Paved paradise: Hollywood District lot in Portland becomes Whole

Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), Mar 20, 2008 by Nathalie Weinstein

A former Washington Mutual parking lot is being developed by Gerding Edlen into The Beverly, a five-story, mixed-use project in Portland's Hollywood District.

Located at Northwest 42nd Avenue and Sandy Boulevard, R&H Construction is hard at work on the 241,436-square-foot project and currently has an L-shaped section erected along 42nd Ave. The project's rhombus shape, as well as its large size and proximity to a residential area, has been a challenge, according to R&H.

"Its got a strange shape," Adam Petersen, R&H project engineer, said. "It's a large site and it's tight to the property line. It butts right up against the residential neighborhood here. And we're working around the public. There's a (Washington Mutual) onsite that is still fully operational."

The bank, currently located in an older building on Northeast Sandy Boulevard, will move into a new space on the ground floor of The Beverly, along with natural food giant Whole Foods Market. The bank's current building will be demolished by R&H in the coming months.

Though Portlanders are typically weary of big box retailers, Petersen said neighbors he's spoken to are excited about the grocery store.

"We haven't had much complaining," he said. Mostly they are just curious and want to know what we're building. People have been positive about Whole Foods coming in."

What they aren't excited about is the scant parking that comes with major development in a residential area.

"Building here is similar to building downtown in that it's a tight space and there's nowhere to park," Petersen said. "(The neighbor's) biggest concern is parking. We have 100 people working here sometimes and everyone has to park on side streets. People that run businesses out of their homes or that have out-of-town relatives can get concerned about the lack of space."

Luckily, The Beverly's second and third floors, once built, will house parking lots for retail customers as well as for tenants who live in the building's 53 condo units on the fourth and fifth floors.

R&H used special castellated beams from Arkansas in the parking structure for their light weight and durability.

"When they're manufactured, a pattern is cut into them, usually hexagons," Petersen said. "The material gets stretched so that it can handle more loads with less material and less steel. You get as much useable square footage as possible."

Gerding Edlen hopes to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification with The Beverly. Green features include onsite bioswales, low emission paints and sealants and a site location that is close to public transportation and neighborhood services.

Materials for the project, such as windows and doors from Mid- Valley Glass & Millwork in Eugene, were locally sourced whenever possible and R&H plans to recycle 75 percent of its construction waste.

The condos will be outfitted with energy-saving appliances and will feature studio, one and two bedroom units.

The Beverly is scheduled to complete in 2009.