April 27, 2015

1929 building gets new neighbor in Portland's Westmoreland area

Image courtesy of Waechter Architecture [enlarge]

There will be space for shops and a cafe on the first floor, with offices above.

Construction has begun on Milwaukie Way, a 7,500-square-foot project that will be adjacent to a 1929 Spanish Colonial-style building in the Westmoreland neighborhood of Portland.

Portland-based Waechter Architecture is designing the project at 6637 S.E. Milwaukie. There will be space for shops and a cafe on the first floor, with offices above.

The Spanish Colonial building has restaurant and office space, and the neighborhood is a commercial hub with businesses, shops and eateries.

Milwaukie Way is slated for completion in December.

The owners are Jim Morton and Drew Prell, local developers who work together and independently.

Last year, Prell completed renovation of Lakeside Theater in Lake Oswego. Morton is developing an eight-unit residential project, also designed by Waechter Architecture, in the same lakeside community.

Milwaukie Way will consist of two buildings that form an L-shape partially framing the Spanish Colonial, Waechter said in a press release. The project will create a pedestrian alleyway that the developers said will be reminiscent of “intimate Old World streets.”

The new buildings will be clad in vertically ribbed black metal with six-foot-wide window and door openings cut to create a ribbon-like effect. The architect said corners will be rounded to help create the appearance of a continuous, uninterrupted surface and emphasize the free-flowing character of the facade.

Exposed wood joist ceilings on each level will give the open spaces “richness and texture.” Bathrooms, stairs and mechanical equipment will be in a central core.

Grummel Engineering is the structural engineer and DL Design Group is civil engineer.

Waechter's home designs have been published in The New York Times, Dwell and Dezeen.