The Hassalo on Eighth eco-community in Portland, Ore., is a mixed-use and multiblock development. The complex consists of three apartment buildings with ground-floor retail space and a total of more than 1.1 million sq ft.

The 170,000-sq-ft, six-story Velomor has 177 apartments, and the five-story Elwood Building totals 150,000 sq ft and has 143 apartments. The largest building on the site is the 21-story, 324,444-sq-ft Aster Tower with 337 apartment units. The parking garage has 1,200 spaces, three underground levels and more than 1,000 bicycle spaces.

Due to the volume of the project, effort was focused on the sequence of construction tasks since the garage and buildings were being built simultaneously. Excavation for the three levels of below-grade parking was a massive undertaking and essential to the progression of the concrete pours. During construction of the 21-story Aster Tower, general contractor Turner Construction was able to maintain an accelerated schedule by reducing the deck cycle two days per floor to make up for weather impacts.

One technique implemented to make up time was to place the concrete deck for half of a floor, multiple columns and the core wall the same day.

Sandwiched on a tight urban site, and surrounded by congested streets and a light rail line, the project team was also faced with logistical and community obstacles. Community notifications and coordination included the closure of a light rail station during construction and the implementation of a hard barricade system to reduce the risk of construction debris entering the track area of the light rail line.

To obtain LEED Neighborhood Development Platinum status, the project’s developers installed EcoRoofs, a large bike hub and a natural organic recycling machine, or NORM. The machine is a treatment and reuse system designed to divert 100% of wastewater away from the municipal sewer. The NORM system treats and recycles 45,000 gallons per day of gray and black water; the treated, disinfected water is reused for toilet flushing, running the cooling systems and irrigation. The project was delivered in two phases, a decision made well into the construction process. Velomor was delivered three months early, and Aster Tower and The Elwood were delivered on time.

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