Fountain Place
Fountain Place Apartments is owned by Home Forward and managed under contract with Pinehurst Management. There are 74 total units, with studio, one-and two-bedroom homes. The unit mix is 5 at 40%, 5 at 50% and the rest restricted at 60% area median income (AMI).
The building occupies a quarter-block lot in downtown Portland, Oregon, at the corner of SW Salmon Street and SW 10th Avenue. Redevelopment of Fountain Place continues Home Forward’s mission of providing accessible housing, while demonstrating a commitment to investing in their historic and existing properties.
The Fountain Place Apartments redevelopment focuses on livability, how to extend the operational life of the building while maintaining fiscal responsibility, operational sustainability, while integrating economic equity across project team members.
On March 4, 2020, Fountain Place, originally Wheeldon Annex, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Fountain Place
- Seismic safety for safe exiting of the building
- New elevator and stairwells
- New electrical and plumbing systems
- New community room for resident gatherings
Throughout the country we have seen that a substantial number of aging developments need major capital repairs like new windows, plumbing, roofs, and heating systems to keep them operational. This project team assisted Home Forward in helping to define priorities and continually refine the project costs to meet budget expectations.
Nationally, HUD’s physical inspection of public housing properties provide evidence that many properties are in disrepair, and more than 8% of properties had failing scores. Rehabilitating housing for vulnerable communities requires more resources and Lorentz Bruun Construction, Peter Meijer Architect, PC, and KPFF have decades of experience with solving critical building repairs. Having a team focused on renovating older and historic structures helped enhance the effectiveness of the chosen programming and infrastructure for the redevelopment.
Existing and historic building restorations, renovations, and rehabilitations are a core focus of the services Lorenz Bruun and Peter Meijer Architect, PC, provide. Their completed work will provide Home Forward an extended life expectancy of the exterior and renewed system performance for the infrastructure.
Low-income earning households disproportionally suffer from sub-standard and inefficient housing. The design team coordinated with Home Forward in the selection of durable building materials and systems that deliver low long-term operational costs, are easy-to-maintain, functional, and create a healthy and efficient facility.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral parts of the collective firms philosophies and organizational policies. LBC/PMA set annual diversity goals and work towards exceeding those goals. The design team includes highly qualified COBID – Minority, Disadvantaged, and Emerging Small Business Enterprises, Reyes Engineering and Salazar Architect, Inc. Throughout the construction of the project the design team plans to engage 12 MWESB certified subcontractors and 13 section 3 subcontractors in order to not only meet but exceed economic equity goals.
Fountain Place Apartments redevelopment design team
Lorenz Bruun Construction (LBC) and Peter Meijer Architect, PC (PMA) collaborated on a full building redevelopment to improve the life safety of Fountain Place, while retaining its historic character.
The project is meeting the secretary of the interior’s standards for redevelopment, reviewed and approved by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service. Federal tax incentives were used, and as part of the process the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Throughout the process the design team has been committed to redevelopment of the building with the least disruption and best care for the residents. Coordinating with Home Forward’s dedicated staff provided opportunities for meeting with residents to communicate project design, schedule, and offer answers to any questions.
Contractor // Lorentz Bruun
Architect // Peter Meijer Architect
Structural Engineer // KPFF
Electrical Engineer // Reyes
Mechanical & Plumbing Engineer // GLUMAC
Affordable Housing Specialists // Salazar Architect, Inc.
