Fox Tower twin will rise from Zell Block demolition
Portland Business Journal - by David Rosenfeld Contributing writer
Shortly before downtown apparel shop Mercantile moved from its long-time location at Southwest Park Avenue and Yamhill Street, a car came crashing through one of its large storefront windows.
The driver didn't know it, but her accident in early March foreshadowed the eventual annihilation of that very building, along with the rest of the block.
In mid-April, lead contractor Hoffman Construction Co. will begin demolishing the Zell Block, a jigsaw group of 1930s-era structures that also includes the former homes of Zell Bros. jewelry store and the Virginia Café. A $400,000 subcontract for the demolition, which should be completed by mid-June, was awarded to Konell Construction.
What will rise from the cinders is a 33-story office tower and underground parking garage called Park Avenue West. When it's completed in 2011, the high-rise will look reminiscent of Fox Tower located just kitty-corner, built and owned by the same developer, Tom Moyer's TMT Development.
Demolition of the site -- bordered by Southwest Yamhill and Morrison streets between Ninth and Park avenues -- and the underground dig pose challenges, said Richard Sells, Hoffman's superintendent on the job. His crews are preparing to burrow a 70-foot hole in the ground a mere five feet from the curb where MAX tracks border on the Yamhill and Morrison sides. Trains cannot be obstructed and the other two side streets are quite narrow.
"It will definitely be one of the more challenging buildings to bring to the ground," Sells said.
Early this month, crews blocked off Southwest Ninth between Yamhill and Morrison. It will remain closed to traffic -- except for occasional pickups and drop-offs for adjacent businesses -- for an estimated three years until the high-rise is completed. On the east side of the block, Sells says he'll try to keep one lane of traffic open on Southwest Park as much as possible.
"I tell the neighbors that I'll try to make their lives as easy as possible, but at the same time, I've been handed a set of plans to build a building," Sells said. "I can't say everyone likes this situation, but in a couple of years from now, they're all going to love it because it will enhance their businesses."
Neighboring businesses have had to cope with an onslaught of construction in recent years. The noise has just subsided on an underground parking garage across the street, also built by Hoffman under contract with TMT. There was Fox Tower that was completed about seven years ago. And the MAX line was built in the 1990s.
Denise Graham, a sales clerk at craft retailer The Real Mother Goose at Ninth and Yamhill, is not looking forward to continued noise.
"We just got done with the construction across the street. And now we have to deal with it again," Graham said. "It's clearly going to affect businesses."
Stephen Rutledge, store manager of Flying Elephants delicatessen at the base of Fox Tower, said Hoffman was extremely accommodating while it built the parking garage. While that project disrupted business at times, he said the company maintained good communication and that TMT even compensated for estimated lost revenue.
"Hoffman Construction is really good at working in this type of urban environment," Rutledge said. "They did everything they could to minimize noise, dirt and other problems. With the new project, I expect more of the same."
In early April, crews started what Sells called "soft demolition," as they began hauling away anything that could be reused or recycled. Sells said that TMT and Hoffman have set as their goal to recycle between 70 and 80 percent of the total waste.
"It's doing the right thing for the right reasons even though it's more costly," Sells said.
After the soft-demo is completed in mid-April, giant trackhoes will begin crushing the structure inward. Don't expect wrecking balls or a Las Vegas-style implosion. Workers will meticulously crush and toss the wreckage with giant claws into Dumpsters. Most of the refined sorting will occur off-site.
Many of the wood beams, often made of old-growth Douglas fir that loggers don't harvest anymore, will likely be reused. The steel will also get recycled. Unusable wood will be chipped. Even concrete will get crushed for use as gravel.
TMT is shooting for a gold or platinum rating under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. LEED certification involves meeting criteria for demolition, building materials and operational energy efficiency.
Although Sells has supervised several other construction sites of this magnitude, he said this one carries a unique kind of stress: His bosses at Hoffman will have a birds-eye view from the company's offices on the 21st floor of Fox Tower. That means he'll have a lot of expert advice.
"They tell me they'll just be there to help," Sells laughed.
portland@bizjournals.com | 503-274-8733
http://portland.bizjournals.com/port...ml?t=printable
Prev
Linear Mode
