Built in 1914 and originally named Wheeldon Annex, Fountain Place is a five-story unreinforced brick apartment building located in downtown Portland, owned and operated by Home Forward. There are 80 total units, with studio, one and two bedroom homes. The residents it serves have incomes between 40% and 80% of the area median income. The building is listed in the City of Portland Historic Resource Inventory, with an III ranking for its architectural significance. Fountain Place was built in the Second Renaissance Revival style with a raised basement, bracketed sheet metal cornice, and belt course with brick corbels. The building has a basement and courtyard. Presently, PMA is working with Lorentz Bruun Construction on a design-build project to improve the life safety of the building, while retaining its historic character.

Within the need for seismic upgrade lies a number of challenges our team has the solutions to resolve. Seismic upgrades within historic buildings are disruptive to existing electrical systems, mechanical systems, plumbing systems, and impact existing resident walls and units. The design-build team understand the challenge of minimizing the disruption and how to navigate current City of Portland URM retrofit standards as they relate to potential future mandates for these types of buildings.

While the project is in its preliminary stages, the team has reviewed the existing conditions at Fountain Place, including the extensive previous documentation and visited non-occupied spaces within the building. Up next for the team are additional investigations into the existing conditions that go beyond research and visual observations.

FOUNTAIN PLACE TEAM
Lorentz Bruun
Peter Meijer Architect
KPFF
Reyes
GLUMAC
Salazar Architect, Inc.