Located in the Pearl District on the former site of the Blitz-Weinhard Brewery, the Brewery Blocks is one of the largest redevelopment projects in Oregon’s history. Today, it remains one of Portland’s most ambitious and most successful urban neighborhood projects. The five-block project includes structural, civil, and surveying services for 1.7 million square feet of upscale retail, housing and office space over three levels of underground parking spanning two-and-a-half city blocks.
This sustainable redevelopment effort involved a technically complex mix of selective demolition, historic restoration, seismic strengthening and new construction. Three new office buildings, a 15-story condominium tower, a 16-story apartment complex and commercial space, and a three-level, 1,200-car subterranean parking structure resulted from this project. Ground-level space was activated for pedestrians. Helping to transform streetscapes along 20 block frontages, KPFF provided stormwater conveyance and water quality systems; sanitary sewer main relocations; coordination with the City and utility companies; and development of plans for right-of-way encroachment permits. Surveying included ALTA/ACSM, design, topographic and property line adjustment surveys, a settlement survey on the trolley line and off-site utility surveys.
At the time of completion, the Brewery Blocks was the largest urban redevelopment to achieve full LEED® certification. Its many sustainable features include photovoltaic panels, vegetated eco-roofs, low-VOC paints, and a unique and innovative district chilled water system.
