor festivities to bring the community together. Members of the local community shared stories, along with ODOT and state representatives such as Senator Betsy Johnson and Congressman Kurt Schrader.

This project provides great value to the Tillamook community through improved traffic flow, pedestrian connectivity, and safety improvements, and it continues downtown revitalization with the new streetscape and aesthetics.

The Otak team is excited for ODOT, the City of Tillamook and its citizens, and the road users who will experience this great project!